Category: aphorisms
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On New York, a philosophical city
New York is a philosophical city, a city of love and strife, of ruthless ambition and holy luck, of fluid social mobility and clotted social distinctions. Here there is refinement which is then papered over by the new nouveau riche. And there is always the new nouveau riche: the barbarians supplanting the decadents. A philosophical…
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On graceful exits
The virtue of leaving gracefully: of knowing when it’s time and of saying your adieus. The same is true of death.
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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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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.
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On the business of busyness, part 2
Aphorisms 1. The one stuck waiting thinks he’s the better person. The one running late knows she’s the better fuck. 2. What would Kant have said about the almost-promise? “First, I shall make an almost-promise with the goal of almost-promoting my own well-being. Second, everyone shall make almost-promises with the goal of almost-promoting nobody’s well-being.”…
Andrew Taggart, Ph.D. 