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David Roberts's avatar

Beautifully written and compellingly argued.

But If it's a macaron fraise in the window, I might not wait!

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David A. Westbrook's avatar

Justin,

Very nicely done. A few thoughts.

I'm struggling with publishing another book. The send up of trade books was delicious. As it were.

As it happens, I am writing from Houston, which I too often visit. I thought closing by making an (invariably invidious) comparison with entire peoples was more than a little jarring. Especially since you noted, re Manne on Weil, that charity counts. I would say it is a big part of how the critic establishes authority with the reader. I suppose you could say one ought to have structures, ways of thinking about appetites, even if only in the service of fashion. Just bingeing at Buc--ee's, well, look where that gets you. (I was delighted by the reference, though I find the places painfully overstimulating.)

But I thought you would make the ancient point more directly: the appetites are dangerous. Lust, gluttony, drunkenness -- these things can get you killed. Dionysus is a dangerous god.

I loved this: " entirely within the same Anglo-philistine frame that produced Jeremy Bentham, J. S. Mill, and Peter Singer. All four of them appear to take for granted that there is a single knowable calculus to which we may appeal that can tell us, when weighing up two opposed courses of action, which of the two is “better.” There is an impressive bourgeois optimism . . ." My sentiments entirely.

I have been wondering how this became the house style of philosophy, in the US at any rate, and even among those who do not see themselves as utilitarians. In this view, the point of philosophy seems to be to make things plain, rather than explore the sorts of things toward which Unamuno points. But neither love nor wisdom are plain to see. I'm not sure what Manne is doing should even be called philosophy, though I can't think of another name.

"capable of scanning infinity, yet at the same time, in W. B. Yeats’s words, “strapped to a dying animal.” That’s a tough predicament, no matter how just or unjust our human institutions are, . .. " This is perfect. We live in a time when many people deeply feel that politics is the cause of bad things, and if we can fix politics . . .

Finally, Ross, I note that once again TMR has published an essay more interesting than its subject.

Justin, again, Kudos.

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