Randal Hendrickson
@RandalHendrick9
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Political Theory PhD, history of ideas sort, MS in Library and Info Science, working stuff out at “The Vapors.” Would love you to take a look.
Joined July 2020
Mr. Rogers clearly read "Leviathan," published this day in 1651.
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Reading Dostoevsky in the original Spanish really opened my eyes.
Reading the Hebrew Gospel of Matthew, in Hebrew. This text’s word choices give a significantly different picture of Jesus, than do English translations from Greek or Latin. This Gospel depict a Jewish rabbi engaged in recognizably Jewish scholarly activities, and the later.
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We prioritized STEM, and now people can't read and won't read. Did we get something cool in exchange for mass illiteracy?.
New pod: The end of reading. Student reading scores are plummeting. Elite-college students say they can't read full books. Leisure reading has declined >30% in this century. And, as @TheStalwart says, it's all happening as US culture swings back to "orality.". What's going on?
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Yeah. Trump is the embodiment of a Marine motto that includes “faithful”.
JD Vance claims that Trump embodies "Semper Fidelis" -- "always faithful" (Trump has cheated on all three of his wives)
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Reading is a racist activity invented by the Enlightenment.
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Just read @atrupar’s recap of the TPUSA “festival of owning the libs.” It includes this Ted Cruz gem: “my pronouns are kiss my ass.” I’d say it’s fun to see how ridiculous a TPUSA event is. But it’s also a revolting, well-funded, and well-attended thing.
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We’ve had the first but not last school shooting of the year. And Trump’s version of “thoughts and prayers” is “the world is sick, and I’m going to heal it.” A town hall isn’t the place to begin to suggest how, though, so he moves on to Orban.
Trump responds to Hannity bringing up the school shooting in Georgia by saying, "it's a sick and angry world for a lot of reasons. And we're gonna make it better and we're gonna heal our world.". Trump then touts his endorsement from Orban.
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Typo. Kruse will cut and *paste* you.
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@DavidAstinWalsh In Texas, I was denied a place because I wasn’t married to the girl who was to be my roommate. That reasoning was rooted in some kind of morality. But what’s behind this guy’s apparent preference for he unmarried?.
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Going to be super embarrassing if we end up with fascism AND high gas prices.
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I’m arguing with a dumb outlet here. But nobody who calls Trump Hitler is surprised by shots being fired. We have mass shootings on the regular. And we’re told to move on or that it’s not the time to be political. Finally, this is *again* Republican on Republican violence.
Party That Called Trump 'Hitler' For 8 Years Shocked As Someone Tries To Assassinate Him
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It’s good common sense. Boats float. Most houses just don’t. But I guess I wonder if there will be wind in this storm. My guess is that wind could be your enemy in a hurricane.
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I think about Hume hosting Rousseau and wonder why there's no movie.
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You know who interests a wide variety of people on here without causing a ruckus? Kierkegaard. Good for him.
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John Locke’s esoteric technique is to be so boring that no one could think you’re dangerous.
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It’s by Rich Lowry, editor of National Review, so you know it’s going to be good. I mean dumb. It’s going to be dumb.
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The only time I went viral was when I posted this on Hobbes's birthday a few years ago. I do it now because, inspired by the similarities in these images, I am writing a piece on Rogers's hidden Hobbesian view of the world.
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Virtù signaling: Harvey Mansfield and I will talk about Machiavelli on @podopticon. More details soon.
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My guy, Cherniss, gets his Dissent review next to Moyn. I'll repeat that his book, "Liberalism in Dark Times," is excellent.
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Sabatini was a 2021 Lincoln Fellow at the Claremont Institute, where he communed with philosophers and dwelled on the highest things.
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“Kojève confessed to having read Hegel several times in his life without understanding a word.” I really enjoyed this, @Samantharhill.
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When Burke called Rousseau the “insane Socrates,” he just gave him a cool nickname.
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I’ve never been protested at a restaurant, but I’ve had “happy birthday” sung to me, which is a violation of human dignity that no one talks about.
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You see, we teach the Hillsdale curriculum, a real liberal classical education rooted in the achievements of Western Civilization. And in that tradition, we provide trigger warnings about the statue of David.
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Most people don’t understand how peaceful European history had been up to the French Revolution, which ruined everything.
