Academic Fencing: Review and Counterreview.

Margaret J. Osler‘s recent review of Catherine Wilson‘s new book – Epicureanism at the Origin of Modernity – is feisty to say the least. According to Osler, A good history of Epicureanism in early modern thought would be a welcome addition to the existing literature. Unfortunately, this is a gap that Wilson’s book does not [...]

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The Met To Do Shostakovich’s Nose in 2009-2010

Shostakovich’s Nose is a rather interesting piece of music / opera. It’s rarely performed and there are not too many recordings of it. It’s also quite a listen even for crusty Shostakovich fans, I think (see some videos below). Production is by South African artist William Kentridge – see Kentridge’s images for The Nose here. [...]

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Publishing The Same Article Twice (Or More Times)

You know how all the journals always frighten you with stuff like “must be original work, never published before”? I’m reading Critchley’s essay on Rousseau in the latest Continental Philosophy Review (great essay, I’m thinking of writing something about it on the blog soon) only to discover that it is the exact same essay already [...]

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Zizek at Harvard (Altizer Still Alive?)

The announcement: Harvard Book Store is once again delighted to welcome renowned philosopher and critic SLAVOJ ZIZEK for a discussion of his new book, in which he debates the very meaning of theology, Christ, the Church, the Holy Ghost, universality, and the foundations of logic with theologian John Millbank. In one corner, there stands Zizek, [...]

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Where The Hell Is Bemidji State?

A cool article from Wall Street Journal: WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE WATCHED HOCKEY.

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Rosenzweig and the Systematic Task of Philosophy (New Book)

This looks quite good, but very expensive. It adds to the dearth of secondary literature on Rosenzweig. Well, comparatively. From Cambridge UP: Franz Rosenzweig and the Systematic Task of Philosophy Benjamin Pollock Michigan State University Benjamin Pollock argues that Franz Rosenzweig’s The Star of Redemption is devoted to a singularly ambitious philosophical task: grasping ‘the [...]

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Expectation Heightened, Suddenly Disappears Into Nothing: A Joke.

Justin E. H. Smith has a new post on “gelastics” – “a neologism coined by Mary Beard from the Greek ‘gelan’: ‘to laugh’” – my favorite section is on Kant: Kant is generally held to have offered the most disappointing account of music in the history of philosophy, one that cordons it off to the [...]

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You Thought Your Dean Was Mean.

Read this story: Professor Orhan Kuruüzüm, an academic in the management and economics faculty, was accused of “whistling in the corridor while holding a tea glass” and “continuing to whistle until he entered his room” earlier this month. The deputy dean of the faculty, Professor Şafak Aksoy, filed the complaint. A professor from the agriculture [...]

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Institute For Creation Research.

It does exist and it is not studying “creation” as in “creativity” – it is studying “creationism” – “does God exist?” you wonder – wonder no more:  While absolute proof of the existence of God cannot be realized by any human being, the great weight of evidence, when rationally evaluated, clearly balances the scales heavily in favor [...]

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Thinking Oneself Into A System

Is anyone working on translating Maimon’s Versuch uber die Transzendentalphilosophie? I think someone should, it’s a pity that this book is not available in English:  “I had now resolved to study Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, of which I had often heard but  which I had never seen. The method, in which I studied this work, was [...]

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