Submitted by jbudziszewski on Thu, 12/18/2014 - 00:00

Conversation took an interesting turn with a few lively political philosophy undergrads who liked, or thought they liked, self-government and free markets.

I suggested that institutions such as the republic and the free market can’t function properly without virtue.

They enthusiastically agreed.

I suggested that these institutions cannot provide themselves with virtue – it has to come from somewhere else.

Like schools? they asked.

No, I suggested, schools can’t compensate for disordered families.  At best they reinforce the lessons of sound ones.

Submitted by jbudziszewski on Wed, 12/17/2014 - 00:00

Liberalism is an "upstairs" morality, much as “playing the game" and "good form" used to be in the English upper classes.

Its chief function is to enable our intellectual, professional, and business classes feel virtuous, while at the same time disguising the political mistreatment of the other classes.

Submitted by jbudziszewski on Tue, 12/16/2014 - 00:00

More than once after giving a talk, I’ve been asked, “How did we get into this mess?”  People pose this question in the hope of a simple answer.  There isn’t one.  No one thing got us into this mess; we were brought here by a great many seemingly independent but converging and reinforcing events, over a period of centuries.

Submitted by jbudziszewski on Sun, 12/14/2014 - 00:00

I have a half-baked theory that people in different disciplines are attracted to different kinds of jokes.  Physicists seem to be especially fond of limericks:

There was a young lady from Bright,

Whose speed was much faster than light.

She set out one day

Submitted by jbudziszewski on Sat, 12/13/2014 - 00:00

First freedom meant our noble power of rational and moral self-direction.

Then it meant the mere absence of restraints on our will, so long as we were not violating moral law.

Then it meant the absence of any restraints whatsoever.

Finally it meant the sheer power to act immorally and irrationally, even if the power of rational and moral self-direction were taken from us.

Insofar as this is an illness of the mind, even to recognize its progress is to begin its cure.  Insofar as it is an illness of the heart --

Here the manuscript breaks off.

Submitted by jbudziszewski on Fri, 12/12/2014 - 00:00

If you want to win murmurs of approval, quote Anatole France:  “The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards.”  If you would like to evoke little gasps of admiration, follow up with Albert Einstein:  “It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.  It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry.”

Submitted by jbudziszewski on Thu, 12/11/2014 - 00:00

Bonus Link

Sympathy is merciful compassion for the other person; empathy is feeling what the other person feels.  These two are often confused.  How often have you heard the cynical remark that Mary’s sympathy for Clara is superficial or insincere just because she doesn’t feel what Clara feels?

Submitted by jbudziszewski on Wed, 12/10/2014 - 00:00

 

What we call the U.S. Constitution is really our second constitution.  The first, drafted during the War of Independence, was called the Articles of Confederation.  So the battle over the ratification of the Constitution was not over whether the thirteen colonies should unite, because they were already united.  It was about how to improve their cooperation.

Submitted by jbudziszewski on Tue, 12/09/2014 - 00:00

“Who can give it any definition which would not leave the utmost latitude for evasion?  I hold it to be impracticable; and from this I infer, that its security, whatever fine declarations may be inserted in any constitution respecting it, must altogether depend on public opinion, and on the general spirit of the people and of the government.”