Michael Walzer, Revolutionologist Michael Walzer, Revolutionologist
The political theorist’s new book on national liberation can’t answer one key question: Why have those words become obsolete?
Nov 18, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Thomas Meaney
The Beauty and the Costs of Extreme Altruism The Beauty and the Costs of Extreme Altruism
What if you were so troubled by suffering and inequality that you changed your life entirely?
Nov 5, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Samuel Moyn
Humanism, Science, and the Radical Expansion of the Possible Humanism, Science, and the Radical Expansion of the Possible
Why we shouldn’t let neuroscience banish mystery from human life.
Oct 22, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Marilynne Robinson
Self as Sovereign Self as Sovereign
Where do we get the notion of mind as separate from body?
Oct 22, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Emily Wilson
September 12, 1880: H.L. Mencken Is Born September 12, 1880: H.L. Mencken Is Born
“What ails liberalism, as a practical scheme of reform, is its naive and irrational belief in law, a superstition that has cursed the human race long enough.”
Sep 12, 2015 / 150th Anniversary / Richard Kreitner
Walking New York With Cuba’s Revolutionary Poet Walking New York With Cuba’s Revolutionary Poet
“Culture is as subtle as air, and like perfume more vaporous than visible,” José Martí said in 1884. “But a sign of culture is a desire for it, and this is New York.”
Aug 12, 2015 / Rosa Miriam Elizalde
July 15, 1919: Iris Murdoch Is Born July 15, 1919: Iris Murdoch Is Born
“She is a sophisticated philosopher, and it is her evident aim to put us back in intimate touch with our own being.”
Jul 15, 2015 / 150th Anniversary / Richard Kreitner
The NYRB Is Rewriting Tony Judt’s Stance on Israel The NYRB Is Rewriting Tony Judt’s Stance on Israel
Judt called for a just resolution to the conflict, not the preservation of a “Jewish State.”
Jul 14, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Muhammad Idrees Ahmad
Blackness as Being, Whiteness as Nothingness Blackness as Being, Whiteness as Nothingness
Nell Painter and Herman Melville on American racism as existentialism.
Jun 23, 2015 / Greg Grandin
Liberalism as a Fighting Faith Liberalism as a Fighting Faith
Larry Sidentop re-imagines the origins of liberalism.
Apr 14, 2015 / Books & the Arts / James Miller