William writes:
> Somewere I
> saw the line "The narcissism of minute differences"
> and that is exactly what our list thrives on,
> unhappily.
> WC
>
An excellent quote, William, and though I'd never read it before I
"recognized" the notion immediately. In scholarship you get an early warning of
its
approach when the writer says, "It has not heretofore been sufficiently
appreciated that..." You hear this and you can feel sure the scholar is about
to
announce the likes of a miniscule distinction between his and all other prior
interpretations of a minor poem by a now-forgotten sixteenth-century poet.
And you see such stuff in philosophy journals repeatedly as academics
scramble to find something new to say. Since, in the humanities, the main
subjects
have already been discussed for millenia, this usually means hunting for some
obscure footnote on which they can elaborate and amplify to thesis-length,
during which one can detect the hum of self-congratulation. A little bit like
what
I'm doing in this posting. Oy.
**************
Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family
favorites at AOL Food.
(http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001)
