If Mort Divine ruled the world

[Einherjar86]

Okay, well I don't think that's true quite to that extent (I'm going to just ignore the more obvious baiting in that comment and go for the content).

Academia is often painted as rampantly left-wing and communist, but there are plenty of right-wing schools and faculty. And, believe it or not, lots of philosophers from the analytic school tend to ignore, if not condemn, continental theories of the Frankfurt brand and after. Academic and political overlap in the U.S. tends to involve more liberalist/humanist models deriving from, most recently, someone like John Rawls (who was not a communist), and going back to pre-Frankfurt English philosophy. The most likely source of influence on modern Western liberalism from the Frankfurt School is Jürgen Habermas, who actually distances himself from the movement.

The thought of people like Lukács and Adorno never made it into mainstream political rhetoric or practice.

 

[SentinelSlain]

I don't really understand how or why the SJW thing kicked off.

 

[CiG]

Anybody perceived to be a right-wing/conservative academic has much less chance to be heard these days from what I've read and noticed, isn't that actually what caused president Obama to do that little speech about political-correctness and mollycoddling of students?

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

Anybody perceived to be a right-wing/conservative academic has much less chance to be heard these days

Yup, that is without a doubt. If you really want to know where this countries mindset is at politically than i advise you to check out a book called Righteous Indignation.

Okay, well I don't think that's true quite to that extent (I'm going to just ignore the more obvious baiting in that comment and go for the content).

Academia is often painted as rampantly left-wing and communist, but there are plenty of right-wing schools and faculty. And, believe it or not, lots of philosophers from the analytic school tend to ignore, if not condemn, continental theories of the Frankfurt brand and after. Academic and political overlap in the U.S. tends to involve more liberalist/humanist models deriving from, most recently, someone like John Rawls (who was not a communist), and going back to pre-Frankfurt English philosophy. The most likely source of influence on modern Western liberalism from the Frankfurt School is Jürgen Habermas, who actually distances himself from the movement.

I know im gonna sound like an asshole here again, but whatever. Just about everything you said there isnt true, and some if is quite laughable. And im not surprised since you are a perfect example of the countless number of victims i was talking about. The sad thing is, you dont even seem to notice it.

The thought of people like Lukács and Adorno never made it into mainstream political rhetoric or practice

What? So Critical Theory never made its way into our political arenas? So you dont think Critical Theory is embedded to and utilized by most of the fucking progressive libs of today, including our goddamned president? Can you really go look at yourself in the mirror and say that with a straight face?

edit: And yup, i'm an asshole.

 

[Matt]

How the fuck do you know anything about academia? There is no way you have any experience with it at all.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

Oh the irony, you probably have no fuckin' clue what we were talking about anyway. Go watch your msnbc bro.

Anyway, I think it might be about time that i throw you on my ignore list. You'll be joining that one chick that has the reading comprehension skills of a grade-schooler but somehow is always looking down at us from her imaginary high horse ... MF.

edit: Now, please excuse me while i go watch Kershaw mow down your gay ass giants.

 

[Dak]

As far as academic impact on society, I disagree CIG. But that's pretty vague. "Academia" is somewhat broad, especially when you start breaking down disciplines, and sides of the Atlantic. However, it is true that something we might want to label as somewhat "true" conservatism is going to have a hard time making it in academia except at the most inconsequential private universities.

 

[Matt]

Oh the irony, you probably have no fuckin' clue what we were talking about anyway. Go watch your msnbc bro.

Anyway, I think it might be about time that i throw you on my ignore list. You'll be joining that one chick that has the reading comprehension skills of a grade-schooler but somehow is always looking down at us from her imaginary high horse ... MF.

Now, please excuse me while i go watch my Dodgers mow down your gay ass giants.

Oh no, that's terrible. I would do the same, but sometimes it's really funny to see your idiotic comments. On the fence about it.

Also, when was the last series for the Dodegrs? 88? Must be frustrating to watch a team that can't ever win a divisional playoff series. Good matchup tonight, though.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

Kershaw is going to send most of your team straight back to the dugout after he rapes em.

 

[Matt]

Maybe, but they're going nowhere in the playoffs. That's all that matters ultimately.

 

[Dak]

Can you guys go slobber over batsnballs elsewhere?

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

Maybe, but they're going nowhere in the playoffs. That's all that matters ultimately.

They're gonna go further this year than the Giants. That's for sure.

edit: 8-0 shutout! what'd i tell you matty boy.

 

[CiG]

Actually I disagree with myself too now, you guys made great points.
I think I just hate it when intellectuals dismiss low culture so much, like it has no real world impact or something.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

i feel you, i'd be hard pressed to call such individuals "intellectual".

