tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21999805.post4451973385200171413..comments2024-03-28T19:56:32.848-05:00Comments on Anecdotal Evidence: `Such Ideal Guests'Patrick Kurphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08436175583386298032noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21999805.post-20162945054236554292009-10-27T17:43:55.593-05:002009-10-27T17:43:55.593-05:00I find the diversity of living writers on your she...I find the diversity of living writers on your shelf most fascinating. Geoffrey Hill and Adam Kirsch? Jonathan Bate and Clive James? A lot of hedgerows between those pairs. <br /><br />I fantasize a debate on, say, science and religion between Marilynne Robinson and Rebecca Goldstein, with John Berger as moderator. Some imagined samples:<br /><br />RG: "the will to personal reason is the driving force behind science, while religion is rooted in psychological dis-ease and fear of the stained self"<br />MR: "science has deliberately replaced what we should do with what we can do as the ultimate standard of value, and that is the psychological defect of seeing a transcendent human will."<br />JB: "You both speak for these concepts as you would speak for animals, whose lives of utter utility leave little room for such statements of moral judgment."<br /><br />RG: "the present is a refinement of the past" <br />MR: "the present is a debasement of the past" <br />JB: "I'm not even sure the present is really the present anymore."<br /><br />RG: "our evolving knowledge is under siege from religious maniacs"<br />MR: "our devolving knowledge is under siege from scientific maniacs."<br />JB: "aren't scientists all closet theologians at the end of the day?"<br /><br />RG: "We must bring back the age of enlightenment"<br />MR: "We must bring back the age of faith"<br />JB: "Enlightenment and faith are deliciously combined in the new series of Levi's commercials done by Walt Whitman."<br /><br />I doubt the dead would be quite this interesting...WAShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10403669322174979974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21999805.post-89582721669145772702009-10-27T14:18:55.712-05:002009-10-27T14:18:55.712-05:00AS an extension of this eloquent post, I would sug...AS an extension of this eloquent post, I would suggest readers check out a recent post at cltl.umassd.edu/blog. The discussion of that post (with many comments) is also fascinating.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21999805.post-88031590317832736192009-10-27T10:30:44.754-05:002009-10-27T10:30:44.754-05:00Dear Sir,
I have a library of about 25,000 volume...Dear Sir,<br /><br />I have a library of about 25,000 volumes (yes floor to ceiling double-stacked in many cases). In my case, the proportion is probably something like 5-10% living writers. But when one considers the vast history of literature, isn't that likely to be the case? <br /><br />Interesting post.<br /><br />shalom,<br /><br />StevenStevenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15520240994034904255noreply@blogger.com