Collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra
Much of what progressives believe is bullshit. And much of that bullshit was concocted in fraudulent or confused academic disciplines. We dissect it all in our new book, Virtuous Nonsense: Progressive America's Epistemic Crisis. Pre-order here: amazon.com/Virtuous-Nonse…
https://x.com/omni_american/status/2100306663794479594
What happens when defenders of Western civilization let their critics define what they’re defending? In this piece by Jaspreet Singh Boparai, the case is made for taking seriously the deeper purposes of civilization and articulating what makes the Western tradition worth preserving. Read the piece at firstthings.com/reasons-to-be-…
https://x.com/firstthingsmag/status/2100244854030614571
"Machiavelli is the first in our tradition to think about the productivity of political conflict – its capacity, on the model of ancient Rome, to construct new orders, institutions and forms of life." amzn.to/3UKNpWJ (#advertisement)
https://x.com/EPButler/status/2100271871216247276
"Spinoza continued the trajectory established by Machiavelli … and the recognition of the multitude's crucial role." Democratic Thought from Machiavelli to Spinoza: Freedom, Equality, Multitude amzn.to/4xTVlDr (#advertisement)
In the latter half of the seventeenth century, Spinoza effected a reversal in the relationship between philosophy, politics, and religion, thereby laying the foundation for modern democracy. This shift, and his plea for philosophical critique, did not pass unchallenged. The idea that there is no equality without freedom, and no freedom without equality, was maligned by those who insisted it would lead to rebellion and anarchy. Still, Spinoza was no solitary figure, but formed part of a larger European movement. Inspired by several anonymous clandestine treatises, the republican writings of his contemporary De la Court, the democratic ideas of his former teacher Van den Enden, and the subversive criticism of his friend Koerbagh, Spinoza continued the trajectory established by Machiavelli. The resistance which his work encountered played a role in the radicalization of his ideas, the return to Machiavelli's revolutionary principles, and the recognition of the multitude's crucial role.
https://x.com/EPButler/status/2100272966126706733
Pierre Rosanvallon argues that democratic legitimacy can no longer be reduced to the majority vote. He proposes three complementary forms that have become central in contemporary democracies:
- Impartiality: independent and neutral institutions (constitutional courts, central banks, regulatory authorities) that ensure power is not captured by particular interests.
- Reflexivity: mechanisms that allow democracy to correct itself (constitutional review, oversight chambers, appeal procedures).
- Proximity: the ability to address citizens' concrete and particular situations, beyond general rules (mediation, attention to diversity, recognition of individual cases).
The book analyzes how these three dimensions have developed historically and how they today compensate for (or should compensate for) the weaknesses of pure electoral legitimacy. It is a clear and useful text for understanding why so many current democracies feel legitimate at the ballot box but fragile in practice.
Rosanvallon does not idealize these new forms of legitimacy: he shows both their potential and their risks (technocracy, excessive judicialization, or proximity populism). Recommended reading for anyone who wants to move beyond the simplistic notion that "democracy = elections."
https://x.com/23Rapp/status/2100261134947197193
Rosanvallon is right to show that contemporary democracy can no longer be sustained solely on the argument that “the majority decided it.” The three legitimacies he describes (impartiality, reflexivity, and proximity) function as necessary correctives to the excesses of pure electoralism: capture by interests, the rigidity of general rules, and the distance of power from people’s concrete lives.
The most interesting thing about the book is that it does not present these three forms as magical solutions. On the contrary, it shows them in permanent tension.
Impartiality can lead to technocracy; reflexivity, to an excessive judicialization of politics; and proximity, to a populism of empathy that dilutes common rules. The problem is not to choose one over the others, but to maintain the unstable balance between them.
