tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post6445391040868145076..comments2024-03-29T03:19:09.227-04:00Comments on The Philosopher's Stone: GOLDEN OLDIE NUMBER ONERobert Paul Wolffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-90177283681046791592021-03-17T02:28:28.249-04:002021-03-17T02:28:28.249-04:00David Zimmerman,
In the “grotesquely racist scene...David Zimmerman,<br /><br />In the “grotesquely racist scene on the bus” which you are referring to in Mr. Sammler’s Planet, and throughout the book, Bellow is trying to make a point about the assumption that people who have experienced racism are thereby able to empathize with the oppression of others – that the assumption is not always accurate. Sammler, who is a Holocaust survivor, and therefore one would think could empathize with the persecution of African-Americans, does not. Ethnic groups sometimes focus on the suffering of their own ethnic group, to the exclusion of others, thinking their suffering has been worse. Bellow was not endorsing Sammler’s attitude, but criticizing it. Similar examples occurred during some of the BLM protests in Los Angeles, where some synagogue were defaced with swastikas by people protesting against racism towards Blacks.<br />Samuel Chasenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-76631763357930752092021-03-12T14:07:57.996-05:002021-03-12T14:07:57.996-05:00@ GJ
Insofar as the Chomsky quote is intended to ...@ GJ<br /><br />Insofar as the Chomsky quote is intended to be a criticism/critique not so much of Bloom in particular as of the "great books" approach in general, I doubt that it's a fair representation of the latter. Contrary to what Chomsky suggests, most advocates of putting students through some version or other of a putative canon don't want the students to end up as robots simply regurgitating what they've read.L. F. Coopernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-42580480414673702392021-03-12T10:53:02.573-05:002021-03-12T10:53:02.573-05:00Outstanding parody of Voltaire! Great to remind us...Outstanding parody of Voltaire! Great to remind us that the attitude of the French intelligencia in the run up to the Revolution, with their contempt toward the beliefs of the commoners, and that attempts to reconcile those beliefs with the intellectual tradition should be met with disdain, created fertile ground for the totalitarianisms that made the Ancienne Regime seem mild and liberal. Very timely to bring it up now that the Right has fully embraced the hint that dialogue is futile, that the University has no place for them, and that the very idea of republican government is impossible with an establishment that treats them only with contempt. I only wish that Bloom's clarion call had met with as much understanding in the academy as you show in your satire. We might not be faced with a Republican party embracing fascism and rolling toward electoral victory.Dave Powellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-91691916830481713492021-03-12T10:13:46.500-05:002021-03-12T10:13:46.500-05:00I remember when this review came out. I was about ...I remember when this review came out. I was about to join a reading group that was scheduled to discuss Bloom's "Closing." A colleague sent this review around saying (bless their soul) "I feel terrible ... I didn't understand the book at all!" I read the review and enjoyed the hell out of it, thinking: This is the treatment Bloom deserves. God love Chomsky for his comment, also hilarious, but Chomsky is less diagnostic, and (as he can be sometimes) idealistic. I hate to say this, but a lot of people do think that education ought to consist in dogmatic instruction.Nick Pappashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03121846526447582108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-74576841513153013422021-03-12T05:32:52.135-05:002021-03-12T05:32:52.135-05:00Shame on you, to make such sneering remarks about ...Shame on you, to make such sneering remarks about the noble, eternal, inimitable "Philosophia Perennis". What would we be without their holy books and the chorus of old white men who, like fixed stars in the sky, guide our little ship through the deep night?<br /><br />Achim Kriechel (A.K.)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-75074310187892484572021-03-12T04:03:02.607-05:002021-03-12T04:03:02.607-05:00Loved this review! We should be careful of those ...Loved this review! We should be careful of those who want us to follow Plato and Aristotle on ethical matters. They both thought that only the aristocracy could be virtuous. tom llewellynnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-43646223882946986972021-03-11T19:11:29.298-05:002021-03-11T19:11:29.298-05:00I loved Bellow's novel as much as you did; but...I loved Bellow's novel as much as you did; but I must say that, in calling his character 'Bloom', Bellow made the allusion to Joyce's Ulysses, and then with it the many further ironies, a bit too pat and obvious.John Rapkonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-66219358610475797192021-03-11T18:46:35.487-05:002021-03-11T18:46:35.487-05:00Dear GJ
