Living Out “The Bacchae” (America Burns)
Part I – The Bacchae. According to Friedrich Nietzsche, writing in his Birth of Tragedy (1871), Euripides (480 – 406 BC), whose main activity coincided with the nihilistic destructiveness of the…
Finding Faith in the Manger: Berlioz’s “Infancy of Christ”
The poet Wallace Stevens once wrote that “The major poetic idea in the world is and always has been the idea of God.” One might modify that…
Berlioz, A Reckoning
Many years ago, a reader introduced himself to me outside the Metropolitan Opera House. I already knew of him, for he was a friend of a friend.…
In the Heart of the Heart of Another Country
In the Heart of the Heart of Another Country. Etel Adnan. San Francisco: City Lights Books, 2005. There is one single date in Etel Adnan’s 2005…
The Vain Quest for Certainty in Singer’s Satan in Goray
When asked during numerous interviews about the purpose of literature, Isaac Bashevis Singer, the twentieth century’s best known Yiddish writer, in most cases claimed that he believed…
Advice for Tyrants and the Possibility of the Good Life in Aristotle’s Politics
A close reading of Aristotle’s The Politics presents the political theorist or student of political theory with a range of issues for contemplation and analysis, and consequently…
Order in Chinese Society: Analysing the Insights of Eric Voegelin and the Confucius Chun Tzu (Part II)
In Part I, the philosophical insights of Eric Voegelin were examined in the work of one of China’s greatest literary figures, Lu Xun. One of the most…
Order in Chinese Society: Analysing the Insight of Eric Voegelin and the Twentieth Century Writer, Lu Xun (Part I)
The aim here is to examine the ordering principle in Chinese society drawing on the philosophical insights of Eric Voegelin and one of China’s greatest literary figures…
Classical Modernity
Sometimes one hears the critique that classical music is no longer compatible with modernity. What “modernity” is supposed to mean always remains in darkness, as if the…
The Enduring Presence of the Past
If we put the last century’s notions of “old” and “new” in a broader historic perspective, it becomes clear how short-sighted these notions were and how wrong…
The Myth of Progress in the Arts
In the last century, very often the concept of “progress” was projected upon the arts as a measurement of quality: “good art” was “progressive art.” If an…
Midlife: A Philosophical Guide
Midlife: A Philosophical Guide. Kieran Setira. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2017 Kieran Setira has written an accessible, yet thoughtful book on the existential questions of midlife.…
Machiavelli’s Restrained Violence
The Prince was written by Niccolo Machiavelli during the Renaissance as a guide to rulers. His advice is meant to allow rulers to govern and maintain their…
Constitutional Interpretation as a Defense Against Tyranny
In their debates and considerations regarding the formation of an official constitution, the Framers of the United States Constitution were searching for ways to maintain a strong…
James Madison to Donald Trump: “You’re Fired!”
The Tragic Flaw of the Rule of Law[1] The events of January 6, 2021, on Capitol Hill evoke Hegel’s famous phrase that the Owl of Minerva flies…