Month: May 2011
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Montaigne the philosopher
When Montaigne retired to his tower and started scrawling quotes on the ceiling, his only plan was to surround himself with his friends. Then he got the idea of writing the quotes down, then he began commenting on them, then musing about them and mulling them over, and finally, as if by accident, his scribblings…
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One perfect sentence
My friend R: I’m with Stanley Fish. My goal for what’s left of my life is to write one perfect sentence. Me: It’d be nice, before I die, if I could write one decent sentence. I’m afraid I’ve gotten quite good at writing piles of middling ones.
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On drinks, on driving, on Plato, on life with Robert Rowland Smith
Last night I had cocktails with Robert Rowland Smith, who’s in town promoting his book, Driving with Plato. Back up because I’ve already fudged things a bit: I had cocktails, and he had beer. There we are. Temple Bar. Noho. The darkness, as you walk into Temple Bar, is seductive and complete. The figure greeting…
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The life need of philosophy
Update: You can also read the following at Huffington Post. — A manifesto We know what a hammer is used for: it is used to pound in nails. When we need to pound in nails, we open the drawer, pull out the hammer, and use it for its intended purpose. In building our lives, hammers…
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Art vs. philosophy: An antinomy
A: Art’s better than philosophy. For art comes in the nick of time while philosophy comes a moment too late. B: Philosophy’s better than art. For while art raises life up for a moment, philosophy raises it up for eternity.
Andrew Taggart, Ph.D. 