Steiner Says… And So Do I

Trying to have your cake and eat it to, without defining “cake,” “eat,” or even “it,” is a good way to end up with a soggy, doughy mess. Roosevelt stood for four freedoms, and he hated fear as much as he hated the terrorists. Nowadays, it is an either/or proposition. […]

Why Schopenhauer?

I like Schopenhauer in part because he is a foil that reaffirms my own optimism. Schopenhauer, no doubt, would call such optimism folly or naïveté, but I do not think it is my choice any more than he consciously decided to be a pessimist – and it seems obvious to me that his pessimism came first, his writing – as justification for his disposition – followed. My optimism is, of course, an act of faith and [...]