When Philosophy Strikes

Hi everybody, pardon the hijacking of the Roundtable. I'm compiling a reading list to do some research on 20th century political philosophy and theory and I thought I could use your help. My main focus is on how philosophy has interacted with politics, and how that interaction has shaped our lives. I am looking to answer several questions:

I. 20th century political and economic philosophy & its effect on the world
(1) how did 20th century philosophers interact with and influence global and domestic politics, directly and indirectly
(2) who had the most influence and why
(3) where can that influence still be seen in governments and economies today
(4) who are their living intellectual/philosophical inheritors and what are they doing now

II. schools of thought: winners, losers, bystanders
(1) what were the main competing schools of thought in 20th century political & economic philosophy
(2) when and where did we see these theories put into action; which were put into action, which were not & why. which could be said to have been successful and why. which could be said to have failed and why. -- which theories have become reality, which have become museum pieces, why

To tackle some of these questions I have so far assembled a small reading list.

the open society and its enemies, vol 1&2, karl popper
(1) the human condition & (2) the origins of totalitarianism, hannah arendt
four essays on liberty, isaiah berlin
general theory of employment, interest and money, john maynard keynes
(1) the road to serfdom & (2) the constitution of liberty, friedrich hayek

emerging ideas
(1) frontiers of justice & (2) the quality of life, martha nussbaum
world poverty and human rights, thomas pogge

democracy's edges, phillipe van parijs

democracy 2.0, cass sunstein

I focused on different ideas in 20th century liberal theory and a few contemporary people that I am curious about (nussbaum, pogge, parijs, sunstein) . I was initially focused on developments in western politics, before and after WW2, such as Keynes' influence on economic and political theory and practice (e.g., the 'Keynesian revolution'), the influence of Hayek's ideas on Reagan and Thatcher, Popper's influence on George Soros and other examples of philosophy interacting with people and institutions in the outside world. I also wanted to see how philosophers interacted with and influenced the major social and political crises surrounding WW2. Heidegger was involved with Nazi germany, Giovanni Gentile with Mussolini. What were some other links between philosophers and the violently opposed political positions of the time?

I would like to populate my list with a more diverse crowd. I don't want to limit the research to different flavors of modern liberalism. Marxism is a big one that is missing (I was hoping Jesse could give me some tips on that one). I also know of at least one 20th philosopher who argued in favor of fascism and did some ghostwriting for Mussolini (Giovanni Gentile). Please if you can post any ideas on what philosophers, political theorists and economists should be included, and anything expanding beyond liberalism, marxism and fascism (e.g., different kinds of socialism, anarchism, communism... how they were put into practice if at all, where they came from) and any tips or insight on any of the questions above, I would love some input. If you can point to a specific book, that's even better!

Any discussion and criticism of any of the questions and topics raised above is very welcome. Share your thoughts!

Thanks,

Nate

Next meeting

Do we have an idea about when the next meeting is going to be. I remember we were talking about trying to do it before midterms. Is that still the plan?

Authoritative Info and Required Listening

Hey folks,

Since this was my suggestion I wanted to provide some quick background that I mentioned during the last meeting but cited no sources for (and I think sources are important) so here goes:

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/episodes/2007/07/01

This is an hour long radio show from New York that very intelligently discusses the concept of stress and provides a cool audio version about some of the weirdness that was J.M. Barrie.

But...

If you really just wanna read about the dude here's another link for that:

http://www.jmbarrie.co.uk/

Like Kafka, a lot of the intricacy of Peter Pan can be found through the life of its author, so take some time to familiarize yourself, and it is damn interesting to boot.

-Ryan

Next Book

Peter Pan (a.k.a. Peter and Wendy) by J.M. Barrie is gonna be the next book for Philosophy Roundtable to dissect and discuss. I'm Talking about the book, not the play. So grab hold of your fantasy hat and get ready for a trip to Never Never Land; Second Star on the Right and Straight on till Morning, or something to that effect. Won't you join us in being children forever?

Meeting on Friday

The meeting will be tomorrow at approx. 8 o'clock. For all those that can make it, it will take place at my house, 134 Coloma St. It is a duplex and we're the place in back, go through the gate on the right side of the house. For those that can't make it in person, we will hopefully be able to include you via skype, call me up or e-mail me to work that out. See you guys tomorrow for Kafka Fun!

First Meeting

It looks like the first meeting will be held on October 10th or 11th, what do you guys prefer?

Literal

I took a class during my senior year of high school, and my teacher posed this question. Does Gregor S. literally turn into a bug through a metamorphosis, or could this metamorphosis be a metaphor for a change within him after an epiphany within his society which allowed him to view himself as a bug, a vermin, something that society does not want, but rather he must continue to live regardless. Also, does the metamorphism wear off and return him to a human form by the end of the book? I pose these questions: Does he go through an altered state of mind during the metamorphosis, and eventually learn how to cure himself within society without necessarily changing the people's opinions around him? Pay close attention to the descriptions of his life within the state of the bug, and see how the bug crawls away from him if at all. Does he remain where he is? Does he learn anything, or was this metamorphosis posed on him from society? Does he have the ability and free will to change this, or is he merely stuck as a bug in this form, awaiting his fate in the end. Also, try to pay attention to the use of color and literal sense of the environment. My teacher during the time when I read this book for the first time posed another question. What other metaphors can be found in this book? Are there any literary illusions to other books? What about the metaphor about the apple thrown at Gregor by his father. I concluded with most of the class that it could be interpreted in two senses of reality. Is it a metaphor for the Garden of Eden in the first book of the Genesis, or is it a much more literal sense of reality in which the characters play?