In Shame and Necessity (Sather Classical Lectures, University of California Press, 2nd ed., 2008, pp. 68-69) writing on the ancient Greeks’ conceptions of responsibility and human agency via the tale of Oedipus, Bernard Williams writes: [T]here is another aspect to responsibility, which comes out if we start on the question not from the response that the publicContinue reading “Sam Harris Should Read Bernard Williams”
Category Archives: Politics
Alan Dershowitz: A Hypocrite Grows In Brooklyn
Alan Dershowitz has long perfected the art of throwing a toddler’s tantrum – especially in his fulminations against the academic freedom that his fellow academics and he himself enjoys. Last year, when Omar Barghouti and Judith Butler spoke at a BDS-themed event at Brooklyn College, our esteemed academic hygienist threw a particularly epic fit. HeContinue reading “Alan Dershowitz: A Hypocrite Grows In Brooklyn”
The ‘Trivial’ Roots Of Resentment
Some three decades ago, I went to buy tickets for a major sports event. I was a teenager, eager to see top-class athletes in action; I woke early, caught a bus to the ticket box-office and joined the long queues that had already formed by the time I arrived. The lines grew and grew; ticketsContinue reading “The ‘Trivial’ Roots Of Resentment”
Of Broken Windows And Broken Spines
It was a dark and stormy night. But I was not swayed by the forces and the voices that commanded me to turn back from this lonely road I had set out on. For I was righteous, and I knew I was on the right path. Yea, for even though I was midway through life’sContinue reading “Of Broken Windows And Broken Spines”
Women In Philosophy And Reconceptualizing Philosophical Method
This past Monday, on 20th April, Christia Mercer, the Gustave M. Berne Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University, delivered the Philosophy Department’s annual Sprague and Taylor lecture at Brooklyn College. The title of her talk was ‘How Women Changed The Course of Philosophy’. Here is the abstract: The story we tell about the development ofContinue reading “Women In Philosophy And Reconceptualizing Philosophical Method”
Of Cricket Fans And Memoirs
Last week, I sent in the draft manuscript for my next book–“a memoirish examination of the politics of cricket fandom”–to the editors at Temple University Press. The book, whose description, not title, I have indicated above, will now be reviewed, revised and then finally rolled off the presses as part of the series Sporting, editedContinue reading “Of Cricket Fans And Memoirs”
Self-Promotion And Failures Of Generosity
Like most authors today, I am expected to hustle a great deal–to ‘market’ my books. I am supposed to set out a shingle on social media–like a Facebook page, or a special Twitter account. I should post news of reviews, flattering things that people have said about my writing, and provide updates on podcasts, interviewsContinue reading “Self-Promotion And Failures Of Generosity”
The Cruelest Cut Of All: Punjabis Are Not White
In 1921, a certain John Mohammed Ali became a naturalized citizen of the US. In 1925, this grant of citizenship was contested (United States v. Ali 7 F.2d 728 (1925) by Martin J. Kilsdonk, a United States naturalization examiner. His affidavit: [A]lleges in substance that said defendant was born in Karpurthala, in the province of Punjab,Continue reading “The Cruelest Cut Of All: Punjabis Are Not White”
Lon Fuller On The Inability Of The Judiciary To Police The Police
In The Morality of Law: Revised Edition (Yale University Press, New Haven, 1969), Lon Fuller writes: In this country it is chiefly to the judiciary that is entrusted the task of preventing a discrepancy between the law as declared and as actually administered. This allocation of function has the advantage of placing the responsibility in practiced hands, subjectingContinue reading “Lon Fuller On The Inability Of The Judiciary To Police The Police”
Melting Glaciers And The End Of Civilization
These are the days of grim warnings about climate change, about an overheated, crowded, polluted planet, slowly cooking in a noxious stew of greenhouse gases, its rivers and oceans clogged with plastic and crude oil, its animals dying, its cities drowning, as floods and famine and hurricane and arctic freezes deliver blow after blow toContinue reading “Melting Glaciers And The End Of Civilization”
Samir Chopra 