Wit & Whim

This is the first time since my last post that I have had time to think about writing something for pleasure. And while I would much prefer to bore you all to tears with my latest discoveries in the dusty tomes of dead white dudes, there are matters of real life to be addressed. As you may know, Evan--that's right, the one with the beard--has recently proposed to my darling sister. If this came as a great surprise, then allow me to express my fervent desire to study you, that I may figure out how you managed to survive to this point in life. We are all extraordinarily thrilled that Bethany had the good sense to fall for someone of his quality. The same need not be said of him; the good taste inherent in his character as an educated and intelligent man necessarily dictates that he notice hers. Evan is a man whom I feel, not only good, but relieved to see with my sister. One wants the best for their siblings, especially for the Shewoof, and I think she found it in Evan. I mean, serio...

We are all Hobbesian. I just finished Leviathan this afternoon, and the shift in thought is pretty obvious. People speak of Machiavelli as a philosopher of evil, which I have already challenged. If asked to finger such a one, my first glance would not fall on Machiavelli. I assert that Hobbes is a philosopher of evil. In Hobbes all things have liberty, and that liberty resides in unrestricted action. Liberty and license are the same thing. By nature, man has the right to do as he will, but this is a state of war with all other men, and they are likewise free to do with him as they will. The highest goal of man being the maintenance of his life, he may join himself to other men and surrender a measure of his freedom in order to form a collective will, or commonwealth, to protect his life. The highest good is the preservation of life, property, and public order. What is Liberty in Machiavelli? Liberty is an inherently political quality; it is the attribute bestowed by participation in th...