Author Archives: Huenemann

About Huenemann

Curious about the ways humans use their minds and hearts to distract themselves from the meaninglessness of life.

Wisdom from Whitman, Camus, and Mae West

Posted on July 6, 2018

I am a body. I have been “designed”, through mishap and random success in an ever- changing environment, for millions of years. The result is astonishing: a pumping heart, breathing lungs, and a bewildering array of chemical processes that allow … Continue reading →

Posted in Meanings of life / death / social & moral stuff | 1 Comment

Crowd going apeshit

Posted on June 25, 2018

I’m generally not a fan of pop music, but the recent Beyoncé/Jay-Z video really is masterful:   So many difficult questions are held up for reflection, especially for successful producers and consumers of today’s arts. If you are a successful … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Chronic dysfunctions of systems

Posted on June 22, 2018

W. G. Sebald, in Austerlitz: And several times, said Austerlitz, birds which had lost their way in the library forest flew into the mirror images of the trees in the reading room windows, struck the glass with a dull thud, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | 3 Comments

A summer education

Posted on June 18, 2018

Many years ago, I taught a “big ideas” class to a group of summer citizens. These are retired folks who live in Arizona but come up to Logan for the cooler weather in the summer. I taught the course, under … Continue reading →

Posted in This & that in the life of CH | 4 Comments

Review of Sloterdijk by Pieter Lemmens

Posted on June 13, 2018

Thank you to the ever-reading Rick Krause, who forwarded to me this excellent review of Sloterdijk by Pieter Lemmens. An excerpt from his conclusion: …Foams is written in a rich and playful style. His tone is jovial and detached, ironic yet … Continue reading →

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The Challenge of Being Vertical

Posted on June 5, 2018

Sloterdijk, Peter. You Must Change Your Life, translated by Wieland Hoban (Polity, 2013) We construct for ourselves ideals that taunt us, pull us upwards, and change our lives. This is fixed; but the the nature of those ideals, as well … Continue reading →

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A New Liberal Arts

Posted on June 1, 2018

The traditional liberal arts (logic, rhetoric, dialectic, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music) arose for two reasons: to preserve knowledge and to render young men fit for positions of influence. Knowledge had pretty much been wiped out in western Europe with … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical episodes, Items of the academy / learning | 2 Comments