Funnily enough, I saw a similar reaction against Bloom in a recent seminar. People imagine he is a reactionary trying to impose dogmas on people. It couldn't be further from what his book tries to achieve - which is really, to bastardize the argument somewhat, a discerning wrestling with the best attempts to answer life's 'deeper' questions and, more fundamentally, a repudiation of the relativistic idea that all answers to these questions are equally penetrating and worthy of consideration.
For folks who don't realize it Bloom's odd way of talking is due to a mild speech disorder. It has nothing to due with his personality, whatever you adjudge it to be. So cut the guy some slack on that and judge him on the content of what he is saying. What Bloom has done probably better than any other academic in his class is to show some of the follies of postmodernity.
I respect Mr. Bloom's opinions, but one has to wonder how someone who talks about "descending into the agora" can't be considered even a little snottish. Perhaps he could do with reading more Demosthenes or Lucretius than Plato.
![Bloom interviewed 2 - "I said economic OR political!" [1987]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/CMBwoGl7Lno/mqdefault.jpg)
![Bloom interviewed 2 - "I said economic OR political!" [1987]](/img/tr.png)
Funnily enough, I saw a similar reaction against Bloom in a recent seminar. People imagine he is a reactionary trying to impose dogmas on people. It couldn't be further from what his book tries to achieve - which is really, to bastardize the argument somewhat, a discerning wrestling with the best attempts to answer life's 'deeper' questions and, more fundamentally, a repudiation of the relativistic idea that all answers to these questions are equally penetrating and worthy of consideration.
Thank you for sharing this.
Outstanding.
For folks who don't realize it Bloom's odd way of talking is due to a mild speech disorder. It has nothing to due with his personality, whatever you adjudge it to be. So cut the guy some slack on that and judge him on the content of what he is saying. What Bloom has done probably better than any other academic in his class is to show some of the follies of postmodernity.
I respect Mr. Bloom's opinions, but one has to wonder how someone who talks about "descending into the agora" can't be considered even a little snottish. Perhaps he could do with reading more Demosthenes or Lucretius than Plato.