tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post4956176679952093681..comments2024-03-18T16:55:31.971+00:00Comments on This Space: Philosophy and the NovelStephen Mitchelmorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01658772259307446873noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-1317865631012592772007-08-24T22:53:00.000+01:002007-08-24T22:53:00.000+01:00I've something of an artistic homage to one of the...I've something of an artistic homage to one of the afore-mentioned intellectual behemoths & said behemoth's philosophical perspicacity <A HREF="http://wwwinabstentia-andrewk.blogspot.com/2007/08/beethoven-delusion.html" REL="nofollow">here</A> which might prove rewarding to the discerning reader.Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11708539533684206357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-88458449040732624922007-08-24T16:17:00.000+01:002007-08-24T16:17:00.000+01:00I'm a little late here, but I'm confused by Will's...I'm a little late here, but I'm confused by Will's comments. How exactly is <I>The Selfish Gene</I> a stupid book? Or even <I>The Language Instinct</I>? I have a variety of problems with Dawkins and Pinker both (as well as McEwan), but these books are far from stupid, especially <I>The Selfish Gene</I>. Is it just science writing? The purported certainty of it?Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08014014605639738887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-62363864263914901822007-08-23T21:50:00.000+01:002007-08-23T21:50:00.000+01:00What argument and who is having it?What argument and who is having it?Stephen Mitchelmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01658772259307446873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-84556796181186623492007-08-23T21:42:00.000+01:002007-08-23T21:42:00.000+01:00This whole argument is stupid. Dostoyevski was eve...This whole argument is stupid. Dostoyevski was every bit the philosopher that Kant was; Neitzsche was as much a novelist as Camus. Loving the form of "novel" is absurd, since those who fear its decline are really just afraid of the death of a western proccupation with all things homogeneous and domestic. Long fiction is not going away, but mediocre writers will find themselves less welcome as we stop caring about the purity of forms.Daniel Pritchardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02171613044501024248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-59608118181107762922007-08-22T21:14:00.000+01:002007-08-22T21:14:00.000+01:00It didn't sound like that Meg. It sounded like you...It didn't sound like that Meg. It sounded like you suspected McEwan has an agenda.Stephen Mitchelmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01658772259307446873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-33627614485541787332007-08-22T21:06:00.000+01:002007-08-22T21:06:00.000+01:00ooo. I didn't mean any of the people who left comm...ooo. I didn't mean any of the people who left comments on this blog had an agenda. Did it sound like I was saying that? If it sounds like I was saying that, please post this Steve with my apologies. I'm a nice person, really. No, McEwan's article sounded a bit pandering, is all, but I should probably be nicer to him too. What do I know.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-64271640485875563002007-08-22T20:42:00.000+01:002007-08-22T20:42:00.000+01:00Too bad about the loss of confidence.MegToo bad about the loss of confidence.<BR/><BR/>MegAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-28021887279449878352007-08-22T20:26:00.000+01:002007-08-22T20:26:00.000+01:00I'm not sure it's an agenda Meg so much as a loss ...I'm not sure it's an agenda Meg so much as a loss of confidence; novelists seeking authority for fiction.<BR/><BR/>And Will, I wouldn't be so kind. And Pinker has form:<BR/>http://this-space.blogspot.com/2006<BR/>03/steven-pinker-philistine.htmlStephen Mitchelmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01658772259307446873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-85261260504775230322007-08-22T20:20:00.000+01:002007-08-22T20:20:00.000+01:00scary. My doctor hubbie whom I consult on things s...scary. My doctor hubbie whom I consult on things scientific would likely say that waxing poetic on scientific discoveries or theories are quite beside the point and perhaps even a bit suspicious. Sounds like someone has an agenda.<BR/><BR/>MegAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-71787370741067915562007-08-22T11:12:00.000+01:002007-08-22T11:12:00.000+01:00In defence of McEwan, the one and a half pages of ...In defence of McEwan, the one and a half pages of the one book of his I have explored was one of the highlights of my literary life. A masterpiece even if shit.Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11708539533684206357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-33415091973075864132007-08-21T21:30:00.000+01:002007-08-21T21:30:00.000+01:00Like you Ian McEwan is a writer I detest. His defe...Like you Ian McEwan is a writer I detest. His defense of The Selfish Gene does not surprise me. It is one of the most stupid books I have ever read. He mentions another book, which I also cannot stand. The Language Instinct. The Language Instinct! Even the title makes you want to vomit.<BR/><BR/>Writers like Ian McEwan exist to remind us what literature is by the very fact that they are not it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-73158829476100461682007-08-20T23:04:00.000+01:002007-08-20T23:04:00.000+01:00on blogson blogsfairesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12824172112708242460noreply@blogger.com