O'Connor on Burns's Goddess of the Market

Review of Jennifer Burns's Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right (Oxford University Press, 2009). ISBN: 978-0-19-532487-7 (hardcover). 384 pp., 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4.

Review by Mike O'Connor
Georgia State University

As a young, naïve and impressionable college freshman, I fancied myself as sallying forth into the wide world of intellectual discourse, and drank shallowly from a large number of pools. I chanted with a quasi-Buddhist group until they asked me for money, was disappointed in the lack of clarity in the goals of the university socialist organization, and stuck with the chorus for an entire year. But one group whose meetings I did not attend was the Objectivist Society; I found their sign on the campus bulletin board puzzling to the point of being disturbing.

Objectivism is the name that novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand (1905-1982) had given to her body of thought. Rand took a rather exclusionary tone and strident attitude to intellectual discourse, and her campus followers had evidently followed in her footsteps. Rather than offering free pizza or other inducements in the fashion of many such organizations, the Objectivists instead challenged any interested parties to prove their worthiness. Would-be Objectivists were confronted with three fundamental principles that they must accept. First, one must...[Continue here]

O'Connor on Burns's Goddess of the Market

Review of Jennifer Burns's Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right (Oxford University Press, 2009). ISBN: 978-0-19-532487-7 (hardcover). 384 pp., 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4.

Review by Mike O'Connor
Georgia State University

As a young, naïve and impressionable college freshman, I fancied myself as sallying forth into the wide world of intellectual discourse, and drank shallowly from a large number of pools. I chanted with a quasi-Buddhist group until they asked me for money, was disappointed in the lack of clarity in the goals of the university socialist organization, and stuck with the chorus for an entire year. But one group whose meetings I did not attend was the Objectivist Society; I found their sign on the campus bulletin board puzzling to the point of being disturbing.

Objectivism is the name that novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand (1905-1982) had given to her body of thought. Rand took a rather exclusionary tone and strident attitude to intellectual discourse, and her campus followers had evidently followed in her footsteps. Rather than offering free pizza or other inducements in the fashion of many such organizations, the Objectivists instead challenged any interested parties to prove their worthiness. Would-be Objectivists were confronted with three fundamental principles that they must accept. First, one must...[Continue here]

call for papers: William James

Call for Papers

A Symposium for Honoring

—and making use of—William James:

In the Footsteps of William James

The William James Society is planning a long-weekend symposium, August 13-16, 2010 (please note the changed date from earlier announcements), to honor the life of James on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of his death. In the spirit of James, the symposium, “In the Footsteps of William James,” will be an opportunity to explore the local settings of James’s life and to reflect on James’s ability to encounter experience afresh and approach problems creatively.

The symposium will therefore have 2 dimensions and we seek presenters for both:

1. with the symposium taking place at Chocorua, NH, and Cambridge, MA, we call for presenters familiar with his life in either or both places who could serve as guides for the participants; there are some residents in both places that will already be serving this role, so our primary call is for our second dimension;

2. for a symposium as much about the public intellectual significance of James’s thought as his scholarly contributions, we call for presenters who can address issues of historic and contemporary relevance as illuminated by James’s life and work, for sessions to include topics such as these:

- The Pragmatist Turn, and its potential for reconciling disputes and fostering common sense in public discourse,

- Values Voters and Valuing Citizenship, on the uses of his theories for comprehending differences and encouraging listening, and his speaking out against social injustice,

- Educational Renewal, from James’s own classroom experiences to his talks to teachers and about education, to his potential to foster opening of minds,

- Spirituality and Belief, with James in anticipation of the endurance of religion and spirituality in secular settings and of theories for embracing differences of belief,

- Mental Health, from his theory of habits to his inspirations to help people with addiction and to encourage the research in positive psychology,

- Appraisals of James by his colleagues, friends, students, and successors in various fields.

