This will be a short, fragmented entry, just to say grounded with this "scaffolding" blog.
A reminder that this blog is itself meant to be a catalyst, an incubator of "real time" growth for me, and, for all those out there who truly care about the concept of "enriching the conversation": both in their own personal lives and in the larger community.
I'm happy that this week I had some quality reading time in the atmospheric rare book room of the Strand. An aesthetic wonder of a space that's literary and intellectual in an old New York, non-ipodded way. I'm "studying up" on Simon Critchely, getting ready for my big interview with the vaunted sage of the New School next week. My takeaway from this introductory exposure to Critchlian philosophy is his view, that I concur with, that the moral and rational are interconnected with the social.
Critchey is reinforcing my own deep inclination toward the social, whether in my teaching, tv show, or everyday life. How grateful I am to him for teaching me that Kantian ethics (rational autonomy) was socialized by Hegel; and that Badiou is also a "people person" kind of philosopher; and for reminding me of Jurgen Habermas' linkage of democracy with "communicate competance." I gotta get Jurgan on Public Voice Salon!
Ok, so, it's official, my first lecture of 2015 will be at Sister's Uptown Bookstore and Culture Center in Washington Heights. The title of my talk is "How to Dream Big, Stay Strong, and Be Happy in an Age of Downsized Expectations." It's set for May 8 at 6 pm. Happy days are here again!
How wonderful that I no longer have the distraction of working in real estate, and my Ethical Business Society, to keep me from pursuing my dream of growing Public Voice Salon. And growing as a writer and lecturer too. As I connect, via e-mail, with the best and brightest minds in NYC, professors in various disciplines at Columbia, NYU, and the New School.
Connecting with people in cafes too, the social butterfly that I am, proving the importance of cafe culture at its best (in the Habermasian sense of a "public sphere"), one conversation at a time. My dream is to build up Public Voice Salon as if it were a party, which in fact it is, in particular if I craft it as such--with the help of my dear, sweet, loving wife Claudia.
Ok, enough for now. Let me know if you have any ideas about interesting guests or topics for Public Voice Salon. To help us enrich the conversation! Best.
John
