*I am finishing up a new book on play and ethical theory. I’ll say more about it once I have a publisher and a date of publication is set. For now, here is a chapter from the book on one of philosophy’s most genial characters, Maurice Merleau-Ponty. It is “heavy” as it’s part of the…
A tradition of moral reflection from Shaftesbury in the eighteenth century to Meinong, Scheler, and Scotsman W. D. Ross in the twentieth, defends a realist theory of values claiming that humans have ready access to discrete, extra-mental value-tones: e.g. if I say `peach’ you now have the taste and smell of a peach clear to…
Ford will never be a model of Scheler’s estate but it is nice to learn that the car company has a bespoke arm. In this video, Jay Leno gives a great sense of the bespoke service: you just need to watch from the start and his discussion goes till about 8 minutes (one could watch…
Target does $70 billion US in sales annually. It is a massive company and though sales are down it isn’t going anywhere. Target is the inverse of Scheler’s estate and we must assume that much of its clothing is made in less than ideal conditions. However, the company is being forced to respond to other…
I have not read much analysis of this company but its website shows a company thoughtful about ethics (https://www.thereformation.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwnPLKBRC-j7nt1b7OlZwBEiQAv8lMLLFe0bTEN9ZIBlgW7DZ1DBJ_-owPnEyLAuYBpy9EnCgaAmgM8P8HAQ). As with Burke and Scheler, archives, localism, and craft sensibility with an eye to bringing on the young in the art of clothing are crucial elements to topping the Best Dressed Company Award. Obviously, new companies…
*Readers might recall that I organize discussions at Loyola around topics in CST. V&R Chapters 2 & 3 rely on papal moral reflection to examine the fashion industry. For those close to Loyola who wish to join the autumn discussion, here is the information. Hope some local readers can make it. Committee on Catholic…
Over at the website Law and Liberty you’ll find my short essay on tax havens (http://www.libertylawsite.org/2017/06/30/in-trusts-we-trust/). I have no idea of the true percentage but I would not be remotely surprised if pretty much 100% of all haute couture was purchased with monies drawn from tax havens. My essay examines the tricky morality of tax…
A few posts back I formalized my commentaries this last year on the moral character of various fashion companies’ business plans as the Best Dressed Company Award. This article on Turnbull & Asser spends time talking about the factory conditions and the tremendous loyalty of the workers who make the legendary shirts (https://therake.com/stories/craft/turnbull-asser-british-shirtmaker/). The company…
Alain de Botton is one of my favourite writers. I have taught his The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work in my MBA classes for years. He is always insightful and in this video makes the point that companies need to hire thinkers; to have people on hand who think “big picture” and strategically about business,…
*A big thanks to reader Chris W. for sending this article my way. Archaeologists think they have found confirmation that early “modern” humans — but seemingly not Neanderthals — adorned themselves with polished shells (http://theconversation.com/decorated-snail-shell-in-a-cave-in-iraq-could-be-evidence-of-paleolithic-bling-79380). James Laver is one of my favourite writers and is known for stating that the earliest clothes were likely shells…