Socrates at Verse and Other Philosophical Poems

Christopher Norris

Description

These poems by a well-known philosopher and literary theorist take a lead from Plato’s intriguing account of how Socrates turned to composing verse during his last few days despite having famously denounced its corrupting moral, social and political effects. Writing as a convinced formalist, Christopher Norris deploys a range of meters, stanza-forms and rhyme-schemes by way of exploring how the discipline of verse might relate to that of philosophical enquiry as practiced across the ages. Some of his poems have to do with individual thinkers, such as Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Adorno, and Derrida. Others are concerned with wider debates like those around the nature of time, the status of mathematical truths, the enduring puzzles of quantum mechanics, Kurt Gödel’s Undecidability Theorem, the mind/body problem, the ontology of art, the nature of rules, and the role of luck in matters of moral judgment. Others again are philosophical in the non-specialist sense of confronting often-asked questions about love, memory, identity, character, social roles, choice, evolution, and animal sentience.

Informations

• Publié par: Parlor Press, LLC
• Date de parution: 07 mars 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781643171609
• Langue: English

Extrait

SOCRATES AT VERSE A N D O T H E R P H I L O S O P H I C A L P O E M S

C H R I S T O P H E R N O R R I S

Socrates at Verse

SOCRATES AT VERSE

and Other Philosophical Poems

Christopher Norris

Parlor Press Anderson, South Carolina www.parlorpress.com

Paror Press C, Anderson, Sout Caroîna, 29621

© 2020 by Paror Press A rîgts reserved. Prînted în te Unîted States o Amerîca S A N: 2 5 4 - 8 8 7 9

îbrary o Congress Cataogîng-în-Pubîcatîon Data on Fîe

978-1-64317-159-3 (paperback) 978-1-64317-160-9 (PDF) 978-1-64317-161-6 (ePub)

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Contents

Foreword îx Acknowedgments xv

Bîsop Berkeey’s Apoogy 3 Socrates at Verse: a îe redeemed 5 Sowîngs (Wîttgensteîn): a doube sestîna 27 Probems o Pîosopy (Russe) 30 Tîme and te Pysîcîst 32 Sîx Vîanees on Quantum hemes 36 Kant: border-crossîng (sestînas) 45 ReLectîons rom Rancîère 50 An Uncommon Reader 54 Ten îmerîcks ater Kurt Göde 59 Darwîn’s Dog 62 Trut, ove and Number: a cooquy 68 Asîna 76 Fîve Topîcs rom Adorno 79 Promîses, Promîses: a pantoum 92 Dupes 94 Scopenauer: ate tougts (sestînas) 97 Quandarîes: FîcteversusKant 102 hougt-Communîqué: Nîetzsce 105 Rues 108 ast Reckonîng: Hume 114 A Pea or ïnventîon 117 A Brîe Coect o ïdeaîsm: ten îmerîcks 123 yrîc Suîte: eîpses 125 Aterîty: tree vîanees 130 oco 133 Sestîna: A Sock to te System (Frege) 136

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About te Autor 199

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Contents

Desoatîons o Pîosopy 138 he Ontoogy o Art: sîx submîssîons 143 ïntervas 151 Savîng te Text (Kîerkegaard): sestînas 154 Deayed Coîce: Two Poems 157 Haîkus or New Tîmes 161 More Topîcs rom Adorno 164 Readîng Togeter 177 Roes 179 Wakîng te Tak 181 Consequences 184 he Turîng Test 185 Out o Caracter 188 Derrîda’s Cat: sîx sonnets 191 Epîogue: Husser 194

Foreword

Tîs îs a coectîon o poems a wrîtten over te past tree years or so, a o tem markedy orma în caracter (tat îs, rymed and metrîca), and oten on pîosopîca or pîosopy-reated temes. Some ave to do wît te îves and works o îndîvîdua tînkers rom Socrates, Descartes, Hume and Kant to Kîerkegaard, Nî- etzsce, Wîttgensteîn, Adorno and Derrîda. Oters oer tougts – arguments, even – about a wîde range o topîcs încudîng tîme, Pa- tonîsm, promîses, îdeaîsm, aestetîcs, ree-wîversusdetermînîsm, mora caracter, anîmas, quantum teory, rue-oowîng, and pî- osopy o matematîcs. Oters agaîn are ess overty pîosopîca în caracter but make te case – or express and embody my preer- ence – or a poetry tat does currenty unasîonabe tîngs suc as dîscussîng, debatîng, objectîng, controvertîng, and (în sort) argu- îng. Tere are severa pîeces tat ave to do wît aspects o îterature and musîc but earn a pace ere because, as so oten rom Socrates down, tey come at teîr temes troug a broacîng o topîcs în îterary teory and musîcoogy. Oter poems ave topîcs o a more everyday, persona or anecdota înterest tat îkewîse engage în te undamenta busîness o tînkîng tîngs troug – eeîngs and emotîons încuded – as ceary as possîbe wîtout understatîng te compexîtîes învoved. Te ryme scemes and metrîca patterns are varîed but ave enoug în common, ormay speakîng, to unîte te poems across some oterwîse arge contrasts o treatment and tone. ïmpîcît trougout îs my centra caîm: tat poetîc tînkîng îs dîstînctîve – and pîosopîzîng în verse a wortwîe actîvîty – în so ar as ît operates wîtîn certaîn constraînts tat can temseves become sprîngboards or te exercîse o înteectua creatîvîty. More tan tat, tey can serve to ocus attentîon on pîosopîca or oter sorts o îssue by means not avaîabe to straîgtorward dîscursîve prose.

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