This is the first major novel D wrote after returning from exile. I read a rather strange translation – it’s by Ignat Avsey, and he’s titled it Humiliated and Insulted. I’ve gone with Frank’s translation to title this blog. As far as the translation goes, this was the only one I could find in English … Continue reading The Insulted and Injured
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On getting into position
OK, I finally got my hands on a copy of Theory of Justice. Sorry for the delay. Our previous discussion of Rawls has been fascinating and has gone in a lot of different directions. I have a better sense now of the rational/reasonable distinction that Rawls is employing, and I now recognize that Rawls doesn't … Continue reading On getting into position
Broome on Rawls: A Puzzle
In Parfit's Reasons and Persons, there is an interesting appendix on "Rawlsian Principles" in which the economist and philosopher John Broome raises an objection to Rawls's Difference Principle (an objection apparently inspired by some opening remarks by Parfit). That principle, recall, states that "social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are...to … Continue reading Broome on Rawls: A Puzzle
The Entourage Effect
I usually read "The Way We Live Now" - the occasional essay tucked in to the start of Sunday's New York Times Magazine. It's this "I'm a journalist criticizing something about society but still smugly pretending to be part of it" sort of thing... it's got that "we" that purports to speak for all of … Continue reading The Entourage Effect
American Remakes
A propos of Nates' recent post about the american remake of the Swedish Let The Right One In, a survey question for OPers. Name the top three American remakes of foreign films.
Let Me In
I've just heard that they've made an English version of the Swedish film, Let the Right One In. The original, which David introduced me to, is incredible. It's kind of a vampire coming of age story, but that really doesn't do it justice. If you haven't seen it, you should just go rent it. The … Continue reading Let Me In
Mr. -Bov and the Question of Art
[Since I’ve decided Frank’s book would be perhaps four volumes instead of five if Russian names weren’t so long, from now on, Dostoevsky is going to be D. Nonetheless this entry of mine is quite long – I hope you’ll indulge me. I just had one of those experiences where a book speaks to you … Continue reading Mr. -Bov and the Question of Art
Inception
Coercion is likely to be more effective when the victim doesn't realize he is being coerced. This is one of the main themes in Christopher Nolan's new movie, Inception, which I saw Monday night with high expectations. In Nolan's movie, characters are susceptible to an exotic form of mind-control in which agents infiltrate their dreams … Continue reading Inception
The Village of Stepanchikovo
The Village of Stepanchikovo is the last novel Dostoevsky wrote before completing his military service and returning to St. Petersburg. It's also the first novel that was, to me at least, recognizable Dostoevkyian in the expected sense that the later novels are - it's got a vast array of characters, perhaps even too many, and … Continue reading The Village of Stepanchikovo
Wealthy Society out of Balance?
I thought I ought to follow the example of my fellow original positioners and post from my summer reading list. Today's reading was John K. Galbraith's The Affluent Society (1958). Galbraith begins his famous chapter on the "Theory of Social Balance" with the following claim: "The final problem of the productive society is what it … Continue reading Wealthy Society out of Balance?
Original Positions 