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The following books by Robert Paul Wolff are available on Amazon.com as e-books: KANT'S THEORY OF MENTAL ACTIVITY, THE AUTONOMY OF REASON, UNDERSTANDING MARX, UNDERSTANDING RAWLS, THE POVERTY OF LIBERALISM, A LIFE IN THE ACADEMY, MONEYBAGS MUST BE SO LUCKY, AN INTRODUCTION TO THE USE OF FORMAL METHODS IN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY.
Now Available: Volumes I, II, III, and IV of the Collected Published and Unpublished Papers.

NOW AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE: LECTURES ON KANT'S CRITIQUE OF PURE REASON. To view the lectures, go to YouTube and search for "Robert Paul Wolff Kant." There they will be.

NOW AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE: LECTURES ON THE THOUGHT OF KARL MARX. To view the lectures, go to YouTube and search for Robert Paul Wolff Marx."





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Sunday, January 7, 2018

THE OLD PHILOSOPHER POSTS A PERSONAL BEST

I  walked for an hour this morning in 7 degree weather.  That is at least five degrees colder than my previous low.  Not bad for eighty-four.

A long time reader and commenter sends me an email remarking, with regard to Trump, that it is very hard to fake being psychotic.  An interesting observation.  

Notice that there are endless reports of those close to Trump describing him as stupid, ignorant, childish, petulant, utterly self-absorbed.  Each quote can be challenged as to its accuracy since they are all unproven.  But there seem to be no reports of those close to Trump describing him as intelligent, knowledgeable, studious, engaged, sober, thoughtful, mature, or caring.

His media defenders attack Michael Wolff, which is rather like attacking the thermometer because it is cold outside.

2 comments:

s. wallerstein said...

I would guess that you (Professor Wolff) and your blog readers sized Trump up fairly well the first time they saw him for 5 minutes or more on TV, in my case, in the Republican primary debates two years ago.

The question then arises about those who voted for Trump.

Do they lack the ability to size him up rapidly as we did? That is disturbing.

However, if they do not lack that ability, if they sized him up as we did and in spite of that voted for him, then that is even more disturbing.

Anonymous said...

Wallerstein, I think they did size him up correctly. He was voted out of spite. They would rather see everyone in ruin than see others progressing. He is a great politician and tactfully tapped into the anger arising in America. You could once get by with just a high school degree, buy an OK home, and have a family. That is no longer the case. Maximizing profits means maximizing competition and many are being left behind wondering why they are sitting in the back of public transit now.