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EdenicFaithful

Dark Wizard of Ravenclaw

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joined 2022 September 04 18:50:58 UTC 

				
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EdenicFaithful


								

								

								
								
								

								
							
					
 
				


				
Dark Wizard of Ravenclaw

				
				
				

				

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					joined 2022 September 04 18:50:58 UTC
				


				
					

					
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User ID: 78


					
					
					
				

			


					

						
					



		

	

 











			
			

			
			

			




	


		

			
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				Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 26, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So, what are you reading?


I'm picking up Zurayk's The Meaning of the Disaster, which established the term Nakba (ie. the disaster) related to the Palestinians. I've seen it mentioned several times in articles by pro-Israel writers, typically to point out that the "disaster" was that Arab countries failed in their war against Israel, and not just the unprovoked displacement of the Palestinians. I wondered how the source text itself would read.


It is refreshing to read a foreign opinion on the topic, however dated. One does wonder if his take on international Jewry, which reads a lot like conspiracy theories of the West, was an indigenous one born from dealing with the West from the outside, or an imported one.


Also picking up Herzl's The Jewish State.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 19, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Yeah, it gets sidetracked often in its unabridged form between the prison and the finale. If you cut out the pointless parts, it's a good mix of entertainment, villainy and moral posturing. It's a guilty pleasure which is high-minded enough that it stands out in the crowd.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 19, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So, what are you reading?


I'm going through Fedorov's Common Task, which has been a pleasant surprise. It's delightfully eclectic, and something in its sharpness is compelling.




A truly moral being does not need compulsion and repeated orders to perceive what his duty is- he assigns to himself his task and prescribes what must be done for those from whom he has become separated, because separation (whether voluntary or not) cannot be irreversible.




				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of November 13, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Some of their efforts are going to be put towards rolling back DEI and fixing the homogeneity of news media after the way this has been reported. A lot of heavy-handed rhetoric is being thrown around but there's still the question of what can realistically be done which will define how things shake out in the end.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 12, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So, what are you reading?


Still on Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth. Decolonization is apparently a process of sweeping away the old- such as cheiftains, who only colonialists prop up- and creating a nation based purely on the material nature of the land and people (hence Fanon's insistence on re-evaluation of available resources rather than using already-existing channels).


Reparations will come because of the market, which makes capitalist forces either tear each other apart because of the surplus of competition after losing a foreign market, or help newly decolonized nations on their terms (assuming they stand fast). It sounds a little odd. After forcing settlers out by any means, they then lay claim to money which remains in foreign hands, but must not co-operate, but wait until the money comes begging. Fanon likened it to war reparations for WWII, and what is most interesting is that there is not a word about angling for prosecutions of crimes such as tortures.


Also picking up Federov's What Was Man Created For? The Philosophy of the Common Task. It's billed as a Christian precursor to transhumanism, which is bound to be interesting. In the words of Tolstoy:




He has devised a plan for a common task for humanity, the aim of which is the bodily resurrection of all humans. First, it is not as crazy as it sounds (don't worry, I do not and never have shared his views, but I have understood them enough to feel capable of defending them against any other beliefs of a similar material nature). Secondly, and most importantly, because of these beliefs he leads the purest Christian life...He is sixty, a pauper, gives away all he has, is always cheerful and meek.'




				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of November 6, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
That was a mistake. Hobbit 2 was close to greatness, and 3 was tolerable. Both were considerably better than 1. It isn't the book, but it was worth it.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 5, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So, what are you reading?


Still on Fanon's Wretched. Not much progress.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 29, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So far, mixed feelings on The Wretched of the Earth. After reading Sartre's haphazard preface, which bounced from discreditably vicious to euphorically well-written (and admittedly thought-provoking, disconcerting in its assurance of the reader's guilt), Fanon's somewhat more restrained tone is welcome.


Fanon had actual experience in the matters he wrote about, so I'm sure there's some insight here, but I must admit some mild surprise that this often reads like just another pseudo-socialist psychoanalysis. There's so many assumptions involved that one wonders if it ever coheres outside of a narrow interpretation in the context of academic tropes.


In its most basic level, it seems to be arguing that 1. The colonized need a space free from the colonizing culture which purports to be supported by universal values, 2. Various dehumanizing (emasculating?) neuroses take root so long as violent impulses are displaced away from rather than focused towards the colonizer where (he claims) said violence originated, and 3. Since the sole and overriding goal is decolonization, whatever furthers that, even violence, is legitimate. There's a lot more going on that I haven't wrapped my mind around yet, such as his thoughts on how to prevent a revolution from reaching a "reactionary" end, or his analysis of native superstitions.


Unless I'm misinterpreting it, there isn't a one-to-one match with what he writes about and what's going on in Israel. If anything, one wonders what Fanon would say about a permanent state of independently reinforced anger with a theological bent. Furthermore, the question of a realistic endgame can't be ignored if one wishes to invoke Fanon's arguments.


I had the impression before reading that this book was about something like "reclaiming psychological dignity through violence," and while that aspect is present, it definitely isn't a sufficient summary. Fanon's belief in the power of a resistance which faces a seemingly superior force was based on a theory of the colonizer's motives and material needs which constrains his possible reactions, not on psychological factors alone, and it is unclear to me what a similar analysis would say about Israel.


For now, I'm withholding judgement, and wondering what Fanon might say were he alive.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 29, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So, what are you reading?


Still on The Wretched of the Earth. Thoughts below.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 22, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So, what are you reading?


