Gary, very interesting about Strauss and his influence on politics.
I have been trying to learn more about him and it seems he was not a radical or subversive, on the contrary, he was a philosopher and an excellent teacher of philosophy. >>> What he aspired to teach, more than anything else, was a new way of reading, a way of reading that makes old books come alive. <<<
groups.yahoo.com
freelance-academy.org
I am always impressed with people who respect the historic roots of their particular field because, IMO, it gives a dimension to their thinking which, otherwise, cannot be achieved. It also shows they respect the "masters" of their profession, which I like, because I feel if children don't respect their parents then they don't respect themselves.
On quite another tack, however, I have to say I am always suspicious of those who base their thinking only on reason, like philosophers, lawyers, mathematicians etc. For me, thinking has to be a balance between the left brain (reason, logic, truth, science, objectivity) and the right brain (feeling, emotion, intuition, art, imagination, subjectivity). Clearly, a suitable balance is often impossible to achieve. That's why I like the stockmarket so much because it demands all one's intellectual resources and, in the end, shows us that we still can't win. |