In the current context (the rise of personalistic leaderships, distrust of institutions, and polarization), the text remains useful precisely because it avoids two frequent simplifications: nostalgia for a “pure” democracy of majorities and the naive faith that more independent institutions or more citizen participation will resolve everything. Rosanvallon invites a more sober gaze: democratic legitimacy is a permanent work of composition between principles that do not reduce to one another.
https://x.com/23Rapp/status/2100261491299492133
Edmund #Burke revolutionized the philosophy of aesthetics by distinguishing between the #beautiful, which generates pleasure and attraction, and the #sublime, which arises from terror and awe, holding that both experiences have a bodily and emotional origin. ethic.es/lo-sublime-lo-…
https://x.com/Ethic_/status/2100227075198063043
Must art criticism always be so... well... prosaic? Joseph Kassman-Tod doesn't think so. From our latest issue. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesthj/ayaf036 #philsky
https://bsky.app/profile/britjaesth.bsky.social/post/3mvpdgqzegk2z
Kaun Kitney Paani Mein Hai, released on August 28, is a satire on society as a whole. Like Manjhi, Kaun Kitney Paani Mein Hai too is set in rural India, this time in Odisha. The story is told through two villages, split long ago based on caste and money but never through water. The subject of the film is on water scarcity but rather than a preachy drama, it has tackled the issue in a satirical manner.
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/amp/story/governance/two-new-bollywood-films-and-a-message-50920
According to G.S. Sardesai, a fundamental structural flaw of the Maratha state was its inability to reconcile the independence of its great commanders with the central government’s authority. Part 2 of my essay on ‘Main Currents of Maratha History.’ Sardesai observed that the critics who faulted Shahu for pursuing distant conquests before consolidating his hold over Maharashtra missed the strategic logic of his position: he had to choose between remaining trapped in a local succession feud or building an empire elsewhere.
https://x.com/ShoumojitB/status/2100227284485697935
Marketime: Triggering a stimulus https://marketime.blogspot.com/2026/09/triggering-stimulus.html
[PDF] The Philosophical Voice of Tagore, Sarkar and Spivak
social constraint via Bourdieu’s Habitus and Symbolic Power. Using a hermeneutic
approach, the study compares Tagore’s “Ekla Chalo Re” with Sarkar’s “E gán …
Philosophy as a Way of Life around the Globe: the Case of Krishnachandra Bhattacharyya (1875–1949)
but an integral part of the religion and its characteristic self-… of subjectivity that we
find in The Subject as Freedom is a constitutive and integral part of a larger path of …
[PDF] Sāvitrī's Dialogue with Death: Paradigmatic Moral Courage and Feminine Strength in the Mahābhārata
of a woman who overcomes Yama—the lord of death—not by force or pleas, but by
exercising her dharmic wisdom and truthful speech. This article approaches the …
[PDF] Marginalisation as an Act of Design
Aurobindo. As much as it was supposed to provide a safe space to the disciples to
practice their sadhana, it was also supposed to practice ideas of inclusion with the …
[PDF] Perfect Man (Al-Insan Al-Kamil) as an Ideal of Society: With Reference to the Majma al Bahrayn (MB) of Dara Shikoh
the devotees to acquire the spiritual development. They are not only in intermediate
status in the experimental world but in an intermediary world between earth and …
What Is Discourse?: Philosophical Discourse in Modern Marathi
views and deep philosophical reflections on literature, society, philosophy and
history. In this chapter, he discusses the question if there is Indian ‘philosophy’ – in …
What Is 'Folk-culture': Conceptualising Popular Culture: Lavani and Powada in Maharashtra 1
globalisation and Hindutva politics, wherein globalisation comes to be viewed in
extra-economic terms of either cultural invasion or cultural hybridisation. The …
Destination Branding Through Tourism Advertisement: A Content Analysis of Kerala Tourism's 'Your Moment is Waiting' Ad
identity. Kathakali, a dance form with dramatic costume and … Tourists from across
the world come to the state to experience Ayurvedic massages, yoga and detox …
[PDF] AYURVEDIC APPROACHES TO MENTAL HEALTH: AN INTEGRATED PERSPECTIVE ON YOGA, MEDITATION, AND
mental health management. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali define yoga as the cessation
of mental fluctuations: … Yoga is the restraint of the modifications of the mind. …
[PDF] SMART LEARNING THROUGH INDIAN KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS: AI AND EDUCATIONAL TRANSFORMATION
technological, cultural and economic landscape. Digital technologies and Artificial
Intelligence (AI) have profoundly changed the way people learn and teach around …
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