"Persecution cannot prevent even public expression of the heterodox truth, for a man of independent thought can utter his views in public and remain unharmed, provided he moves with circumspection. He can even utter them in print without incurring any danger, provided he is capable of writing between the lines."Leo Strauss, "persecution and the art … Continue reading Writing between the lines
philosophy
On the virtue of not knowing (WordPress anniversary repost)
Today I am posting the last (for now) of my reposts from earlier, retired blogs. This post comes from 2010 and is a reflection on Vaclav Havel's thought, then still alive, and comment on the defeat of the masters of the universe in the global financial crisis. As it happens I read Havel's famous long … Continue reading On the virtue of not knowing (WordPress anniversary repost)
Forgetting Foucault
Over recent weeks I have chanced upon a few biographical articles on Michel Foucault. One was an account of Foucault's use of LSD in Death Valley on a road trip with some fellow academics in the 1970s. Another was speculation that in the late 1970s Foucault was too close to neo-liberal ideas that would attack … Continue reading Forgetting Foucault
Fragile identities, fragile memories
It is justice which extracts from traumatizing remembrances their exemplary value, turns memory into a project, and it is this project of justice that gives the form of the future and of imperativeness to the duty of memory Paul Ricoeur Memory, History, Forgetting Some years ago I was asked to prepare one of those profiles of myself that … Continue reading Fragile identities, fragile memories
Hannah Arendt and remembering thought
After listening to an episode of the On Being podcast, titled Thinking and Friendship in Dark Times, I took up the invitation to remember the impact on my own thought of Hannah Arendt. The podcast featured a literary critic who used the mantle of Arendt's thought to criticise approaches to refugees, global capitalism and the … Continue reading Hannah Arendt and remembering thought
The Burning Archive 