How did Beethoven become Beethoven? “The ‘personality’ of such a man as Beethoven is a slowly developed synthetic whole. It is formed by the gradual combination of its constituent elements into an organic unity. For the development of a personality a rich and profound inner life is necessary, and for that reason it is usually […]
Creative geniuses as selfish — Beethoven version Read More »
I understand the temptation to read Michel Foucault as a kind of Libertarian, with all of his attacks on oppressive powers. Or as a kind of ultra-cynical Public Choice theorist, with all his revelations of the sausage-making processes of culture and politics. Yet it’s important to recognize that, for Foucault, liberation is an impossibility. We
Foucault: It’s never about liberation Read More »
When a newly prominent politician says “We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism,” my first thought is to ask: What do the cold/hot feeling metaphors mean to him? Individualism conceptually means: I am my unique self, I decide and act independently, I take full responsibility for my life. To
Frigid and Warm feelings in politics Read More »
I read Inside Steve’s Brain, by Leander Kahney, a compelling business biography of Steve Jobs and Apple. Jobs is a business genius by all accounts (and regularly a jerk on the job, by most accounts). Why has Jobs been so successful as an innovating entrepreneur? One factor is knowing clearly whether consumers or producers drive
Steve Jobs and innovation in business and art Read More »
From a 2000 review of a biography of A. J. Ayer, describing the response to the young hotshot’s 1936 Language, Truth and Logic: “It was one of those books that galvanize a whole generation. Ambitious undergraduates commonly read it at a sitting. Their elders were appalled. When students tried to discuss the book at an
Original thinkers’ contemporaries: A.J. Ayer edition Read More »
Reprising this post on Zeev Sternhell, an ally in the battle against the nihilism of the Anti-Enlightenment and its heirs. His book is written for scholars, but note this ringing conclusion: “To prevent the people of the twenty-first century from sinking into a new ice age of resignation, the Enlightenment vision of the individual as
Sternhell on the Enlightenment vision Read More »
In 1869, young Friedrich Nietzsche became a professor of classical philology at the University of Basel in Switzerland. The university’s professors of philosophy told their students not to take Nietzsche’s courses, arguing that he was not really a philosopher and a lightweight. As one scholar relates the tale: “For a time, Nietzsche, then professor of
Original thinkers’ contemporaries: Nietzsche edition Read More »
Related: Scrooge’s Hero Journey and the Meaning of Life (text). Audio version below:
Naughty Santa collection Read More »