I’m trying to show how property rights form in nature even though they still lack development in comparison to the human animal. Here is my notes on wolves http://jeremiahdyke.blogspot.com/2011/02/notes-on-wolves-and-territory-markings.html
Fascinating, I look forward to a polished and finished work from this.
My job is so very technical that it’s hard to spend too much time in economic text books, so I try to limit myself to the most impactful ones. Other then that I read a lot of fiction. Things I am reading now.
- Wĭthûr Wē
- Human Action (I only ever read about halfway through)(I am also re-reading the Study Guide, started from the first chapters all the way up to the point where I left off in HA. Then I will read chapter and chapter in paralell to enhance comprehension.
- On the Soul (De Anima) followed by Ethics
My reading is so sporadic that it’s hard to tell what I have finished recently. I know I recently just finish Bastiat’s the Law, as well as Towers of Midnight(WOT Series). Anything else I finished I don’t remember, as I probably deleted it from my kindle already!
He was. He just wasn’t a Benthamite deontological “act” utilitarian (what Hazlitt refers to as “ad hoc utilitarianism”). He was an individualist, consequentialist, “rule” utilitarian.
I would still tend to agree with William, though, his consequentialist and coherentist approach is really divorced from any reference to ‘utility’; he is not saying this will maximize ‘utility’, he is saying that it will produce consequences which are generally lauded and certain general approaches (like interventionism) will systematically undermine these consequences.
Hume kept calling me back, so I’m switching to An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding on my Nook.
Just finished Durant’s Our Oriental Heritage. One of my favorite passages: “Europe and America are the spoiled child and grandchild of Asia, and have never quite realized the wealth of their pre-classical inheritance.”
On to “The Life of Greece”! Favorite passage so far: “This persistent effort to subordinate fancy to reason is the dominant quality of the Greek mind, even of Greek poetry. Therefore Greek literature is ‘modern,’ or rather, contemporary; we find it hard to understand Dante or Milton, but Euripides and Thucydides are kin to us mentally, and belong to our age. This is because, though myths may differ, reason remains the same, and the life of reason makes brothers of its lovers in all times, and everywhere.”
“Europe and America are the spoiled child and grandchild of Asia, and have never quite realized the wealth of their pre-classical inheritance.”
It is amazing how a deeply felt sentiment I have had lingering for so long can get expressed so wonderfully in a single sentence. Thanks for that. Though I may take it a bit further than the “classical” era.
That’s Will Durant for you. His stuff is just packed with trenchant epigrams like that.
Eh? He said “pre-classical”.
Eh? He said “pre-classical”.
Oh wow, as far as I can tell: I find nothing particularly remarkable about Non-mediterranean Europe until almost the 16th Century, after that it becomes very interesting.
I’m currently reading Seeing Like a State by James C. Scott. It’s a fascinating description of why centrally planned schemes not only tend to fail, but bring about untold misery. It’s about the mechanics of how social engineering fails.
After that I plan on starting on Human Action with the help of Robert Murphys study guide.
Sure, I’ll bite. I’m reading Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None”.
At the moment I am reading Great Wars and Great Leaders: A Libertarian Rebuttal by Ralph Raico. A really fantastic work, which inspired this blog post.
I’m dropping DeLong’s book for the time being and reading a number of essays in Yeager’s The Fluttering Veil: Essays on Monetary Disequilibrium.
I decided to start reading some biographies, at the moment I’m tackling “Einstein, his Life and Universe” by Walter Isaacson. Interesting to note how heavily Einstein was influenced by Hume, also interesting that Einstein was a believer in the deductive method rather than inductive.
It’s also made me wonder if Austrian Econ wrongly presupposes a Newtonian universe, in regard to time preference. I’m not sure there are any implications, but it’s something I intend to ponder.
Just finished An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. I heartily recommend that anyone considering diving into the principles of Hume’s philosophy should read the Enquiry before reading Book I of A Treatise of Human Nature. Hume is much more eloquent, clear, and direct in the former than the latter. However Treatise would be a great follow-up read, because it is more complete. On to An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals!
I started reading Man, Economy, and State on Friday.
I’m reading The 4 hour body.
Primarily because the book claims to give you tips for getting by on ridiciousl amounts of sleep. I figure if I can get myself down to 4 hours of sleep that might make the book worth it.
I hope your not an athletic person! I power lift at least 3 nights a week. Getting anything less then 8 hours of sleep is full body scuicide for me.
You can ‘get by’ but you’ll slowly loose you mental rigour. Mises slept long hours. Don’t try your brain.
Still it would be interesting to see what that book says.
Man, Economy, and State - Rothbard
Blowback - Chalmers Johnson