Philosophy Now Forum

To my delight, the mailman brought me the Michael Oakeshott book that I had ordered. http://www.amazon.com/Oakeshott-Aesthet ... 497&sr=1-1 I have been reading the introduction. Some comments are relevant to some issues that I have been thinking about recently:

Page 5 - "Oakeshott was concerned, first and foremost, with the moral question of what it means to be a human being."

I was shocked to learn that Bernard Madoff preyed upon Jewish individuals and institutions. I was unaware that there is a category of criminals known as "affinity group" offenders. I questioned whether modernity produces individuals who are not really human beings in the moral sense. I suggest that Madoff, arguably, cannot be considered a human being. viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1705&hilit=bernard+madoff

Page 10 - "He observed a divide between alternative ways of viewing the human experience. On the one hand, life may be conceived as wholly "practical," that is, as an endless endeavor to satisfy desires. On the other, it may be seen as an adventure, as something to be engaged in for its own sake and enjoyed."

I enjoy meeting people in the latter category. I remember the first time that I encountered this classification in Oakeshott's writings. I thought: "This explains why I prefer to socialize, not with lawyers and busnessmen, but with artists and poets."

Through the book, I discovered this previously unpublished article "Work and Play" which I was not aware of. This brief article will give the reader a sample of the author's writing style and method of philosophizing. http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=4057

"Philosophy, science, and history are, then, activities that belong not to “work” but to “play.” In pursuing them or in reading the thoughts of those who pursue them we are not, strictly speaking, “working” but “playing.” "

Let this article, I hope, serve as enticement to further philosophizing with one of the greats of the last century.

Nice to know of another Oakeshott enthusiast out there!!
Yes, the "affinity" criminal -- 'Black on Black' violence is a rhetoric with more press coverage than others.