Steven Pinker does not like Nietzsche. The following exchange–in an interview with the Times Literary Supplement makes this clear: Question: Which author (living or dead) do you think is most overrated? Pinker: Friedrich Nietzsche. It’s easy to see why his sociopathic ravings would have inspired so many repugnant movements of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries,Continue reading “Steven Pinker Should Read Some Nietzsche For Himself”
Tag Archives: rhetoric
An Ode To The Semicolon
I discovered semicolons in the fall of 1992. I had asked–on a lark of sorts–to read a term paper written by my then-girlfriend, who was taking a class in literary theory at New York University. In it, I noticed a ‘new’ form of punctuation; I had seen the semicolon before, but I had not seenContinue reading “An Ode To The Semicolon”
Jerry Fodor And Philosophical Practice
I wrote a short post on Facebook today, making note of the passing away of Jerry Fodor: Much as I admired Fodor’s writing chops, I deplored the way he did philosophy. The stories of his ‘put-downs’ and sarcastic, ironic, ‘devastating’ objections, questions, or responses in seminars always left me feeling like this was not howContinue reading “Jerry Fodor And Philosophical Practice”
The Bollywood War Movie And The Indian Popular Imagination
In 1947, even as India attained independence from colonial subjugation, war broke out in Kashmir as guerrillas backed by Pakistan sought to bring it into the Pakistani fold. That war ended in stalemate after intervention by the UN. Since then, the fledgling nation of India has gone to war four more times: first, in 1962,Continue reading “The Bollywood War Movie And The Indian Popular Imagination “
A Modest Proposal To Cull The Human Herd
Feeding the elderly and the young i.e., the economically unproductive, is a terribly wasteful, irrational enterprise–programs like Meals on Wheels and after-school lunches are but the most glaring instances of this catastrophically misdirected act of charity; acts like these will never produce any tangible, meaningful results like an increase in the Gross Domestic Product orContinue reading “A Modest Proposal To Cull The Human Herd”
The Inseparability Of The Form And Content Of Arguments
Is it more important for philosophers to argue well than it is to write well? Posed this way, the question sets up a false dichotomy for you cannot argue well without writing well. Logic is not identical with rhetoric, but the logical form of an argument cannot be neatly drawn apart from its rhetorical component.Continue reading “The Inseparability Of The Form And Content Of Arguments”
Trump Campaign Rallies And Presidential Imagery
Donald Trump kicked off the 2020 election season with a campaign rally in Florida last night. These campaign rallies enable Trump to keep lines of communication–besides his Twitter account–open to his faithful; they rejuvenate his ego, one presumably battered by the endless ridicule heaped on him by his political opponents; they enable him to switch fromContinue reading “Trump Campaign Rallies And Presidential Imagery”
Sporting Ability Does Not Correlate With Virtue: The Superbowl Confirmation
It was pretty easy cheering against the New England Patriots yesterday. I’m a New York Giants fan, and the Giants specialize in breaking Patriot hearts, in shattering Patriot dreams–think Superbowl XLII and Superbowl XLVI; the Patriots are a New England team, and New Yorkers dislike all New England teams; the Patriots and their coach, BillContinue reading “Sporting Ability Does Not Correlate With Virtue: The Superbowl Confirmation”
Fighting The Gorsuch Nomination Is A Lost Battle; Fight It Anyway
Rather predictably, news of the Gorsuch nomination to the US Supreme Court has been greeted by considerable head-scratching among Democratic Party–and associated progressive–circles: should we fight or should we roll over, keeping the proverbial powder dry for the next battle? ‘Pragmatism’ and ‘realism’ apparently bid us to not fight this already lost battle, to notContinue reading “Fighting The Gorsuch Nomination Is A Lost Battle; Fight It Anyway”
The Trump-Bannon Executive Order ‘Strategy’ And Its Rhetorical Value
The flurry of executive orders signed by Donald Trump since January 20th was designed to accomplish several objectives. First, on attaining office, establish continuity between the ‘campaigning candidate Trump’ and ‘President Trump’ by acting to ‘implement’ the most visible campaign trail promises–the ones packing the most rhetorical punch. This should be done without regard toContinue reading “The Trump-Bannon Executive Order ‘Strategy’ And Its Rhetorical Value”
Samir Chopra 