My wife, Ruth, took a course about pragmatism this last semester at HILR, the life-long learning program we both attend. The last person they discussed was the philosopher and neo-pragmatist, Richard Rorty. I have admired Rorty and have often cited his work. His claim that solidarity with all human beings is the fundamental underpinning of a liberal society resonates with my arguments that care is the essential relationship to enact. It is also consistent with the mastery of the right brain. In the course of our conversations, she pointed me to an article about him in the Los Angeles Review… Read More
Continue ReadingChange Is Needed, But What and How?
I subscribe to a lot of stuff, but two list-serves stand out: SCORAI and GTI. The first is an acronym for Sustainable Consumption Research and Action Initiative. SCORAI, founded in 2008, is an international knowledge network of researchers and practitioners committed to advancing sustainability by focusing on societal patterns of consumption. SCORAI recognizes that technological innovation alone is insufficient to achieve sustainability; changes are required in societal institutions, cultures, and economic systems. SCORAI’s mission is to facilitate a transition to a more sustainable society by generating knowledge that impacts discourse and supports change agents. The second, The Great Transition Initiative,… Read More
Continue ReadingMore Politics and the Brain
I was reading the latest issue of the New York Review of Books today, fixated on an article by Adam Tooze on four recent books, all about the precarious state of western democracy. I haven’t read any of them, but had seen references to them. I found Tooze’s critique very thoughtful and even-handed. But that’s not what I want to write about. The following quote jumped out at me. Trump exposes starkly what the civility of Obama and his administration obscured—the subordination of American democracy to capitalism, patriarchy, and the iniquitous racial order descended from slavery. Tooze was arguing that… Read More
Continue ReadingBirthday Thoughts
Another birthday for me, today. A beautiful spring day after several weeks of gloomy weather. Nature is celebrating my birthday. Earlier this week I sent back my book manuscript with corrections to the queries from the copyeditor. Surprisingly few. This is the last step before it gets type set and I get one more look before it goes to the printer. It has been so long in getting to this point that I have forgotten some of the details. But not too bad for an octogenarian. The Boston Globe’s main oped piece today was a critique of happiness as the… Read More
Continue ReadingShould I Run?
I never thought much about running for President. For most of my life, the White House was out of reach, given my being Jewish. I did have one brush with such a calling when one of my first wife’s many cousins suggested that I should become President of their cousin’s club. I did not throw my hat, maybe it was a yarmulke, into the ring. But now, some 60 years later, the thought crosses my mind. After all, since 2016, the American dream of anyone, however unqualified, becoming President has been realized. I have looked carefully at the rapidly growing… Read More
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