No. 25: The contemplative life, provincialism, and sockpuppets

Aristotle/Dickens/Fitzgerald/Kant/King/Luther/Moliere/Plato/Proust/Russell/Shakespeare/Tolstoy/

Here's some things other people have been writing. My own opinions probably differ.

Kant’s categorical imperative shows up in a discussion about whether it was right for early reddit to have “sockpuppet” accounts. news.ycombinator

King spoke against Vietnam war for the sake of peace. So do I today look for a cease-fire in Gaza. jacobin

Proust once answered a list of questions that became known as the “Proust Questionnaire”. Its often used by interviewers and was in this interview of Baz Luhrmann. Turns out he’s a fan of Moliere, Fitzgerald, Tolstoy and Shakespeare. vanityfair

Dickens looked down on “inferior” races, notably those in colonial India. Europe in general, says Baldwin, cared little for the liberty of the people in their colonies, noting that that sort of humanism “seemed to expire at the European gates. That dissonance echoes loudly today for Americans who deny their role in the Hamas-Israeli war. nplusonemag

Luther never said “It is better to be ruled by a wise Turk than a foolish Christian.”, but it still captures how I feel about Mitt Romney. Still, religious differences matter, especially when they pertain to sinfulness. thefederalist

Plato and Aristotle thought a life of contemplation was the best sort. Over two millenia later Russell agreed in his essay In Praise of Idelness where he said “immense harm is caused by the belief that work is virtuous”. Maybe we ought to step away from it all. aeon.co