The Human Condition
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Honor as a Destructive Recognition Fantasy
The word 'honor' has mostly positive connotations for us–it's a good thing to be a man of honor, or to give one's word of honor. But I've always thought there was something fishy about honor and the honor culture from which it originates–it seemed to be too concerned with reputation and public perception rather than
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Whither King Laius?
It’s now boring to be a rebel — or, rather, rebels have become boring. When everyone from cashiers at Rite Aid to associate humanities professors to seemingly every single NBA star has a pierced nose or face, ironic clothing item, an elaborate tattoo and disproportionately strong opinions; when multinational corporations selling hamburgers, potato chips and
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Man Up
[This is an encore post from March 2005. I put it up because it relates to what I've writing about Humanity 3.0, and might provoke further discussion about it along a different track. Check the comments for a further elaboration on this idea.] Last week I put up an excerpt of an interview with Stephen Ducat in
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Deneen on In Loco Parentis
Deneen's most recent post is about the Feds getting tough on colleges and universities regarding sexual assault. He makes the case that this is the inevitable result of abolishing in loco parentis rules on college campuses (I"m old enough to remember parietals), which have created a vacuum that the state, a la Hobbes, must fill: In effect,
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On the ‘Sensus Communis’
Of this Word's being forever do men prove to be uncomprehending, both before they hear and once they have heard it. For although all things happen according to this Word, they are like the unexperienced experiencing words and deeds such as I explain when I distinguish each thing according to its nature and show how
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Corpus Christi: A Holy Week Meditation
Palm Sunday, 2014 I'm finding that I have less and less in common with most Catholics I know–particularly the ones in the management class–because they have become so Protestantized. By that I mean, to stereotype somewhat, overly literal, overly moralistic, and lacking anything that remotely resembles a sacramental sensibility. We Americans whether churched or unchurched,