From Chapter 8, (‘Doctrines of Statutory Interpretation’), Section 1, A. ‘Textual Canons’, 2 ‘Grammar Canons’, (f) ‘The Golden Rule (Against Absurdity) – and the Nietzsche Rule. of William N. Eskridge, Jr., Philip Fricket, and Elizabeth Garrett, Cases and Materials on Legislation: Statutes and the Creation of Public Policy, Thomson West, American Casebook Series, Saint Paul,Continue reading “Statutory Interpretation, the “Nietzsche Rule”, and Stevens and Scalia in Zuni”
Category Archives: Philosophy
Nietzsche on Olympia Snowe’s Departure From the Senate
Olympia Snowe’s announcement that she would not seek reelection in November 2012 and would instead retire when her third term ends in January 2013 has, understandably, been the cause of much gnashing of teeth among those ostensibly committed to a more tolerant politics and to ‘pragmatism’ in legislation. Snowe herself wrote an Op-Ed in theContinue reading “Nietzsche on Olympia Snowe’s Departure From the Senate”
Black Money, Parallel Economies, Marxism, Corruption, and All That
Corey Robin heard of the term “black money“–untaxed income from under-the-table transactions–for the first time yesterday. (Unsurprisingly, he heard about it from an Indian friend, because if there is one place in the world where there is a lot of it, it’s India.) He was sufficiently intrigued to write a very interesting post, which, inContinue reading “Black Money, Parallel Economies, Marxism, Corruption, and All That”
Allison Arieff on Architecture and Jargon, and Why Ethical Theory Should Listen
Allison Arieff’s article, “Why Don’t We Read About Architecture” (New York Times, March 2nd, 2012), concludes, roughly, that the use of jargon in descriptions of architecture interferes with our appreciation of, and engagement with, the sciences and arts of the ‘built environment’. Arieff’s complaint is a familiar one in bemoaning jargon in fields of writingContinue reading “Allison Arieff on Architecture and Jargon, and Why Ethical Theory Should Listen”
Kraftwerk Makes Us Tell The Truth: We Are The Robots?
Kraftwerk’s The Robots has been an electro-pop classic ever since its release–on Kraftwerk’s classic seventh album, The Man-Machine—in 1978. My brother and I discovered Kraftwerk at roughly the same time, and, like many other schoolboys, quickly became entranced by its revolutionary blend of synthesizers, vocoders, and electronic percussion. Some thirty years on, I still get aContinue reading “Kraftwerk Makes Us Tell The Truth: We Are The Robots?”
Lawrence’s Rainbow Still Glistens
So much has been written about DH Lawrence‘s The Rainbow that further commentary is perhaps superfluous, but possible redundancy has never been much of an influence in decisions to write. So here I am, offering my dos pesos. The Rainbow, ostensibly the multi-generation history of the Brangwen family (which continues in Women in Love), isContinue reading “Lawrence’s Rainbow Still Glistens”
The Oscars as Inducers of Cosmic Disillusionment
Many, many years ago, as a mad-about-the-movies young–very young!–lad, I was in the habit of eagerly awaiting the announcement of the year’s Oscars, my cinematic antennae quivering with anticipation as the suspense mounted. My spatio-temporal geographic location being what it was, this enthusiasm manifested itself most visibly in a speedy dash to our front balconyContinue reading “The Oscars as Inducers of Cosmic Disillusionment”
Barbells for America? Crossfit, the Military and War
On any given day, if you were to click over to the Crossfit ‘mainsite’, the chances are you will find a reference to the military in the daily entry. Today, on February 25th, the blog prescribes a ‘Hero workout’ named ‘Zimmermann‘ named after U.S. Marine Corps First Lieutenant James R. Zimmerman, who died in action in Afghanistan.Continue reading “Barbells for America? Crossfit, the Military and War”
Report on Concurring Opinions Symposium on Artificial Agents – II
Today, I’m continuing my wrap-up of the Concurring Opinions online symposium on A Legal Theory for Autonomous Artificial Agents. I’ll be noting below the various responses to the book and point to my responses to them (Part I of this wrap-up was posted yesterday). While almost all respondents seem to have seriously engaged with theContinue reading “Report on Concurring Opinions Symposium on Artificial Agents – II”
Report on Concurring Opinions Symposium on Artificial Agents – I
The Concurring Opinions online symposium on my recently-released book A Legal Theory for Autonomous Artificial Agents (University of Michigan Press, 2011) wrapped up yesterday. The respondents to the book blogged on it from Tuesday till Thursday last week; from Friday till Monday I spent most of my time putting together responses to the excellent responses offered byContinue reading “Report on Concurring Opinions Symposium on Artificial Agents – I”
Samir Chopra 