A Renewed Discourse on Inequality

[malthaussen]

1. Uh, he's wrong, you know.

Western discourse about "the role of man in civil society" goes all the way back to the foundations: Plato, Aristotle. It was a significant concern in the Renaissance with the debate over the meaning of virtu and the vita activa vs the vita contemplativa. And that doesn't even touch on the significance of the question in religious history.

Sure, it was a major question in the Enlightenment -- especially the Scottish Enlightenment. But it's not like in 1700, everybody started saying "hey, I have a nifty idea, let's talk about the interrelationships of men in civil life."

And I idly wonder how "scientists from Newton to Darwin" went about "challeng[ing] our concepts of liberty, democracy and the rights of man to this day." What has gravity to do with liberty, democracy, and the rights of man? The author seems to be throwing out a series of names -- and not even the most interesting ones -- but he doesn't go anywhere with them, so what's the point?

-- Mal