Columbus’ South Side Settlement House, which closed its doors a few years ago after a lifespan of 112 years, was one of a number of unique social service agencies that opened in imitation of Jane[…]
Category: Humanism
Kierkegaard’s Narrative – Part II
Please enjoy this repost of the continuation of my 2004 essay: “Kierkegaard’s Narrative” Even without the religious and spiritual dimension that was the ultimate foundation of Kierkegaard’s work, the narrative he inspired continues to garner[…]
Kierkegaard’s Narrative
"Kierkegaard's Narrative" is an existential humanist plot outline named after the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. In general, it runs as follows: An aimless young man drifts through life, obsessed with aesthetics, and seeking sexual fulfillment with a series of women, yet never making substantive choices or real commitments. The climax of the story is the protagonist's decision to commit to a single woman, and to enter into marriage.
The raw source material for this plotline is found in Kierkegaard's books "Either/Or," "Fear and Trembling," and "Repetition," in which he takes on the persona of various first-person narrators, and describes their experiences.
Panis et Circensus and Nietzsche – Philosophical Music
What does it mean when I draw a connection between one of my most favorite songs and one of my least favorite philosophers? Have I misjudged the philosopher, or the song? I’ve been obsessed with[…]
Top 10 Movies: #2 – Do the Right Thing
It’s the hottest day of the year. Spike Lee is known as an actor’s director, and nowhere is that more apparent than in his masterpiece, 1989’s Do the Right Thing, an acknowledged classic of American[…]
Top 10 Movies: #3 – Casablanca
What hasn’t been said about Casablanca? It’s a nearly flawless piece of cinema, and the crowning achievement of the old “assembly-line” system of movie-making, under which the studio would pull a director, a couple of[…]
Top 10 Movies: #4 – Stand By Me
While Stand By Me (1986) is undeniably an excellent film, I’m not sure I can actually justify how high it ranks on my personal Top 10 list (it almost came in at number 3, but[…]
Top 10 Movies: #5 – The Princess Bride
As frequent readers of this blog know, The Princess Bride, both as a novel and as the 1987 Rob Reiner directed movie, was one of the paradigm-shaping artworks that first led me to formulate my[…]
Top 10 Movies: #6 – The Graduate
I have to admit, part of my deep affection for movie #6 on my personal Top 10 list, the 1967 Mike Nichols film The Graduate, comes from the fact that at my alma mater, Swarthmore[…]
Top 10 Movies: #7 – Eternal Sunshine (Reconstructivist Art)
I’m re-running my post on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to commemorate the fact that it’s not only an exemplar of Reconstructivist Art, it is also movie #7 on my personal top 10 movies[…]