Comments on: Republicans Unfair to Lessing!

By: J. Dickenson

J. Dickenson — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 18:16:34 +0000

Democrats are unfair to Lessing’s son!

By: Alexandra

Alexandra — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 06:56:51 +0000

Helen,

The painting is 700 pxls across, and she is standing on the right of the image, directly on Bush’s left dressed in blue. You need to open your window to its maximum.

By: Helen

Helen — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 03:19:01 +0000

Alexandra – I can’t for the life of me see Condolleezza Rice in the picture (the one with Bush, Merkel and Rice). Is it one of these optical-illusion thingies?

By: JR

JR — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 00:54:54 +0000

“writing a comic strip, with his tongue naturally tending to be firmly in his cheek..”

Or in someone’s cheek anyway. I never read the words. I just like the bare butts.

By: Geezer

Geezer — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 21:09:12 +0000

I don’t suppose writing a comic strip, with his tongue naturally tending to be firmly in his cheek, it would occur to anyone that he may be deriving inordinate amusement from this very thread, full of earnest analysis of how stupid he is simply because you haven’t realized the whole thing is a joke? Even with the colossal hint that it was presented in, um, a comic strip?

There was a joke?

Who knew?

By: Benjamin Nelson

Benjamin Nelson — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 20:42:42 +0000

Seth: emphasis on “real”. Realism is the opposite of nihilism.

What Sokal is presumably referring to is that Kant tells us we have almost no access to things-in-themselves, or noumena, but have a helluva lot of access to empirical reality, or phenomena.

By: Seth Edenbaum

Seth Edenbaum — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 20:09:35 +0000

As Katha Pollitt wrote recently in The Nation, the author of the hoax, Alan Sokal, “cites as ridiculous postmodern ‘dogma’ the argument that the world is real but unknowable, a position put foreword by Kant in 1781…”

By: abb1

abb1 — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 18:41:11 +0000

May I suggest this philosophical comic: http://www.mnftiu.cc/mnftiu.cc/war56.html

By: "Q" the Enchanter

"Q" the Enchanter — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 18:09:49 +0000

“incandescently ignorant”

Yes, like a lump of coal that bedims in its own nigritude.

By: Doctor Slack

Doctor Slack — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 15:16:45 +0000

wage slage: That’s “Michael Moore-watching, latte-drinking elitist groupthink” to you. Stick with the classics, kid.

By: Malachai M. Nillsai

Malachai M. Nillsai — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 05:00:24 +0000

Washer, I realize you’re being charitable. But of course, when one looks like a total moron in front of a lot of people, and all rational defence is impossible, the only tactic left is to say: “it was all a joke!! Joke’s on you, suckers – don’t you see the joke Joke!”

This is to be encouraged. Not only does the person look like a stupid asshole, they look like an unfunny stupid asshole.

By: washerdreyer

washerdreyer — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 04:03:29 +0000

Alexandra, do you think there was any reason at all that Chris Muir had his character say “Kantian Nihilism” rather then “They smell bad” (or some equivalent of this second)? If no, then everything you’ve said in this thread makes sense, you are also likely a radical postmodernist. If yes, then pretty much all the criticism in all the threads about this cartoon has been dead on, I think. But I’d be interested in seeing you defend the view that he had some reason for writing “Kantian Nihilism” and yet all of this criticism is woefully misguided.

By: Jackmormon

Jackmormon — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 03:48:38 +0000

Do you mean that Democrats are going to have to rethink their strategy of nominating philosophy professors for the Presidency?

Damn.

By: wage slage

wage slage — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 03:34:28 +0000

The philosophy-reading, sushi-eating elitist groupthink in this thread is why you guys don’t win elections anymore.

By: Benjamin Nelson

Benjamin Nelson — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 23:49:24 +0000