Category: Books
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Aristotle on Method and Metaphysics
This is a really good collection of state-of-the-art essays that comes at the right time in my philosophical development. I thank Ed Feser, editor and contributor, for sending me a complimentary copy. (I didn't ask for one, and you shouldn't either.) Here is Dr. Feser's summary of the contents. And while you are at Feser's…
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Saturday Night at the Library: What I’m Reading #1
Jan of Warsaw, Poland writes, Would you please start a series of posts akin to the "Saturday Night at the Oldies" except about books? A few books presented every week, each with a one sentence description, from as wide a thematic range as possible — fiction, history, philosophy, biography and others. I would profit from…
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Sertillanges on Reading
The erudite Sardonicus kindly sends this to supplement my earlier remarks on reading: We want to develop breadth of mind, to practice comparative study, to keep the horizon before us; these things cannot be done without much reading. But much and little are opposites only in the same domain. . . [M]uch is necessary in…
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Widely-Read or Well-Read?
This from a reader: Mortimer Adler, in How to Read a Book, pointed out that being widely-read does not mean one is well-read. I've enjoyed reading some of your old posts about reading and studying, so I wanted to know your opinion on this matter. Should I aim to read a lot of books? Or is it…
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Are We Coming Apart?
Robert Samuelson comments on Charles Murray's Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010 and finds some grounds for a measure of optimism. Conclusion: America's distinctive beliefs and values are fading, says Murray. Maybe. But our history is that the bedrock values — the belief in freedom, faith in the individual, self-reliance, a moralism rooted in…