Prison Ethics

I'm currently reading Dostoevsky's prison memoir, The House of the Dead. I'll have more to say about it when I finish (though my progress has slowed substantially since restarting gainful employment for the fall). So for now I'm just asking a question, one posed in the opening section of D's 1861 work. ... it seems … Continue reading Prison Ethics →

On the Idea of Public Justification

Given our preceding discussion of Rawls’ intended scope for his theory of justice as fairness, I thought it might be useful to say a bit more about his idea of public justification. First, a bit of groundwork. Rawls writes at the beginning of Political Liberalism, “Justice as fairness starts from within a certain political tradition … Continue reading On the Idea of Public Justification →

A Nasty Anecdote

One of the most memorable episodes from Don Quixote, one which in fact I blogged about in this space a few years ago, involves Quixote’s visit to a farm. He and Sancho happen upon a peasant being abused by his overseer. The peasant describes a tale of woe to Quixote; Quixote in exchange offers to … Continue reading A Nasty Anecdote →

The Insulted and Injured

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 →

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 →