Always amazed that smart people don’t abhor the French Revolution. Europe was laid waste for a QUARTER CENTURY, and for what?!.
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What is Deneen doing here? And what, besides the Constitution, can stop him?
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Montesquieu's "Persian Letters" is a good summer read. The book turns 300 this year, and @podopticon will celebrate (i.e., do an episode on it.) So, Monty fans, expect that in July.
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Alright. Here, at last, is the first of four episodes on Montesquieu's "Persian Letters." This one is largely on his style. With apologies for the unsociably long intro. You can skip to the discussion at 16:47.
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Real philosophers don’t marry, except for Socrates, that wily bastard, who did it ironically.
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Accidentally put my veil of ignorance in the dryer.
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A favorite chapter from the “Spirit of Laws,” XXIX.19.
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Rousseau famously said “I hate books,” but nobody talks about the context. It was moving day.
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Some words and phrases that tell me you're probably a Straussian:. -coeval.-in contradistinction to.-sequel (used to describe a passage that follows another in a text).-nay.-regime (used non-pejoratively to describe the US, as in "the American regime").-the good.-willy-nilly.
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I was called hysterical when I said that it’s one small step from Brexit to cannibalism.
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@snarkademic Yes. Funny how common that weakness is among cruel fools. They mistake that very weakness for badassery: look at me, I don’t flinch when children die.
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While you were busy sweating drag queen story hour, you neglected the emergence of Baphomet reading hour.
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I get having to shuffle rapidly through expressions until I land on one. Totally normal human stuff. What’s important is that Ron is comfortable in public. And he clearly is. The guy’s going places.
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Saad is a popular troll with an addled mass of followers that includes such bright lights as Elon and Jordan Peterson. He writes books for dubious presses and claims to speak on behalf of common sense, which is too often a tell that one has no access what’s common or sensible.
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If Socrates had confronted more Petersons, he would’ve given up on being a pain in the ass, and the city would’ve never had to sin against philosophy.
Jordan Peterson derails every question into utter nonsense because he has nothing of substance to say.
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Here's Podopticon's latest, a conversation with Harvey Mansfield on Machiavelli.
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Common Machiavelli question, probably. When you read at the end of “The Prince” the call for the liberation of Italy from “barbarians,” who do you think the barbarians are? I asked Mansfield on a podcast, and he suggested “barbarians” means ancient Greek philosophy. A stretch?.
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Somehow, Pierre Bayle doesn’t get much attention. It might be fun to do a podcast. Any Bayle fans or experts out there?.
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Hobbes spent some ten years preparing his Thucydides translation. AI could’ve significantly decreased that. What a waste.
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I was honored an confused to be asked to be a contributing editor. It’s a sign of the journal’s openness and charity. I’m excited to contribute however I might. So send me pitches! This’ll be fun. Happy to be some small part of the project!.
We are thrilled to introduce The Vital Center. A new journal dedicated to defending and reforming the liberal tradition that will be launching this June. We will publish essays on a host of political and cultural topics from both center-left and center-right perspectives.
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Just spent 3.5 hours discussing Montesquieu's "Persian Letters." That might be an unsociably long podcast.
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My political views in 2016 vs my political views now
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Lemme know if you have questions about Machiavelli for Mansfield. "What are you talking about?" is already taken.
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1. There’s a real decline in quality and decency from the kind of conservatism that Allan Bloom represented (a high-end “Tsk tsk. You’ve forgotten that we can rank the human things, and you’ve forgotten true longing”) down to what’s better called Republicanism (a kind of.
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My dad died too young. He wasn’t the sort to go in for holidays like this. I miss him.
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“Alexander Hamilton, William F. Buckley, & Aristotle.”.
Americans don't know about Alexander Hamilton, William F. Buckley, & Aristotle. The traditions of Western Civilization are being forgotten. Follow ISI! Because now, it's time to join the fight and help educate the next generation.
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He/Himmler.
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@thekateblack @DavidAstinWalsh Aha! This one makes the most sense. Lead paint removal, all that.
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I reviewed Steven Smith’s “Reclaiming Patriotism in an Age of Extremes” for “American Political Thought.”
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@zeno_thankyou I had a professor who rejected music because it made him feel things he wouldn’t feel in the ordinary course of living. Had a German name, as it happens.
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Excellent.
