tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1178284085080580526.post8369155697361603686..comments2024-02-12T23:25:09.583-08:00Comments on Overweening Generalist: Intellectual Reputations: The Long Viewmichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13526042582094867513noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1178284085080580526.post-46561857966287390432012-01-31T15:36:31.137-08:002012-01-31T15:36:31.137-08:00Totally unrelated to the conversation, just shamel...Totally unrelated to the conversation, just shameless promotion for you, OG. <br /><br />http://doubledippolitics.com/2012/01/31/double-dip-politics-welcomes-the-overweening-generalist/<br /><br />^.^Annabel Leehttp://www.doubledippolitics.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1178284085080580526.post-37771716358582367482012-01-31T13:46:03.025-08:002012-01-31T13:46:03.025-08:00I meant I'm NOT sure of the long-term posthumo...I meant I'm NOT sure of the long-term posthumous idea the Greeks had about, as a rapper might say, "My rep get large."<br /><br />These comment boxes pop up and are TINY, and often I guess I don't really see what I'm writing. Sorry!michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13526042582094867513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1178284085080580526.post-78241928090494577582012-01-31T13:30:09.589-08:002012-01-31T13:30:09.589-08:00I'm sure sure of the notion of long view posth...I'm sure sure of the notion of long view posthumous rep for the Greeks (their conception of history was too different from ours for me to guess), but I wd think that certainly, since the era of mass printing, almost every thinker and artist worth their salt has harbored dreams of immortality of reputation. <br /><br />I don't read Greek. I get my stuff via translation, which is a whole 'nother ball of wax.<br /><br />There are a bunch of fat books that seem encyclopedic to me, but aren't labeled as such. I own a lot of these and read in them constantly. I don't consider this type of reading to be the same type that RAW advocated, but I do consider RAW's syllabi as more germane to the heart of my own interests.<br /><br />I still find the idea of a Basic Canon to have one great point to it: a large community of readers who could potentially, engage in philosophical and metaphysical talks, having read the same texts. This was the impetus behind Adler and Hutchins, et.al and their Great Books of the Western World. <br /><br />But I see to many downsides to the idea. It largely offends my values and sensibilities about people realizing something inside themselves and making their own long daisy-chain list of books that mean something TO THEM. I think this idea, in the long run, makes culture richer. In a sense, I don't want You, The Reader, the Public, to read what I read. Unless they really wanna. I LOVE the idea of people thinking about their own values constantly, and they're dynamic, subject o new information always, and people choosing texts that feed them intellectually, spiritually, emotionally...but really GRAPPLING with deep stuff is great, whatever the texts.michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13526042582094867513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1178284085080580526.post-90191766562728577282012-01-31T08:03:23.467-08:002012-01-31T08:03:23.467-08:00Great post as usual. I think Shakespeare thought ...Great post as usual. I think Shakespeare thought he might have some lasting impact with his hints at immortal legacy in the sonnets. Yeah, that idea of poetry lasting for the ages seems a common conceit, but with Shakespeare it has proven true. I also think of Dante's success in building a large structure which has lasted and which people still chose to investigate.<br /><br />Re: Greek and learning languages. Late in the Cantos, Pound says something like I'll have to study some Greek to finish this poem, but so will you.<br /><br />Dr. Johnson, your writing often makes me want to ask you for a basic reading list, but then I fear I would fall behind in all my other reading. One of these years...Eric Wagnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04312033917401203598noreply@blogger.com