Josh and I have been chatting about Peter Watson's The German Genius, and our dissatisfaction with his account of Kant's philosophy. This led me to wonder what people's favorite intellectual histories are. I mean the fun, lively stuff, not the exhausting, nit-picking tomes that I have to read for work. I really like the idea … Continue reading Intellectual History
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Society of Fellows Big Thinkers — Day Five
After a few days of rest, we're back for another round in the Society of Fellows' Big Thinkers Tourney. Our sixteen surviving sages are facing off in the hope of moving on to the Enlightened Eight. Last night saw four debates in the West and East Regions. Our first match of the night was between … Continue reading Society of Fellows Big Thinkers — Day Five
Revisiting Jane Austen
A couple of months ago I decided to start re-reading Jane Austen's novels (some for the second time, some for the third). I thought I'd record some thoughts about them, since it's about 15 years since I had originally read these books. I've just re-read Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. Probably in … Continue reading Revisiting Jane Austen
Society of Fellows Big Thinkers — Day Four
Let's recap another exciting day of Big Thinking action. In the Midwest, the All-Destroying Kant looked sharp in a 66-50 win over 7-seed Adam Smith. Smith's controversial invisible hand had effectively regulated the critical parries of first round opponent Deleuze, but was of little use against Kant's bold and systematic theorizing. Kant moves on to … Continue reading Society of Fellows Big Thinkers — Day Four
Society of Fellows Big Thinkers — Day Three
Friends, it was another thrilling day of games here at the Big Thinkers Tournament. We’ve seen an unusual number of upsets this year, and the pattern continued last night. The Western Canon may never be the same in light of this year’s results! Let’s start with the shocker of the night. Top seed in the … Continue reading Society of Fellows Big Thinkers — Day Three
Society of Fellows Big Thinkers — Day Two
Let’s start our roundup of yesterday’s action in the West region. For Hobbes, life in this tournament truly was nasty, brutish and short. Facing upstart Maimonides, the Leaping Leviathan went completely cold, airballing ill-advised propositions from all over the court in a 56-47 loss. This was the first of many upsets on the day. 12th … Continue reading Society of Fellows Big Thinkers — Day Two
Society of Fellows Big Thinkers — Day 1 Recap
Day one of the Big Thinkers Tournament is over, with half of the Round of 64 games in the books. In the South region, early modern scientists dominated, with Galileo rolling over Emerson 88-42 and Newton out-calculating Epicurus 71-56. In the East, Chomsky topped the higher ranked Locke 64-61, employing tight linguistic structures and surprisingly … Continue reading Society of Fellows Big Thinkers — Day 1 Recap
Gould’s “Solitude Trilogy” – 3 Radio Documentaries
Surprisingly, these documentaries have nothing to do with music. The first, called "The Idea of North" (1967) documents the experiences of southern Canadians travelling to or dwelling in the extreme northern reaches of the country. Next comes "The Latecomers," (about the province of Newfoundland. Last is "The Quiet in the Land," about Canadian Mennonite communities. It's an overstatement … Continue reading Gould’s “Solitude Trilogy” – 3 Radio Documentaries
Gould Recordings 4-9 and an Interview
I'll talk about the interview first. It's called "At Home with Glenn Gould" and is in 9 8-minute segments on YouTube if you want to listen. It's from the late 50's, and shed a lot of light on my experiences of these recordings so far. What I think came out most was a sense of humility … Continue reading Gould Recordings 4-9 and an Interview
Two Concertos (Concerti?)
The third major-release record Gould recorded again pairs Bach and Beethoven. Gould selected Beethoven's 2nd, in B Flat Major, and Bach's D Minor Concerto. They're both three-movement concertos, following the common three-movement tempo pattern of medium-slow-fast. Gould was often quoted as saying he wanted to avoid the "competitive" aspect of concerto performance, where the soloist's … Continue reading Two Concertos (Concerti?)
Original Positions 