Library Man: On Claude Lévi-Strauss Library Man: On Claude Lévi-Strauss
With a sharp eye for cultural patterns and a keen feel for the shape of a story, Claude Lévi-Strauss was a poet in the laboratory of anthropology.
Jan 19, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Thomas Meaney
Risk the Game: On William James Risk the Game: On William James
For William James, all our certitudes depend on the pretense that there are no radical mysteries underlying them.
Nov 23, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Marilynne Robinson
The Group: On George Price The Group: On George Price
The enigma of George Price: He derived an equation for the evolution of altruism, yet he died believing himself a failed good Samaritan.
Sep 22, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Miriam Markowitz
The Renunciation Artist: On Leo Tolstoy The Renunciation Artist: On Leo Tolstoy
The axis of moral struggle, a stroke of salvation--these are the spiritual dimensions of Tolstoy's late fiction.
Feb 11, 2010 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz
This Seeming Brow of Justice This Seeming Brow of Justice
In their discussions of justice, Michael Sandel and Amartya Sen endorse communal good but slight collective endeavor.
Nov 19, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Samuel Moyn
End-of-Self Help End-of-Self Help
Is the task of philosophy "to learn how to die," or to teach that there is no such thing as a good death?
Oct 8, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Alexander Provan
The First Counter-revolutionary The First Counter-revolutionary
Thomas Hobbes sensed the revolutionary impulses of early modern Europe and transformed them into a defense of the most hidebound form of rule.
Sep 30, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Corey Robin
Back Talk: Alva Noë Back Talk: Alva Noë
Philosopher Alva Noë talks about the brain, consciousness and animal rights.
Feb 26, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Christine Smallwood
The Commons The Commons
In our imperfect world, only the lucky few have access to wealth and cultural riches. There is a better way: it's called The Commons.
Jan 15, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Laura Hanna and Gavin Browning
The Pragmatist The Pragmatist
We get it. He's pragmatic. But what does that mean--politically and philosophically?
Dec 10, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Chris Hayes