Liberalism and limits
On his blog, What I Saw in America, political theorist Patrick Deneen often questions some of the fundamental assumptions of classic liberalism, assumptions which contradict the wisdom of premodern political thinkers.
That’s why they call them browsers
Collectedness vs. restlessness: thoughts from Romano Guardini and Nicholas Carr.
Possibility junkies
Voracious omnitasking, argues English professor Mark Edmundson, makes the lives of his students both highly promising and radically vulnerable to living lives that leave no room for reflection and self-knowledge.
People, people who poke people . . .
Christine Rosen on how social media encourages the unsociable traits of narcissism and exhibitionism.
Slower, longer, smarter
A veteran journalist laments “the sea change in the culture of literacy” and the decline of good book criticism
Stronger than death
Alan Jacobs and Mark Shea defend the portrayal of magic in the Harry Potter books.
A forgotten prophet
Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy: “Moderns are puzzled by the perfectly unsystematic, irrational, antilogical institution, the poorest organization on earth but yet fully alive — the family.”
Better things for better living
Richard DeGrandpre: “When a thousand points of light shine upon you in a commercial war for your thoughts, feelings, and wants, your mind adapts, accepts, and then, to feel stimulated, needs more.”
Why Johnny can’t think coherently
Alasdair MacIntyre on the importance of theology in liberal arts education
Food and the modern world
Why would someone quit a job at The New Yorker in order to become an apprentice to various chefs and “food artisans” in Manhattan and Italy?