-----Original Message----- From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org] On Behalf Of Chuck Grimes Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2004 4:48 PM To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org Subject: RE: [lbo-talk] Gadamer, Truth and Method
> Thanks, Ken. It helps put another piece in the mosaic horror that is
Leo (ugh) Strauss. Strauss was such a foul little prick, but geese he
knew some great people. At a guess Gadamer appropriated Heidegger's
`being-in-the-world', `thrown' as consciousness conditioned by
history---a view that Strauss absolutely rejects.
** That sounds about right.
> If your interested or if you still face trying to teach theology
(without laughing), I found a pretty good book on Judaism: The
Philosophy of Judaism, Julius Guttmann. I am reading it to get ready
to read Strauss on Spinoza. So I'll have to read Spinoza too... What
Guttman does is an intellectual history (via history of ideas in
theology) of Judaism. It is very clear, very eloquant, very smoothly
written---made for lectures (probably compiled from his
lectures). Naturally Strauss hated it.
** Well, my interest in "ideas" is fading I think. I'd rather look at the practice of benevolent spirit possession and demonic exoricism in 16th century Safed or the changing nature of death and mourning rituals than trace the intellectual history of Judaism... what did Strauss eat, and how did he eat it? Perhaps that will shed more light on his "Let no good deed go un-shit-upon" attitude. Probably reductionistic of me to say that... but I'm working on being less a philosopher and more of an historiographer. Have you read the recent biography of Spinoza? I managed to get 20 pages into in before being distracted by other worldly responsibilities.
** Had you heard that Marcuse's body was transferred a couple years ago to the same cemetery that Hegel was buried in? I wonder if the relatives know that every 35 years or so they usually dig up the old bodies and place them in a communal grave to make way for the freshly dead. Perhaps there are exceptions. I haven't checked, but perhaps Hegel had already been moved. On a separate note: when I introduced Kant a couple years ago instead of showing Kant's picture I showed an image of his tombstone. I thought it was appropriate but a few of my students thought it kind of morbid.
ken