 

[Einherjar86]

I know im gonna sound like an asshole here again, but whatever. Just about everything you said there isnt true, and some if is quite laughable. And im not surprised since you are a perfect example of the countless number of victims i was talking about. The sad thing is, you dont even seem to notice it.

Just about everything I said is true, and you provided no evidence. All you did was spout unsubstantiated bullshit.

What? So Critical Theory never made its way into our political arenas? So you dont think Critical Theory is embedded to and utilized by most of the fucking progressive libs of today, including our goddamned president? Can you really go look at yourself in the mirror and say that with a straight face?

No, critical theory is NOT utilized by "fucking progressive libs" today. Modern day liberal thought is nothing like what fucking Adorno wrote about in Dialectic of Enlightenment, or what Lukacs wrote about in History and Class Consciousness. Have you ever fucking read these books??? Jesus Christ, you're so presumptuous and confident in your ideas, but you have no idea what's even in these books.

Where in fucking modern liberal politics do you hear people talking about Adorno, Lukacs, or fucking Hegel? These things are not underscoring the thought of modern American politics, I'm sorry to burst your naive little bubble.

Regardless of what you might think, I'm pretty smart. Surprise, I know. I see modern politics, I watch the news, I read articles online, and I know where modern political theory comes from; and it comes from the names I mentioned above, Rawls, Habermas, et al. You need to get a fucking clue and do some research rather than just vomit nonsense.

Actually I disagree with myself too now, you guys made great points.
I think I just hate it when intellectuals dismiss low culture so much, like it has no real world impact or something.

As far as academia dismissing pop culture; that was a common attribute of academia in the mid-twentieth century. But academics, especially young ones, no longer ignore pop culture, and in fact see it as an important component of cultural development at large. You can read a very positive and convincing argument about the role of pop culture in Andreas Huyssen's After the Great Divide. Hell, I'm teaching a class right now on science fiction! Other professors teach classes on sitcoms, others on comic books. Pop culture is very prevalent in academia today.

Long story short, TB does NOT know what he's talking about; but he talks like he does. Everything he said is a massive warping of the influence of Frankfurt School Marxism on modern political thought, and he completely has no knowledge whatsoever of the actual impact that academia has on politics (which is definitely legitimate, but it doesn't derive from the fucking Frankfurt School).

 

[CiG]

I'm not saying academics ignore low culture, I'm saying people that, for example, defend feminism by brushing off it's low culture and instead point at it's academics are being a bit too dismissive.
What happens on tumblr and twitter have huge impacts on the ideology and those that adhere to it.

 

[tagradh]

Can you ever "deal" with academics? Unless of course you are one and can get published? Very unfulfilling world

The comments sections on near all news websites make a fairly convincing argument for the masses being less open to debate and 'dealing with' than academics. Most people don't even make a show of being open to facts or arguments.

 

[Dak]

I think TB has read one too many (one is one too many) Glenn Beck books.

@Tag: I wouldn't say academics as a group are any more open minded. They are more open to debate maybe. Those are two different things.

 

[Einherjar86]

I'm not saying academics ignore low culture, I'm saying people that, for example, defend feminism by brushing off it's low culture and instead point at it's academics are being a bit too dismissive.
What happens on tumblr and twitter have huge impacts on the ideology and those that adhere to it.

Ah, I see. Fair point. And correct.

I guess I would just offer that these online pop critics do draw points from academia, but in a very indirect and often incorrect way. In other words, they like to cherry pick aspects of academic arguments. Politicians do the same thing, but as far as critical theory goes, I seriously doubt that even Bernie Sanders has the Dialectic of fucking Enlightenment on his bookshelf. He probably does own books by Alinsky or similar figures.

To illustrate this point more clearly, in an episode of The West Wing, Sorkin has a copy of Foucault's The Birth of Biopolitics on the president's shelf. This is an instance of pure artistic fantasy bleeding through into a purportedly realistic portrayal of an American president.

 

[Dak]

In other news, there's apparently a media storm over whether the females who recently passed Army Ranger school were more accurately passed through. I wouldn't jump to saying it's definitely true but I wouldn't be surprised either.

Similar to the Marine Corps reports, reports leaked state that the women did not carry an equal burden (equipment, duties), and were allowed to keep attempting to pass when men who failed were sent away immediately. I know from my experience in the Marines, instructors would go out of their way to stick smaller guys like me with the crew serves just to make a point. MCT is co-ed, and I never saw female Marines toting so much as an M-249. Of course that was over a decade ago now, so maybe things changed there.

Edit: Besides the lightened burden, this one is huge:

While in the special platoon they were taken out to the land navigation course – a very tough part of the course that is timed – on a regular basis. The men had to see it for the first time when they went to the school.

Again, from my experience, female Marines were in the latter half of land nav course finishers, and pretty much everyone finishing in the latter half of the day time course was able to get pointers. But being able to see it all before hand is a major advantage.