I'm picking up Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth. It has been on the backlog for years.


Paper I'm reading: Dombrink's The Touchables: Vice and Police Corruption in the 1980's.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 15, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So, what are you reading?


I'm going through Plato's Protagoras. Have been reading about the sophists recently.


Paper I'm reading: Crombe and Nagl's A Call to Action: Lessons from Ukraine for the Future Force.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 8, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So, what are you reading?


Still on Paradise Lost. It's incredibly boring whenever the good guys are talking.


Paper I'm reading: Csiszar's Seriality and the Search for Order: Scientific Print and its Problems During the Late Nineteenth Century


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 1, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So, what are you reading?


Still on Paradise Lost. Satan always knows what to say.


Also starting Lord Chesterfield's Letters to his Son, which has been very worthwhile. He's a man both clever and decent, and he writes plainly about things that clever people often don't say. It also has gems like




Adieu! and be persuaded that I shall love you extremely, while you deserve it; but not one moment longer.




I don't think he meant it, but it must have been something to get these letters.


Paper I'm reading: Podgorski's Dynamic Conservatism.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 24, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So, what are you reading?


I'm still on Paradise Lost. So far God isn't coming off well and Jesus sounds harebrained. On the other hand, Satan seems to have unfortunate ideas about what to do with humanity, which feels personal.


Paper I'm reading: Magnus' Science and Rationality for One and All.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 17, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I think front-page submissions need to be manually approved by mods, or perhaps it needed manual approval because you're a new account. It's showing up now.


Submission statements are for link posts. You don't need one for something you wrote yourself. You would just put something which explains what the link is in the text field.


Welcome!


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 17, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So, what are you reading?


Still on Paradise Lost. In my opinion, all epic poetry should be printed as prose. It reads well reformatted. So far it's hard to think of it as a cautionary tale, though this dubious crowd of lost gods do not inspire full confidence.




Who overcomes by force, hath overcome but half his foe.




Paper I'm reading: The follow-up paper from Quandt et al., Dark participation: Conception, reception, and extensions.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 10, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So, what are you reading?


I'm going through Milton's Paradise Lost. Has been on the backlog for a while.


Paper I'm reading: Quandt's Dark Participation.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 3, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Gundam is about the psychic Newtypes, and the fate of empathy which transcends the factions of war.


If you're short on time, Char's Counterattack is the quickest way to get the flavour of it, however, you will be spoiling the original series. I don't know if it would meet your standards of intellectual, anyways.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 3, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So, what are you reading?


I'm picking up the I-Ching, or the Book of Changes, Wilhelm-Baynes translation. I recently learned that it had a lot of philosophizing in it- not just the divination system.


Paper I'm reading: Simon's The Science of Design: Creating the Artificial.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 27, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So, what are you reading?


Still on a reread of Watts' The	Way of Zen. Still in the preliminaries. The books gets interesting after all the historical stuff.


Paper I'm reading: Goldman's A Causal Theory of Knowing.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 20, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So, what are you reading?


I'm rereading Watts' The Way of Zen. It's one of the most profound books I've read, though it is an idiosyncratic view of Zen, which he admits. This time I'm taking notes.


Paper I'm reading: Riskin's The Naturalist and the Emperor, a Tragedy in Three Acts; or, How History Fell Out of Favor as a Way of Knowing Nature.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 13, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So, what are you reading?


I'm still on Herzog's Citizen Knowledge. It's a good primer for knowledge debates in recent times, and the references are great.


Paper I'm reading: Hannon's Are knowledgeable voters better voters?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 6, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So, what are you reading?


I'm still on Herzog's Citizen Knowledge. I haven't read far enough to say much, but some opposing intuitions have started to surface. How she deals with the independence of expertise will make or break the argument.


Her overall approach is insightful, so this may be a good read regardless.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 30, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So, what are you reading?


I'm still on Herzog's Citizen Knowledge. I can't say I care much for the discussions of actual events, but there are a lot of interesting references, and its position is very clearly written.


I'm also reading papers found in New Directions in the Ethics and Politics of Speech, edited by J.P. Messina (also open access). Currently, Cohen and Cohen's The Possibility and Defensibility of Nonstate "Censorship." This collection at least seems much more self-aware of censorship issues raised in recent times.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 23, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So, what are you reading? (Another book thread in the Fun Thread here)


I'm starting Lisa Herzog's Citizen Knowledge. It isn't out yet, but there's a PDF online, and will be open access when it comes out on September 1st. It looks like a mainstream yet academic take on the misinformation debate. I've recently been taken by a desire to learn how these people who say they know so much think (I mean this with only some sarcasm- these people do know a lot which I don't).


Paper I'm reading: Bannister's "The Survival of the Fittest is our Doctrine": History or Histrionics?




I think I've misinterpreted Kendi on "whiteness." It seems fair to give him the last word:




And yet racist power thrives on anti-White racist ideas- more hatred only makes their power greater. When Black people recoil from White racism and concentrate their hatred on everyday White people, as I did freshman year in college, they are not fighting racist power or racist policymakers. In losing focus on racist power, they fail to challenge anti-Black racist policies, which means those policies are more likely to flourish. Going after White people instead of racist power prolongs the policies harming Black life. In the end, anti-White racist ideas, in taking some or all of the focus off racist power, become anti-Black. In the end, hating White people becomes hating Black people.




He also says there's nothing wrong with white culture, only the "cultures of modern imperialism and racial capitalism."




To be antiracist is to never mistake the global march of White racism for the global march of White people.