I knew I saw this logo somewhere before. This was a sidebar graphic on iirc.
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“Readers of [Leo Strauss’s] works, Straussians or not, cannot help being aware that they are being asked to join that school, indeed introduced to it by a certain preliminary hazing that questions their current opinions.”. —Harvey Mansfield.
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Doing a Montaigne podcast soon. The prep work is not a burden.
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This is how we straight dudes say “good morning”.
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I don’t think he’ll mind my telling it. I was once sitting next to Harvey Mansfield at a talk. I won’t name the speaker, but during the talk, Mansfield leaned over and said this in that ASMR voice of his: “Randal, I’d like you to punch him in the solar plexus when this is done.”.
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Reading through @MRogers097 and Chip Turner's new volume, "African American Political Thought," and this thing is a powerhouse from the start. Big interventions and beautiful justifications for them. Promises to be a resource for ages.
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Aside from Hobbes, who’s your favorite theologian?.
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Will be speaking to @rossecarroll shortly about his wonderful book, "Uncivil Mirth: Ridicule in Enlightenment Britain." If you have questions, send them along. If you'd like to ridicule us, do feel free, and we'll let you know if it felt civil or uncivil.
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In the early stages of working out a Thucydides episode on the pod. I fake it most of the time, but this one demands profound fakery.
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Hey, Pez. Get on it.
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Rousseau’s complete correspondence (52 vols!) is online!.
📢Important resource for J.J. Rousseau aficionados and Enlightenment scholars! 📢 All 52 volumes of R.A. Leigh's magisterial edition of Rousseau's correspondence, published by @VoltaireOxford, are now online: Further info:
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The @podopticon Christmas episode will be on Machiavelli. Harvey Mansfield will try to show me the way. Should be fun.
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Successful academics should disclose their relationship to Fortuna.
Academics who announce their accomplishments should disclose their privileges. Do you come from an academic family? Are you white? Are you a man? Are you straight? Are you cis-gender? Are you able-bodied? Are you a citizen of where you work? All of the above?. #AcademicChatter.
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Don’t know what to do with the kids today? Good news. There’s a four part podcast on Montesquieu’s “Persian Letters.” They’ll be entranced.
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Neither gender showed up for the guy.
There are two genders. And no, a man cannot become a woman. Iowa, I’m asking for your vote tonight. 🇺🇸.
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A 🧵 on Mansfield’s “Montesquieu and Machiavelli,” a ch. in “Machiavelli’s Effectual Truth.” . I’m just going to post stuff as I move through this long chapter. In the end, I’ll have some thoughts on the overall argument. This could be a long 🧵 that I’ll post to for a few days.
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Mansfield has a book that will be titled something like “Machiavelli’s Effectual Truth.” It will include a ch on Montesquieu, which is unnecessary. Hendrickson had the final word in the JOP piece “Montesquieu’s (Anti-)Machiavellianism.” Let the 3+ citations speak for themselves.
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The arc of history is very disappointed in some of you.
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The leading cause of male loneliness is reading Kant and talking about it.
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Before I read him, is Aristotle part of the conservative tradition or liberal tradition?.
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A dude shows up in a dress and all those small government principles go out the window.
Ben Shapiro says local communities should be able to ban "men wearing traditional female clothing in public"
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The miracle of Socrates is that no one beat his ass into the ground. Everyone just waited for the city to deal with him. Bunch of betas.
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“I still have many things to say, but I’m afraid this would become a matter of pure erudition.” . This is Montesquieu (Pensées 1831) with a line that should close your next article.
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You see, this is dumb. These are people who have seized certain powers of government. It’s in the public interest to know who they are. We might also ask who they think they are.
what exactly is wired’s purpose in publishing this article ? it includes names and personal details of the young men in question - what is intended to be achieved? in what sense is this in the public interest?
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We’ve been gifted the freedom to pay to file our taxes.
That group has been deleted.
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Here’s a conversation I had with @JoshuaCherniss about his excellent book, “Liberalism in Dark Times: The Liberal Ethos in the Twentieth Century.”
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Look at this guy when he was a baby. I mean, come on.
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Reading Aristophanes at the coffee shop, letting out a civilized chuckle here and there. I think the people around me are pretty impressed.
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I knew a guy who applied for a grant to study Latin so he could learn to "read Plutarch in the original." I'll never forget him.
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