tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post8743162321633153930..comments2024-03-28T15:48:11.151-04:00Comments on The Philosopher's Stone: THE EIGHTH CIRCLE OF HELLRobert Paul Wolffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-18090392587632303992016-10-22T12:44:23.042-04:002016-10-22T12:44:23.042-04:00I was of course just wrong. There are not seven l...I was of course just wrong. There are not seven levels, there are nine. My bad.Robert Paul Wolffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-25438034549587949452016-10-22T10:16:14.300-04:002016-10-22T10:16:14.300-04:00The eighth and ninth circles of Hell are among the...The eighth and ninth circles of Hell are among the most interesting in the iconography of the Inferno. My favorite is the second bolgia of the eighth circle.F Lengyelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16870219925438756983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-8688131865658240442016-10-21T21:24:42.507-04:002016-10-21T21:24:42.507-04:00Of course you're right. But many well-educate...Of course you're right. But many well-educated, highly paid people are pricks too. Why would wage-earners be exempt from prickdom? Pricktitude?Tom Cathcarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16136970056480275148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-61062530675062309372016-10-21T20:32:39.706-04:002016-10-21T20:32:39.706-04:00Tom Cathcart,
Thank you for your generous words o...Tom Cathcart,<br /><br />Thank you for your generous words of praise.<br /><br />I assume that we all are products of our circumstances and education and that if people are pricks, their circumstances and education have made them so. As Auden says, "those to whom evil is done/do evil in return". What's more, those who are condemned to work shit jobs their whole lives seem to have even less room to fashion spaces of freedom for themselves, spaces of freedom which permit one to grow as an individual, than we who have the education and leisure to memorize lines of W.H. Auden. <br /><br />My ex-woman companion worked for a while in a call center here in Chile. She had to get there at 3 or 4 AM (I don't recall the exact hour) because they answered calls from cell phone customers in Spain. The supervisors clocked all calls, and if they took more than 2 minutes to answer each customer complaint or problem, they were in trouble. Trips to the bathroom were also clocked and rationed. That kind of routine produces depression, stress and resentment. <br />Stressed-out and resentful people tend to be pricks. s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-17167973666296169192016-10-21T18:45:45.593-04:002016-10-21T18:45:45.593-04:00You're a very generous man, s wallerstein, and...You're a very generous man, s wallerstein, and I've always admired that in you, but some of my colleagues in proletarian jobs were just pricks. Tom Cathcarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16136970056480275148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-55751635845010646702016-10-21T16:47:35.668-04:002016-10-21T16:47:35.668-04:00I generally assume that the workers treat me badly...I generally assume that the workers treat me badly because they're treated badly. Treated badly by their employers and probably by customers too. It's no fun to be mistreated by bureaucrats or by a call center, but I've known people who have worked in call centers which deal with customer complaints and the pressure on them from the bosses is incredible. s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-91519519399639757772016-10-21T15:07:53.000-04:002016-10-21T15:07:53.000-04:00After several such experiences myself, even in hos...After several such experiences myself, even in hospitals, I hope we skip the stage of dictatorship of the proletariat.Tom Cathcarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16136970056480275148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-90594440379506923832016-10-21T12:39:03.835-04:002016-10-21T12:39:03.835-04:00There is an implication in this post which implies...There is an implication in this post which implies that telecom customer service was better in the good ol' days of government ownership. I point it out not b/c I disagree, but because I appreciate the POV. I can juxtapose your view with other datums I've trawled off the web from econ websites that make similar assertions in their subtext towards the opposite conclusion; France's poor customer service is a leftover from the bad ol' days of the sclerotic nationally owned businesses. <br /><br />It is funny how we pick up on sideways implications when we are not looking for them. A lot of the ostensibly accurate assessments I have about things are likely cobbled together from a bunch of little implications I've picked up over the years.<br /><br />So, thanks for making it all more robust.<br /><br />And thanks for the Kant lectures! I was never a big fan of sitting in a classroom, but I do enjoy listening to your lectures while sketching/jotting notes and staring out the window, no need to think about those around me.AGnoreply@blogger.com