Are Emotions Morally Significant?

Peter Leithart contrasts the answers given by Kant and Aristotle.  In Aristotelian ethics, the passions aren’t a matter of choice, not in the moment when we experience them. Yet, emotions can be trained. . . . We aren’t responsible for the momentary...

Oooh! This Is Going To Be Good!

In his discussion of “Ten Mangled Words,” David DeBruyn opens an examination of “Authenticity.” Only a narcissistic generation would imagine that it had stumbled upon the meaning of authenticity, and that those that went before them were...

Richard Weaver on “Humanism in an Age of Science”

Richard Weaver was one of the three or four most important founders of modern conservatism. His Ideas Have Consequences is probably the most important work in defining a conservative outlook. His notion of “metaphysical dream” is priceless. The Imaginative...

Fascinating Reflection about ELP

When I used to buy rock albums, my favorite band was Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. They were pioneers of what eventually came to be called Prog, or “Progressive Rock.” The idea was that they combined rock rhythms with classical structures–easy enough...

Annunciation by Rilke

Translated by Anna Staples This poem is a translation of Rainer Maria Rilke’s “Verkündigung,” from the Book of Images. Playful and poignant, the poem envisions the confusion of the angel Gabriel in the presence of Mary, as he forgets his message and is overwhelmed...