Alienation, autonomy, and ideology
These are posts about books from the blog Base and Superstructure. Occasionally I’ll read a book worth talking about, and write some thoughts on it. These cover a wide range of topics from the blog.
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!
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.
And we’ve arrived at fall! I’ll say a word about what I’m reading as the season turns. It’s a bit of a mix between pleasure reading, fitness, and philosophy.
Not the usual mix!
As always, let me know what you’re reading these days.
I’ve got to admit, this time of year isn’t always my favorite transition. I love summers in Iowa City. We get to see what the place looks like as a lower key college town. And now we’re once again moving out of that.
As we hang on to the last parts of the summer, I’m reading a nice mix of things. What are you reading?
I love summers in a college town. From reading on the front porch to visiting one of our local parks, I always have plenty to do.
Most people enjoy novels or light reading in the summer. But lately I’ve been knocking back the non-fiction! So, that’s what most of my list for the month will focus on.
And, as always, let me know what you’ve been reading lately.
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