Ordinary Events describes the world of politics, economics, and philosophy. The name comes from David Hume, who wrote: “To philosopher and historian the madness and imbecile wickedness of mankind ought to appear ordinary events.” For Hume, this line describes an insight into human nature; those who study and contemplate humanity know its wickedness and imbecility as standard. As is, of course, often the case.
However, the ordinary events of history and philosophy are sometimes quite extraordinary. We turn the aircraft carrier of state a couple degrees, to borrow former President Obama’s turn of phrase, and end up incrementally better in the long run. We practice politics, the “slow boring of hard boards” in Max Weber’s phrasing, in order to counteract the worst aspects of human nature. Wickedness and imbecility are self-oriented; philosophy and history, while full of compelling counterexamples, also tell of the power of the public good over the individual good.
My goal in Ordinary Events is to delve more closely into the ordinary events of the moment. Beyond the initial impulse to see each day’s news as a confirmation of the worst of our kind, I want to turn Hume’s line on its head: to acknowledge humankind’s wickedness and imbecility, yes, but mostly to emphasize its resilience and cooperative nature. Because both are true. And these days, the ordinary course of events is to ignore the promise of humanity in favor of decrying its peril.
More to the point, I will be writing about lots of diverse topics at an erratic schedule. I have an assortment of posts I’ve migrated here from an older blog. I’m working my way, very slowly, through Bertrand Russell’s History of Western Philosophy. And I’ll post about things that are happening in the world and in my life.
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