tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post596096217521911589..comments2024-03-28T22:51:28.222+05:30Comments on The Middle Stage: Things I've been reading recently: Lombardo, Nehamas, and PagliaChandrahashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483080477755487202noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post-43983563660514245942009-03-19T12:53:00.000+05:302009-03-19T12:53:00.000+05:30Chandrahas, you asked for an hour, I give you a we...Chandrahas, you asked for an hour, I give you a week. The link to the opening chapter of the Nehamas book took me on all sorts of tangents and has me currently re-visiting a book on Wabi-Sabi* as an antidote for excessive engagement with Western thought.:D <BR/>But for anybody else like me, who emerged a little frustrated from the opening chapter of The Place of Beauty in a World of Art which meticulously paints in the premise and leaves you with a cliff-hanger of a one-liner thesis, these essays may be of benefit: http://www.tannerlectures.utah.edu/lectures/documents/Nehamas_02.pdf<BR/> They are a set of lectures which I assume formed the basis for the book.<BR/><BR/>*I was first handed the book by a friend, a Japanese artist-maker who lent it to me with this qualifier -“Of course the book only got written because it was written by an American; if he had <I>really</I> got the concept, he wouldn’t have attempted to write about it.Shwetahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17116247797970270366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post-4955171949033907612009-03-13T09:05:00.000+05:302009-03-13T09:05:00.000+05:30When you read things such as this, it is the equiv...When you read things such as this, it is the equivalent of coming upon some magnificent temple, or wonder of the world, which looms into view; all along hidden by trees and shrubbery, which you could see only the top or bits of, as you were trekking to the spot. On the attainment of mind, it seems, not only the initiator, even as a recipient you like those works/things which do so. What comes to mind, as reason, on "In modern times philosophy has traditionally been taken to be in the broadest sense a scientific discipline.." is that there's so much new knowledge being created (especially last 2-3 centuries. especially scientific). And when that happens , what exists gets challenged, and has to accommodate new findings and observations, and has to answer the questions which arise. So no field can remain constant and distant from current ideas and knowledge. <BR/><BR/>It seems not only couple of good brews, but scores of meals have to be digested properly before these issues themselves (and the branches they shoot off, and other treasures like 'Tithonus' by Tennyson!) can be digested.youprathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09395191797717641003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post-44595395484705127902009-03-10T13:49:00.000+05:302009-03-10T13:49:00.000+05:30Anu - Thanks for your very kind words. If my revie...Anu - Thanks for your very kind words. If my reviews seem thoughful and detailed, it's often because the books that come my way are themselves so thoughtful and detailed that they demand the best of me. Just the world of Indian trade publishing, which is still a minor though significant arm of English books worldwide, is now so big that I struggle to keep up with all the good books coming out, and invariably miss many. And of course a blog allows for greater depth of engagement with a book that print often does. So I am lucky to be working in a time when many forces have been favorable.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07857257259702123716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post-79863043846842493862009-03-09T13:16:00.000+05:302009-03-09T13:16:00.000+05:30Hi, been reading your blog for a long time but jus...Hi, been reading your blog for a long time but just surfacing. The reviews are really thoughtful and detailed - and the authors featured are not the usual suspects. Its been a particularly great way for me to keep up with Indian books.Anu Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02462245270908456017noreply@blogger.com