Please send an abstract of 100 words and a brief description of qualifications to the William James Symposium Committee by January 15, 2010 to:

*Lynn Bridgers, Secretary-Treasurer of the William James Society: l.bridgers@worldnet.att.net; or 7705 Spring Ave NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110

*Paul Croce, President of the William James Society or Box 8274, Stetson University, 421 N. Woodland Blvd., DeLand, FL 32720; or

*John Kaag or Department of Philosophy, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, 102 Olney Hall, Lowell, MA 01856

Presentations at the Symposium will be considered for publication in the Society’s William James Studies.

call for papers: William James

Call for Papers

A Symposium for Honoring

—and making use of—William James:

In the Footsteps of William James

The William James Society is planning a long-weekend symposium, August 13-16, 2010 (please note the changed date from earlier announcements), to honor the life of James on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of his death. In the spirit of James, the symposium, “In the Footsteps of William James,” will be an opportunity to explore the local settings of James’s life and to reflect on James’s ability to encounter experience afresh and approach problems creatively.

The symposium will therefore have 2 dimensions and we seek presenters for both:

1. with the symposium taking place at Chocorua, NH, and Cambridge, MA, we call for presenters familiar with his life in either or both places who could serve as guides for the participants; there are some residents in both places that will already be serving this role, so our primary call is for our second dimension;

2. for a symposium as much about the public intellectual significance of James’s thought as his scholarly contributions, we call for presenters who can address issues of historic and contemporary relevance as illuminated by James’s life and work, for sessions to include topics such as these:

- The Pragmatist Turn, and its potential for reconciling disputes and fostering common sense in public discourse,

- Values Voters and Valuing Citizenship, on the uses of his theories for comprehending differences and encouraging listening, and his speaking out against social injustice,

- Educational Renewal, from James’s own classroom experiences to his talks to teachers and about education, to his potential to foster opening of minds,

- Spirituality and Belief, with James in anticipation of the endurance of religion and spirituality in secular settings and of theories for embracing differences of belief,

- Mental Health, from his theory of habits to his inspirations to help people with addiction and to encourage the research in positive psychology,

- Appraisals of James by his colleagues, friends, students, and successors in various fields.

Please send an abstract of 100 words and a brief description of qualifications to the William James Symposium Committee by January 15, 2010 to:

*Lynn Bridgers, Secretary-Treasurer of the William James Society: l.bridgers@worldnet.att.net; or 7705 Spring Ave NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110

*Paul Croce, President of the William James Society or Box 8274, Stetson University, 421 N. Woodland Blvd., DeLand, FL 32720; or

*John Kaag or Department of Philosophy, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, 102 Olney Hall, Lowell, MA 01856

Presentations at the Symposium will be considered for publication in the Society’s William James Studies.

Tim's Light Reading (11/2/09)

1.a. The History of the Idea of Political Correctness: With a hat tip to John Quiggin at Crooked Timber, this old NYT story and the Wikipedia entry for political correctness got me thinking about how a history of the idea in the United States would look. It would seem that no history of the Culture Wars could be written without some accounting of the roots of p.c. But would it begin with the linguistic turn, as Quiggin briefly asserts? Or is it a Left political phenomenon, as some conservative thinkers assert, and the Wikipedia and NYT articles support? And while I've brought up Wikipedia, the early historical sample given there in relation to the U.S. (Chisholm versus Georgia, 1793) seems to confuse political theory with language usage. But maybe this is just a case of more context being needed with quote?

1.b. Related Aside: Philosophy of the History of Ideas: Is it just me, or can you turn anything into a form of intellectual history by giving the topic Platonic-like form/idea status and then claim to talk about its history? If so, then historians of ideas are going to run into the same critical problem Aristotle had with Plato: How many forms are there? And if *everything* has a form (which it appears even Plato did not assert), then isn't it more useful to talk about the specifics of the real object in front of you rather than the idea? But I suppose that kind of materialism is an anti-historical line of thought. I mean, if everything is unique, then there is no history. But this goes against our common sense. Even if the number of forms is not infinite, the pool of them is large enough that there is plenty of material with which to work. Perhaps it's necessary to being a historian that we believe there's an underlying-but-similar essence about which we can discuss change. The issue then becomes a well-worn one: how much change? In any case, it appears that a certain amount of Platonism, combined with the possibility of change, buttresses our attraction to the history of ideas.

