April 2014
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Israel, A Revolution of the Mind
Jonathan Israel, A Revolution of the Mind (Princeton UP, 2010). This book is based on lectures Israel gave at Oxford in 2008 in honor of Isaiah Berlin. The overall aim is to show how modern democracy emerged from the tension between Moderate Enlightenment and Radical Enlightenment. The chief maxim of Radical Enlightenment is “that all… Continue reading
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Reflections on academic administration
I’m just ending my second foray into academic administration. The first one was serving as department head over a department including philosophy, communications studies, and all of our foreign language programs. It was a terrific exercise in mental and emotional flexibility – at one point I was adjudicating a dispute between a faculty member and a staff assistant… Continue reading
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Hume and the expedition to Canada
In 1746, Hume returned to London after touring Europe as tutor and caretaker of the mad Marquess of Annendale. He was not sure what was next in his life. He was already 35 and somewhat ashamed of not having yet made a career for himself. He resolved to return to Scotland, but at the last… Continue reading
Huenemanniac 