Two items:
(1) Two items from this week's nautical news which I have
excerpted and briefly editorialized about on my website
(items #56 and #55 at top of page):
http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/quotes.html
(2) Not nautical, but certainly relevant to the notion of
the fate of "All Souls". I am reading Richard Rorty's little collection
of essays "for a broad audience": _Philosophy and Social Hope_ (Penguin,
1999). It contains two essays which I would heartily
recommend:
(a) "On Heidegger's Nazism", which in a quite
imaginative way brings home the point that a person's
level of virtuousness is in large measure a function of
their luck in life (this should provide a corrective to
a lot of "moral" claptrap from whatever ideological quarter).
(b) "Love and Money", which addresses head-on the
ethical predicament of (my words, not Rorty's:) "us
Europeans" vis-a-vis the overwhelming majority
of the earth's [over-]population. This is a powerful statement,
worthy of inclusion in a syllabus with Garrett Hardin's
"The Tragedy of the Commons".
--
While I was writing the above, I thought of something else:
a Chinese film I saw last week: "King of Masks". It is
a touching (somewhat maudlin?) story, which presents something
I found important [and which relates in an oblique way to
Rorty's essays]: One of the main characters in the film is
a very affected fop actor -- a type of character whom
moralists generally would like to reform if not to torture....
But, when push comes to shove, the actor takes a stand which,
while not exactly grounds for execution, could well impact his
career badly -- and, as happens often in art and sometimes
in life, it works out well for all concerned. Even more
interesting, *before* his moment of decision, in his
ordinary [hyper-refined...] daily life, the actor
genuinely honors a man of little "means" but who is master
of a humble folk art. Being a human[e]ly constructive person and being
a self-indulgent person are not *necessarily* mutually exclusive.
I hope you find some value in these little recommendations.
+\brad mccormick
--
Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16)
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21)
Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / [EMAIL PROTECTED]
914.238.0788 / 27 Poillon Rd, Chappaqua NY 10514-3403 USA
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