Society of Fellows Big Thinkers — Day Seven

While the Society was falling in love with the Cinderella story of 15-seed Ptolemy, #9 Durkheim was quietly making a move of his own in the West region. After previously taking down top seed Aquinas, last night he had an equally remarkable upset victory over #2 Descartes, becoming the lowest ranked thinker to ever make … Continue reading Society of Fellows Big Thinkers — Day Seven →

Gould Recordings 11-15 – Brahms, Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Schoenberg, R. Strauss

This is a broad range of music; I've tried my best to devote a paragraph to each recording. I also intend (soon) to write longer entries about Gould's Beethoven Concertos, and also the Glenn Gould record collection I've started. Once again, just about all this music should turn up on Spotify or YouTube if you … Continue reading Gould Recordings 11-15 – Brahms, Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Schoenberg, R. Strauss →

Society of Fellows Big Thinkers — Day Six

Just a quick recap today, as this reporter just realized he has a lot of work to do before spring break ends! After four games last night, our Enlightened Eight is now in place. In the Midwest, top seed Plato moved on with a 77-69 win over #12 Beauvoir. So far in this tournament, no … Continue reading Society of Fellows Big Thinkers — Day Six →

Intellectual History

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 →

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 →