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“The Landlady” and “White Nights” – Dreamers’ Romances

In one of the Feuilletons, Dostoevsky outlines a character-type – “the dreamer.”  The dreamer is heavily influenced by Romantic literature, to the point where he (and it’s definitely a he) expects his life to operate in its categories.  Not necessarily to the extent of madness and insanity – more just the sort of cultivated melancholy … Continue reading “The Landlady” and “White Nights” – Dreamers’ Romances →

Rawls [5], “The Sense of Justice,” (1963)

In this essay Rawls addresses two questions, one raised specifically by his theory of justice and the other a general and much discussed meta-ethical question.  The specific question is, "To whom do the principles of justice apply?" or "To whom is justice owed?"  The general meta-ethical question is, "What motivates us to act morally--i.e., to … Continue reading Rawls [5], “The Sense of Justice,” (1963) →

Rawls [4], “Constitutional Liberty and the Concept of Justice” (1963)

When we last left Rawls, he was trying to identify the 'concept' of justice--that is, what it is we're attributing to a society when we call it 'just.'  Rawls claimed that a 'just' society conforms to the two principles of justice--viz., (i) each person has an equal right to liberty consistent with the same liberty … Continue reading Rawls [4], “Constitutional Liberty and the Concept of Justice” (1963) →

The Double

"With insomnia, nothing is real.  Everything is far away.  Everything is a copy of a copy of a copy" (Fight Club, script here). Frank reports that Dostoevsky’s second novel, The Double, was more or less universally panned.  I find this strange, considering it’s clearly a work of much more sophistication and certainly much more experimental … Continue reading The Double →

Rationality and Fantasy Baseball

Lately I’ve been thinking about rationality.  Specifically, I’ve been thinking about the ways that economic models presuppose that individuals consistently act in their rational self-interest (and what economists count as a rational self-interest). Lately, I’ve also been thinking about my fantasy baseball team.  I know that many OPers play or have played in fantasy baseball … Continue reading Rationality and Fantasy Baseball →