I think philosophy was a religion for the...Dear GJ<br /><br />I think philosophy was a religion for them and they being Jewish the great philosophers were great Rabbis and they wanted wisdom and they wanted answers in life.<br />If I had to pick sides on the spur of the moment I'd side with Professor Wolff, but there are deep issues involved and if they are a novel maybe not a great American Novel but not a pure satire you might want to understand the POV of Bloom and Bellow-<br />similar arguments can be made regarding Harold Bloom, the other Bloom and his canonHowiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12474061778220524205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-86049224584698614212021-03-11T18:08:22.000-05:002021-03-11T18:08:22.000-05:00Chomsky on Bloom's book (with much less irony)...Chomsky on Bloom's book (with much less irony): <br /><br />"It's mind-bogglingly stupid. I read it once in the supermarket while my...I hate to say it, while my wife was shopping I stood there and read the damn thing; it takes about fifteen minutes to read. I mean, 'read'—you know, sort of turn the pages to see if there's anything there that isn't totally stupid. But what that book is basically saying is that education ought to be set up like some sort of variant of the Marine Corps, in which you just march the students through a canon of 'great thoughts' that are picked out for everybody. So some group of people will say, 'Here are the great thoughts, the great thoughts of Western civilization are in this corpus; you guys sit there and learn them, read them and learn them, and be able to repeat them. That’s the kind of model Bloom is calling for. Well, anybody who's ever thought about education or been involved in it, or even gone to school, knows that the effect of that is that students will end up knowing and understanding virtually nothing" (from Understanding Power).GJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05405004325909934516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-43695018059194740902021-03-11T14:39:29.704-05:002021-03-11T14:39:29.704-05:00I remember reading this as an undergraduate about ...I remember reading this as an undergraduate about 10 years or so ago. I had recently attended a lecture by on Bloom and Kojeve given by Bob Meister, and I couldn't understand how Bloom could be an imaginary person. I remember asking Professor Meister about it at office hours and he was both amused and baffled at the idea that an undergraduate would stumble across such old CHE article. <br /> Ridiculousicculushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11510818301579270010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-64326454428092048722021-03-11T13:29:15.420-05:002021-03-11T13:29:15.420-05:00Muy bueno.Muy bueno.David Zimmermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05508979511627745008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-53602526482315626582021-03-11T13:12:27.623-05:002021-03-11T13:12:27.623-05:00I bought The Closing of the American Mind, in Spa...I bought The Closing of the American Mind, in Spanish, in a remaindered books place. <br /><br />I expected it to be hard-hitting, contrarian and to elegantly put down those elements of political correctness, which I secretly detest, but I am afraid to admit.<br /><br />I found it boring and I don't believe I got farther than page 20. s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-81170136830716057662021-03-11T13:06:00.113-05:002021-03-11T13:06:00.113-05:00Thank you DDA. I have revised the post to correct ...Thank you DDA. I have revised the post to correct it.Robert Paul Wolffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-45430930436067598482021-03-11T12:50:15.863-05:002021-03-11T12:50:15.863-05:00In a different era than the late 1980s, it is ques...In a different era than the late 1980s, it is questionable whether a book by a grumpy Straussian would have become a bestseller. One likely reason <i>The Closing of the American Mind</i> did become a bestseller is that it was an intervention in the "culture wars" of the era (for some context, see e.g. Andrew Hartman's <i>A War for the Soul of America</i>).<br /><br />It's possible that Bloom's book was more bought than read, as is sometimes or often the case with bestsellers. I do distinctly recall, however, seeing a middle-aged guy reading it (years ago) on the beach, of all places. Well, I guess anything can be beach reading if you're in the right mood... L.F. Coopernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-72608850373073378922021-03-11T12:32:02.427-05:002021-03-11T12:32:02.427-05:00Do you recall how Bellow and Bloom reacted? Or did...Do you recall how Bellow and Bloom reacted? Or did they in their ignorance ignore you?Howiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12474061778220524205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-65449654934364404012021-03-11T12:11:42.749-05:002021-03-11T12:11:42.749-05:00The AAUP has nothing to do with the Chronicle.The AAUP has nothing to do with the Chronicle.DDAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04563878282038308662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-61067164052241754092021-03-11T12:07:19.236-05:002021-03-11T12:07:19.236-05:00As readers of this blog no doubt know, Saul Bello...As readers of this blog no doubt know, Saul Bellow did write an actual novel about Allan Bloom called "Ravelstein."<br /><br /> Having lost my taste for Bellow shortly after reading the grotesquely racist scene on the bus in the dyspeptic "Mr Sammler's Planet," I could never bring myself actually to read "Ravelstein," but I did want to get its existence on the record here.<br /><br />As a work of satire, I bet that it is nowhere near as good as Prof Wolff's rendering of "Saul Bellow's The Closing of the American Mind".... no mean satire in itself.<br /><br />Bravo.David Zimmermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05508979511627745008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-1700967546062176302021-03-11T11:42:05.534-05:002021-03-11T11:42:05.534-05:00This is fantastic. I can only that someday, after ...This is fantastic. I can only that someday, after diligent practice, I will be able to write something with as much humor and good judgement as this. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com