2. The Creation of a Neoliberal Audit Culture in Higher Education: Decasia's Eli Thorkelson meditates on how Margaret Spellings' ill-fated effort to control/dictate/reform higher education accountability has led to a voluntary regimen of outcomes assessment over the past few years. To quote the post, this has created a new "neoliberal audit culture" in higher education (the phrase might be from Morten Levin or Cornell University's Davydd Greenwood).

3. Jennifer Burns' Competition: After Jennifer Burns received excellent exposure for her new book on The Daily Show (#6 here), another biography of Ayn Rand is now on the market: Anne C. Heller's Ayn Rand and the World She Made. Here is a review. I like the present-past connections made in Kirsch's review. And Kirsch does mention Burns' effort. Amazon shows the release of Burns' book as Oct. 19 and Weller's as Oct. 27. Our days in the sun do not last long, do they? [BTW: Here is an excellent combined review of Burns' and Heller's books.]

4. Saul Alinsky and Jacques Maritain: About a month ago I learned that Alinsky and the moderate-to-liberal Catholic Thomistic philosopher Maritain maintained correspondence for almost 30 years, from 1945 until Alinsky's death in 1972. This was sort of a "worlds colliding" moment for me. And there's a book about it, no less: Bernard E. Doering's The Philosopher and the Provocateur. I suppose this is a reiteration of a lesson I've learned many times over: Never the let the *reputation* of person's philosophical commitments and social views (whether Left or Right) dictate your assumptions about her/his connections with the rest of the world.

Tim's Light Reading (11/2/09)

1.a. The History of the Idea of Political Correctness: With a hat tip to John Quiggin at Crooked Timber, this old NYT story and the Wikipedia entry for political correctness got me thinking about how a history of the idea in the United States would look. It would seem that no history of the Culture Wars could be written without some accounting of the roots of p.c. But would it begin with the linguistic turn, as Quiggin briefly asserts? Or is it a Left political phenomenon, as some conservative thinkers assert, and the Wikipedia and NYT articles support? And while I've brought up Wikipedia, the early historical sample given there in relation to the U.S. (Chisholm versus Georgia, 1793) seems to confuse political theory with language usage. But maybe this is just a case of more context being needed with quote?

1.b. Related Aside: Philosophy of the History of Ideas: Is it just me, or can you turn anything into a form of intellectual history by giving the topic Platonic-like form/idea status and then claim to talk about its history? If so, then historians of ideas are going to run into the same critical problem Aristotle had with Plato: How many forms are there? And if *everything* has a form (which it appears even Plato did not assert), then isn't it more useful to talk about the specifics of the real object in front of you rather than the idea? But I suppose that kind of materialism is an anti-historical line of thought. I mean, if everything is unique, then there is no history. But this goes against our common sense. Even if the number of forms is not infinite, the pool of them is large enough that there is plenty of material with which to work. Perhaps it's necessary to being a historian that we believe there's an underlying-but-similar essence about which we can discuss change. The issue then becomes a well-worn one: how much change? In any case, it appears that a certain amount of Platonism, combined with the possibility of change, buttresses our attraction to the history of ideas.

2. The Creation of a Neoliberal Audit Culture in Higher Education: Decasia's Eli Thorkelson meditates on how Margaret Spellings' ill-fated effort to control/dictate/reform higher education accountability has led to a voluntary regimen of outcomes assessment over the past few years. To quote the post, this has created a new "neoliberal audit culture" in higher education (the phrase might be from Morten Levin or Cornell University's Davydd Greenwood).

3. Jennifer Burns' Competition: After Jennifer Burns received excellent exposure for her new book on The Daily Show (#6 here), another biography of Ayn Rand is now on the market: Anne C. Heller's Ayn Rand and the World She Made. Here is a review. I like the present-past connections made in Kirsch's review. And Kirsch does mention Burns' effort. Amazon shows the release of Burns' book as Oct. 19 and Weller's as Oct. 27. Our days in the sun do not last long, do they? [BTW: Here is an excellent combined review of Burns' and Heller's books.]

