Alienation, autonomy, and ideology
First of all, this month’s reading list is coming out late due to my earlier travel to London. Sorry about the lateness!
Next, readers will find this an unusual version of the monthly reading list. In preparation for his new novel, I re-read a lot of John Scalzi in the last couple of months. I’ve collected all that into October’s reading list.
Hope you enjoy!
In this fifth post in the Epicureanism 101 series, we’ll take a moment to sketch out one key difference between Epicureanism and rival Hellenistic schools of philosophy.
The Hellenistic period stretched roughly from the rise of Alexander’s empire to the death of Cicero and the Roman Republic. Its influence continued through the first couple of centuries of the Roman Empire. And from this period came many key philosophical schools, including not only the Epicureans, but also the Stoics and Skeptics, as well as the Cyrenaics and the continued influence of Plato and Aristotle.
Most relevant to this post, the schools sharply differ in how they treat virtues.
So, let’s talk about virtues for a bit.
In a recent post on local politics, I said it’s a bad idea to reduce local politics to things under the ‘abolition’ label. More generally, it’s a bad idea to reduce politics to any single issue.
People often look for shortcuts. I get that. But if you’re going to do so, find a better shortcut.
Our local DSA chapter used a long questionnaire for 2025 city council endorsements. Some of the questions are redundant, and many don’t apply to local elections. But sometimes this happens in a democratic org. Anyway, one question reads as follows: “What do you believe is the root cause of the housing crisis, and how would you seek to address it in office?”
That’s a great question, and it makes for a better single issue test. Why? For one, housing stands out as the most important issue in Iowa City politics. People who earn average incomes can’t afford a place to live. Many are getting pushed out to Coralville, North Liberty, or beyond. But also, it’s an issue on which many people hold key misconceptions. YIMBY and NIMBY politics dominate our area, even among progressives and those who believe they’re ‘leftists.’
Having read the answers given by three candidates, here’s a handy guide to interpreting responses:
Candidate cites capitalism, finance capital, financialized capitalism, private equity, and/or neoliberalism: Correct Answer
Candidate cites housing supply: YIMBY
Candidate cites housing demand among individual buyers: NIMBY
Even though the three candidates we quizzed – Newman Abuissa, Amy Hospodarsky, Clara Reynen – slot into the same alleged ‘faction’ of local politics, only one came up with the correct response.
That candidate was Clara Reynen. The other two tested out as YIMBYs.
If you’re looking for a simple test, it’s this one. And Clara Reynen passed the test.
Hi all! Normally you’d be getting a post from me on this date, since it’s a Monday. However, that’s not going to happen today.
Why? Because I’m traveling! I’m in London sightseeing and visiting my sister and her husband, who live there.
At least, I hope that’s where I am. In fact, I’m writing this on October 1 and setting it for future publication. So, hopefully I made it and will be returning to the U.S. in a couple of days from when you’re seeing it published.
Anyhow, not to worry, I’ll be releasing a new post on local elections in a few days. So, that will serve as the post for this week.
A couple of months ago, I posted a retrospective of my work in academic philosophy. Primarily, that work concerned the use of practices as a fundamental unit of investigation in the social sciences and social philosophy. But I also had a lot to say in my work about labels.
My first book covered the topic extensively. In it, I laid out a three-part model of how labels interact with the people the labels pick out. And I explored a wide range of case studies in the social sciences and everyday life.
As it turns out, labels aren’t just inert, lifeless tags we place on something. They come to life. In many ways, classifying people isn’t like classifying rocks.
And so, I approached The Age of Diagnosis by Suzanne O’Sullivan with both excitement and trepidation. It promised to take on a topic very much up my alley. But it’s far easier to address this topic poorly than to do it well.
I shouldn’t have been so nervous. The Age of Diagnosis is very much worth a read.
The author is a neurologist who often treats patients who present with symptoms of psychosomatic illness. And in The Age of Diagnosis she brings her expertise to bear on a uniquely contemporary problem. She covers the vast, often problematic explosion in medical diagnostic labels.
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