Alienation, autonomy, and ideology

Category: Philosophy (Page 1 of 9)

These are posts on philosophy from the blog Base and Superstructure. My background is in academia, with a specific focus on feminism, philosophical issues in the social sciences, and social and political philosophy. I have also done work on historical figures such as J. L. Austin and Ludwig Wittgenstein. These posts incorporate some or all of these issues. The influences may be more or less explicit, depending on the topic. Philosophy can be intimidating, and so these posts present issues in a way that’s open to many people. There is also discussion of specific philosophical issues, and specific issues from a philosophical perspective, such as feminist accounts of pornography, Marxist and socialist accounts of the state and political economy, and the search for the best explanations for social and material phenomena.

Propaganda Analysis and Leftist Strategy

I had the pleasure of listening to an interview on American Prestige with Nathan J. Robinson, editor of Current Affairs and co-author (with Noam Chomsky) of The Myth of American Idealism. The book – as well as the interview – discusses Noam Chomsky’s views on U.S. foreign policy and leftist politics.

I discussed the book briefly in my January Reading List post, but the interview goes into greater detail. Readers should note that the interview sits behind the American Prestige paywall. That said, I’m a subscriber. And I’d highly encourage readers to subscribe, or at the very least to listen to the free weekly news update. It comes out every Friday morning.

That bit aside, let’s talk about the interview. I think a particular line of questioning from Daniel Bessner gets at key issues of leftist strategy in the 21st century.

Continue reading

The Philosophical Counselor Is In

Some readers have noticed new content on the blog page over the last few weeks. It remains, thus far, unannounced in any official way by me. But it’s something I’ve hinted at a couple of times – once on the blog and once in the Patreon newsletter. I’ve been working on it for awhile, and I’ve approached it gradually and methodically. I’ve even taken a professional certification course.

But that’s enough delay. Here’s the announcement: I’ve become a certified philosophical counselor. And I’m now open for business and seeing clients for philosophical counseling services.

Continue reading

Two Definitions of ‘Working Class’

Just about everyone who tries to explain Kamala Harris’s loss loves talking about the working class. They point to Harris’s loss of the working-class vote as a starting point. And then they explain the decline of the Democratic Party’s electoral fortunes as a decline in their support among workers in states like Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Of course, they draw very different conclusions from this starting point.

Bernie Sanders, for instance, explained Harris’s loss as a loss of support among black and Latino working-class voters. Others, more friendly to the professional classes, thought Harris alienated working-class voters by running too far to the left on social issues. But they shared a focus on loss of working-class votes in swing states.

At one level, that’s a fair enough starting point. Harris did lose the aforementioned states after Biden won them in 2020.

But the politicians and pundits glide through these debates without justifying how they define the term ‘working class.’ And it’s no mere academic debate.

How you define the word matters. A lot. Competing definitions put entirely different groups of people into the ‘working class.’ They thereby recommend very different strategies and tactics for bringing them back into the fold.

Continue reading

Rethinking Public Office as an Epicurean

I’ve argued in a few ways that a good Epicurean – and certainly an Epicurean sage – wouldn’t seek public office or a career in politics.

For Epicureans out there, it shouldn’t be hard to tell why. Politics fills our lives with stress and drama. It leads to exactly the kind of anxiety and mental anguish Epicurus advised us to avoid.

But I recently read an interesting set of essays called Epicurus and the Epicurean Tradition. In it, Jeffrey Fish plays devil’s advocate on behalf of Roman Epicurean politicians. To get there, Fish draws a distinction between desiring to participate in politics, on one hand, and reluctantly participating in politics because it’s the best choice, on the other.

In support, he also cites the work of Epicurean philosopher Philodemus. Philodemus’s work shows that Epicureans tolerated a wide range of professions among their practitioners. While the practice of philosophy and life among friends stood out as the Epicurean ideal, we find ourselves in many different life circumstances. Couldn’t even politicians practice Epicurean attention to tranquillity as an ideal?

Fish’s article didn’t exactly dislodge from me the view that the Epicurean shouldn’t seek out public office. But it does serve as an important corrective in some respects.

We shouldn’t be dogmatic in deciding, a priori which professions are OK and which aren’t. It’s entirely possible that a person finds themself in a situation where holding political office is the best way to promote tranquillity, both for themselves and for their friends and community. It’s also possible for even people who work in inadvisable professions to incorporate Epicurean insights into their lives.

On reading Fish’s article, I thought these were fair correctives. The Epicurean sage wouldn’t become a politician, but we can all benefit from incorporating Epicurean insights.

No matter our starting point.

Image Source

My Interest in Philosophical Counseling

I haven’t yet discussed this on the blog, but over the last few months, I’ve become interested in something called philosophical counseling.

There are plenty of accounts out there about what philosophical counseling is. But the short answer is that it’s the application of philosophical methods and accounts to life challenges. Philosopher counselors help people work through problems and issues in their lives. Most do so by talking with them about their lives and reasoning processes.

It’s not the same thing as psychotherapy or social work, but philosophical counselors at times help people with similar problems and issues. Unlike psychiatrists and licensed psychologists, though, philosophical counselors do not treat mental illness.

Anyway, I’m interested in philosophical counseling – up to the point where I’m thinking about becoming one. At least with part of my time.

And on that note, I’m participating in a training session at the end of this week, and I’m pretty excited about it! Unfortunately, this also means that I’ll be taking a week off next week. So, the next post will happen in early February.

I’ll update readers at some point to let you know how it’s going. If I move more seriously toward becoming a philosophical counselor, readers might even find a website with services and rates!

« Older posts