Sunday, June 13, 2004

Kaufmann: The Faith of a Heretic '[Wittgenstein] did more than any philosopher before him to wean us from our common tendency of thinking in terms of labels, or rather of seizing on labels as an excuse for terminating thought. "Do not say: "They must have something in common; else they would not be called "games""-but look whether all of them have something in common." If we do not seize upon the label as a welcome opportunity to stop thinking, we are likely to discover "a complicated net of similarities which overlap and intersect"; and for this Wittgenstein suggests the name "family resemblances".' 7:54:08 AM    comment []

Friedman: Insightful as always Taking the High Ground. In Gaza, Israel should follow the Lebanon model. Get out all the way and deal with enemies from the moral and strategic high ground. By Thomas L. Friedman. [New York Times: Opinion] 7:31:40 AM    comment []

The sentiment is nice, but why is it called volunteer? Serve or Fail. "Colleges should require students to volunteer. By Dave Eggers." [New York Times: Opinion] I would suggest a much stronger support for volunteer work at universities, by setting up volunteer fairs and sponsoring competitions. But no one should be forced to volunteer. More appropriate might be a federally instituted 'draft' where all serve for 1-2 years and the service could be military or public service. 7:27:34 AM    comment []