tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-610803938756668468.post5729464685134734121..comments2024-03-28T07:08:58.221-04:00Comments on Todd Seavey: Brooks vs. Evolution, Canada vs. the Human SpiritTodd Seaveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08589187886030112999noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-610803938756668468.post-35034155742558847292009-07-03T07:52:00.000-04:002009-07-03T07:52:00.000-04:00Is‘motivated at times — like many liberals and a...Is<br><br>‘motivated at times — like many liberals and academics in general — by an almost masochistic love of “graceful surrender†(often manifesting as a natural submissiveness to the dominatrices of the left, as it were)’<br><br>too long to adopt as a personal motto, or to put up on my blog like a back-cover blurb?<br><br>————–<br><br>Anyway, setting myself aside, don’t confuse “actual substantive disagreement with Todd” “intellectual surrender and weakness of will.” Taylor, to take the goofiest example from your list, is many things, but a Seaveyite manque’ isn’t one of them. He is, after all, a Hegelian Catholic, and while juggling competing principles may pain him, that’s because he aims at their ultimate reconciliation. He’s got a strong and unified political-moral vision, and it isn’t mine and isn’t yours and isn’t something he surrenders on.<br><br>And Will, it seems to me, is *at least* as comfortable with rigorous argument from first principles as you are. (NB: Just *stating the names* of your first principles over and over again isn’t the same thing as rigorous argument.) I may be prone to a kind of mushy High Berlinism, but Will’s really not– you do him a silly disservce here.<br><br>Conversely, I think you give Brooks more credit than he is due…Jacob T. Levyhttp://jacobtlevy.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com