thoughts in and out of season
In Pro and Contra Will S. asked about political crusades being called “wars” in America. William James’s 1906 essay on The Moral Equivalent of War shows the idea’s been around for a while.
I suppose another topic would be political wars being called “crusades”—Eisenhower’s book Crusade in Europe would be an example.
Sex is a basic principle of personal identity and social organization, continuity and cohesion. Those who say sexual love is “bigger than both of us” are more right than they know. Since sex helps constitute our world and make us what we are, we cannot reduce it to something we define for ourselves as we … More ...
Modernity is not adequate to reality. In the manner of Descartes, it insists on building larger truths from smaller propositions already known to be true. It extends that insistence from questions of truth to questions of existence, and insists that there can be “cranes” but no “skyhooks”—atoms but no God—and so in effect that convenience … More ...
Liberalism is the victorious form of political modernity. As a modern tendency, it treats human will as the source of value and tries to rationalize all things by reference to it as the standard. What distinguishes it from other modern tendencies is that it treats every will as equal. Its ultimate goal, therefore, is to … More ...
Modernity is based on a system of knowledge that starts with logic and clear and unquestionable truths and out of those things claims to construct all we can know. Such an approach to knowledge severely limits what we can recognize as real, and thus profoundly affects our view of what there is and what we … More ...
What is conservatism? Is it simply keeping things the same, so that Brezhnev was “conservative?” Or is there a more principled basis for it, one that can support enduring positions that deepen rather than collapse when attacked, and on occasion even call for radical change?
Traditionalist conservatism takes its stand on principle. It opposes philosophical … More ...
A Massachusetts state representative has indicted Chief Justice Marshall for violations of the Massachusetts Code of Judicial Conduct in connection with the “gay marriage” case. The story of how Mrs. Lewis acted out her judicial ideals is worth reading. I’m told that such an indictment is the first step in an impeachment proceeding.
In fact, … More ...
One to keep for reference: a survey of political attitudes among journalists. Some evident points:
It’s good to know the basic principles of the legal order under which one lives. One principle that’s so self-evidently persuasive that it applies even when the only relevant legal provisions anyone ever agreed to are to the contrary, is that there’s a fundamental right to wait until a child is almost born, puncture its … More ...
This story is absolutely routine, so the Irish Examiner doesn’t bother with any discussion: EU tells Ireland to reform childcare and gender equality. The basic point is that in accordance with EU standards and initiatives the Irish government is to provide almost half a billion Irish pounds for childcare and place a renewed emphasis … More ...