Category: philosophical counseling
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In these unsettled times: a brief case
1. An unsettled time is characterized by the transition from workable habits to new ideas. Ann Swidler distinguishes between settled and unsettled periods. (“Culture in Action: Symbols and Strategies,” American Sociological Review 51 (1986): 273-86.) A “settled culture,” she observes, is defined by “traditions and common sense.” The agent “refines and reinforces skills, habits, modes…
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An image of the Kantian sublime; or, how philosophy gets underway
What are the conditions necessary for philosophy to get under way? An image comes to mind: that of the Kantian sublime. An image of a man standing on the shoreline. He looks out to sea. The water is churning; his discomfort rising. Just now the sky is darkening, the scene ominous and stirring. It’s an…
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On hovering parents & tea-cup children
Best overview I’ve read on helicopter parents. Period. Truly a must-read for all parents raising their children to “be happy” and to avoid disappointment. The paradox? We’re getting tea-cup children and young adults. Article should be read alongside Franzen’s Freedom. Also alongside the literature on “emerging adulthood.” The chief problems with the essay? 1. No…
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A successful life is a plentiful life
my phone a rose ‘no service’ — To say that a life is “successful” is to say, minimally, that: You have access to abundant good food. “Abundant”: just enough, not too much. “Good”: locally grown, ethically raised, sufficiently satisfying. Your work nourishes your soul. “Work”: the manifestation of self through activity. “Nourishes”: makes lighter, raises up,…
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Payment is also love
In the following, I offer a set of norms concerning how money ought to be understood. I also describe where money figures into my overall account of running a way of life business. The fact that, under late capitalism, money is often nasty and brutish does not dissuade or defer me; it can be otherwise; we…
Andrew Taggart, Ph.D. 