Paying Attention: Longer Pieces Worth Reading

State Secrets, Philosophy, Book Club Details, and No Barbie Thinkpieces

Below, you’ll find some reading recommendations and details of the forthcoming book club: we’ll read The Imitation of Christ for September 18th. We introduce Annie.

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Good morning.

The air is still cool but will be scorching before long, and I’m outside on the back porch with Annie.

Annie, say hello.

I was on the way home from a conference in May and got a picture of a mini-Australian sheepdog puppy from my wife. Behold and be cooked with me:

Readers may remember that we had to say goodbye to Elroi, our faithful mutt of many years. That picture showed up on my phone five days later.

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The fall semester starts in earnest next week, so I give to you five pieces worth reading before the crash of the Fall. Look for book club details at the end.

1. Men are Lost: Here’s a Map Out of the Wilderness by Christine Emba. Emba is the author of several good pieces recently on gender, and a thoughtful commentator in general. Here, she provides a map to not only the thorny nest of directions available for this question of masculinity, though leaves the way out largely gestured toward. She works with Richard Reeves’ book on this question, which is very good. You can be concerned about what men and boys need to flourish in the world without being reactionary, and this piece is a good starting point.

2. On Having Survived the Academic Moral Philosophy of the 20th Century, by Alisdair MacIntyre. MacIntyre is one of the most important philosophers of the 20th century, and most influential over the recover of virtue as a moral category. Here, he looks back over his career (the man is 94 and still writing!), and offers some insights on how he came to be Alisdair MacIntyre. A slow read, but an education in and of itself. I loved it: it’s okay if you don’t.

3. Risk Aversion and Dating. If you work with young adults in any capacity, this was an eye-opening survey: 59% of 18-25 men hadn’t approached anyone of the opposite sex in a year. There are multiple reasons for this, but it pairs with the first article in getting to the problems surrounding young men in particular.

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   The intent with sharing these is two-fold: 1) thinking about the moral life doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and we need slow work to help us not just think better, but to be better. 2) Good long-form writing is to be praised and preserved. Our attention spans collectively are in bad shape, and long-form writing helps us rebuild a badly needed capacity for paying attention, asking questions, thinking discursively, and drawing conclusions slowly.

   Back to the recommendations.

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