*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…
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…
Readers of V&R know that the anarchist Agamben, the Jesuit Przywara, and the “fashionable” pope Benedict are important touchstones for thinking about the moral and political significance of fashion. Taking up Plato’s skepticism towards fashion, Agamben believes that fashion is one cause of the crisis in Western democracy. We are in thrall to the…
Papal tailors are feeling the pinch. Pope Benedict is well-known for his ecclesiastical style and during his reign business was booming. Francis has lectured his priests that if they are to be true shepherds they must smell of the sheep. Priests are listening and business is suffering. The tailors all say the same: ecclesiastical glamour…
https://vimeo.com//220649299 This is a video I made explaining a principle of emotional valuation developed by Saint Ignatius of Loyola. It’s quite short — only about a minute and a half — so I thought I’d add a bit of context here. V&R Chapter 4 explores Adam Smith’s theory of moral sentiments and it would be…
Reselling Supreme can make you a millionaire by retirement age (https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/magazine/data-supreme). Reselling is a curious phenomenon trading on the concept of fandom. Here is Margaret Thatcher’s beloved Aquascutum very cleverly recombined: Fandom is veneration of a person or brand and in this case linked to refinement in a direct way. Supreme has made itself a…
A new blog post of mine over at: http://www.libertylawsite.org/book-review/contesting-the-re-primitivism-of-the-west/
The audacity of the following argument deserves the satirical notice of a Jane Austen: “Are new clothes a right, or a privilege? One of my friends (university-educated, politically and culturally liberal) only ever shops in H&M. Her reasoning: I deserve to look good. But do we? Is access to new clothes a human right?” (http://www.refinery29.uk/2017/04/149877/fast-fashion-social-issue).…
Gucci famously shot itself in the foot with a horrible brand dilution, saturating the market with cheap objects bearing its famous insignia. Manager director Marco Bizzarri is credited with rebuilding the integrity of the brand and did so in part by a Schelerian gesture: relying on the deep heritage of the company, he promoted from…