How I Write by Bertrand Russell I cannot pretend to know how writing ought to be done, or what a wise critic would advise me to do with a view to improving my own writing. The most that I can do is to relate some things about my own attempts. Until I was twenty-one, I […]
Bertrand Russell’s “How I Write” — text Read More »
In my Introduction to Philosophy course this week we are reading and discussing The Fountainhead, a great novel on the themes of independence and integrity. In Part One, Rand’s primary purpose is to contrast the characters Howard Roark and Peter Keating. Here is a table (click to enlarge) summarizing the main events in each young
The Fountainhead (Introduction to Philosophy this week) Read More »
A striking quotation about Aristotle’s Poetics and its contemporary relevance. Pixar Animation Studios is one the great technical and financial successes in the movie industry. Early in its development, two individuals who were to be instrumental to that success, John Lasseter and Pete Docter, knew that story-telling and not just techical wizardry was essential to
Aristotle at Pixar Animation Studios Read More »
Here is a clear example of zero-sum thinking, this time in literature. Author Lynn Shepherd laments J. K. Rowling’s publishing another book, on the grounds that the successful writer crowds out the less successful. In Shepherd’s words: “It wasn’t just that the hype was drearily excessive, or that (by all accounts) the novel was no
Zero-sum economics? J. K. Rowling edition Read More »
I have only two questions: 1. Would Shakespeare feel the need to shoot a portrait of Burroughs? 2. Would he find it amusing? Defacing others’ work is a recurring theme in modern and postmodern art: “Picasso took one of Matisse’s portraits of his daughter—and used it as a dartboard, encouraging his friends to do the
Shooting Shakespeare–novelist William Burroughs Read More »
I’ve been enjoying Qiu Xiaolong‘s series of mystery novels set in Shanghai in the 1990s. One thing I like is Xiaolong’s ability to recreate a culture in transition, with characters of the generation of the Cultural Revolution interacting with characters of the liberalizing and modernizing generation. Early in the Death of a Red Heroine, the
Dancing in communist China Read More »
I have a co-authored article (in English) forthcoming in a Polish academic journal. My co-author is Przemysław Zientkowski of Nicholas Copernicus University. Dr. Zientkowski has just published a book (in Polish) on the critique of human rights in Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy. So if your Polish is up to speed, check it out.
Zientkowski on Nietzsche and human rights Read More »
This post lists 71 interesting facts about Tennessee Williams, in honor of the 71 years of his life. Item 19 is: “I don’t believe in individual guilt. I don’t think people are responsible for what they do. We are products of circumstances that determine what we do. That’s why I think capital punishment’s an outrage.”
Tennessee Williams on the death penalty Read More »