Monthly Archives: March 2022

The Sociology of Philosophies: A Global Theory of Intellectual Change (1998)

Here are some excerpts from this book sociologist Randall Collins: * The long-term tendency of an active intellectual community is to raise the level of abstraction and reflexivity. * Individuals who participate in IRs [interaction rituals] are filled with emotional … Continue reading

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The Energy Stars (3-20-22)

00:00 The situation is the boss 03:00 The power of emotional energy, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=142897 07:00 Elliott Blatt joins 12:00 Karen Carpenter, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Carpenter 15:00 How did Ukraine become sacred? 25:00 Stalemate in Russia v Ukraine 52:10 Who’s Who in the Dissident Right: … Continue reading

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The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain

This is the most important book I’ve read in 2022. Psychologist Roger Barker had set out to discover why people behave as they do by recording their activities in minute detail as they went about their everyday lives. With his … Continue reading

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The Sociology of Philosophies: A Global Theory of Intellectual Change (1998)

Here are excerpts of a review of this Randall Collins book: * Great doctrines must have great imperfections it they are to continue to generate excitement (32). And those who are most theoretically creative in developing these doctrines will typically … Continue reading

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Interaction Ritual Chains

Here are some highlights from this 2010 book by Randall Collins: * humans have intrinsically limited cognitive capabilities, and that they construct mundane social order by consistently using practices to avoid recognizing how arbitrarily social order is actually put together. … Continue reading

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