About Rationally Speaking


Rationally Speaking is a blog maintained by Prof. Massimo Pigliucci, a philosopher at the City University of New York. The blog reflects the Enlightenment figure Marquis de Condorcet's idea of what a public intellectual (yes, we know, that's such a bad word) ought to be: someone who devotes himself to "the tracking down of prejudices in the hiding places where priests, the schools, the government, and all long-established institutions had gathered and protected them." You're welcome. Please notice that the contents of this blog can be reprinted under the standard Creative Commons license.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Massimo's picks

* Book suggestion: Kant, A Very Short Introduction

* Rachel Maddow's exposure (again!) of the lameness and hypocrisy of Rush, Newt and Sarah.

* One more op-ed by Paul Krugman on health care. And it's another must-read.

* The Washington Post on why American political discourse has always been crazy!

* Susan Neiman on taking back the language of morality from the distortions of the extreme right.

* New posts also available on my other blog, Gullibility is Bad for You...

2 comments:

  1. On healthcare I would also offer this by George Lakoff. I used it to help me write a letter to the editor countering a fearful letter from a sad citizen:

    http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/08/20

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pearlstein's follow-up Wa.Post chat is equally worth perusal. From the chat:

    Carrying a gun to a political meeting is an obscenity. Anyone who does it, even if they are within their legal rights, should be ashamed. Our founders fought a revolution (and, yes, took up arms) to build a society where political disputes are not settled through force or intimidation--and that's the only purpose of bringing a weapon to a political discussion: to intimidate.

    It is utterly unacceptable, and every politician should have the guts to say so. What worries me is that the people bringing weapons are hoping to have their weapons taken away, forcing a confrontation that will escalate; many of them, after all, quite frankly proclaim them "revolutionaries."


    Some might accuse him of being guilty of violating "Godwin's Law" - actually, one questioner does - but I would note that when you have people showing up at town hall events with a gun on their hip and an assault rifle across the shoulder, promising to "forcefully resist" if some form of public health care passes, you're engaging in anti-democratic behavior, to say the least.

    ReplyDelete

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