4. Saul Alinsky and Jacques Maritain: About a month ago I learned that Alinsky and the moderate-to-liberal Catholic Thomistic philosopher Maritain maintained correspondence for almost 30 years, from 1945 until Alinsky's death in 1972. This was sort of a "worlds colliding" moment for me. And there's a book about it, no less: Bernard E. Doering's The Philosopher and the Provocateur. I suppose this is a reiteration of a lesson I've learned many times over: Never the let the *reputation* of person's philosophical commitments and social views (whether Left or Right) dictate your assumptions about her/his connections with the rest of the world.

Tim's Light Reading (10/26/2009)

1. White on Lears: Richard White recently reviewed Jackson Lears's Rebirth of a Nation: The Making of Modern America,1877-1920 for The Nation's upcoming Nov. 2, 2009 issue. It's a long review and I'm still absorbing both it and the message of Professor Lears's book. But I nevertheless recommend it because of Lears's motion to reset the paradigm from Robert Wiebe's search-for-order view of the era.

2. "Politics and Letters": This is the name of James Livingston's weblog. Professor Livingston will be giving the plenary at the Second Annual USIH Conference next month in NYC. The title of his paper is: "Seeing, Hearing, and Writing the End of Modernity: From Reading Pragmatism to Watching Movies."

3. Praise for Liberal Arts Colleges---From An Unusual Source: Three Chinese students reflect on the value of American-style liberal arts colleges in a book dedicated to Chinese audiences. I wonder about the relative and absolute numbers of first and second-generation Chinese that have attended liberal arts colleges since, say, the 1960s? The interview in the linked InsideHigherEd article contains culturally-specific insights about, as well as validation of, the value of a liberal arts education. Broadly speaking, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of medium and long-term changes might result in China if a critical mass of the Chinese increased attendance in these kinds of schools? And if change came about, would it feel like old-school cultural diplomacy (slow change from the outside in), or a new, twenty-first century Chinese cultural revolution (inside-out change)?

4. Adjuncting in Chicago: Even though I was surprised by the lack of history adjuncts in this Chronicle of Higher Education forum, as well as disappointed in the somewhat misleading title, the forum looks to me like a reasonable representation of part-time college-level instruction in Chicago.

5. HASTAC: My Chicago colleague Michael Kramer alerted me to a new player in digital academia/scholarship called HASTAC. It's short for Humanities, Arts, Sciences, and Technology Advanced Collaboratory. In other words, it's an interdisciplinary endeavor. Here's their about page and a recent forum on the notion of democratizing knowledge.

6. The Misuse of Good Ideas: I wonder if a new category of anti-intellectualism should involve the intentional misuse of good ideas. A prominent example I have in mind derives from, but is not centered on, Gerald Graff's injunction to "teach the controversy" (but Graff is not the object of my concern here). For the unfamiliar, he delivered this idea in his 1992 book, Beyond the Culture Wars: How Teaching the Conflicts Can Revitalize American Education (New York: W.W. Norton). The notion was expanded upon in an essay collection edited by William E. Cain, titled Teaching the Conflicts: Gerald Graff, Curricular Reform, and the Culture Wars (New York: Garland, 1994).

I have just learned, however, that Graff's idea was picked by Intelligent Design proponents as a means to wedge curricular debates in the evolution versus creationism drama. This Wikipedia entry, if it can be trusted, lays out the situation. The entry notes that Graff is perhaps chagrined at the misuse of his idea.

7. "Integrating the Life of the Mind" at the University of Chicago: This is a new web exhibit hosted and constructed by the University of Chicago's Special Collection Research Center in conjunction with Institute for Advanced Study professor, and former University of Chicago dean, Danielle Allen. I see the exhibit as a kind of partial rough draft of the history of African-American intellectuals in Chicago.

8. Salon Writer Probes the Mind of Glenn Beck: Alexander Zaitchik traces Beck's intellectual roots to Willard Cleon Skousen (1913-2006).

9. Educating Intellectuals: It looks like Walt Disney's Baby Einstein videos are not helping fight anti-intellectualism in America. I guess we'll have to concentrate again on K-16 education.