The Big Tent Paradox

[RobertBunge]

I’m probably somewhere around 80-90% agreement with the post above. It would take a lot of point-by-point unpacking to identify the 10-20% where I see things differently. But instead, I want to repost a self-quote from my recent essay “Bonus Chapter” and see how that lands for you. (The essay is linked in this thread below).

Exit Interview

Yesterday I had my exit interview (on Zoom) with my dean. She chose that occasion to read back to me the 14 page strategic document I shared with her about 5 minutes after assuming her administrative role in the spring of 2023. The gist of the document was “I plan to retire in under 6 months, here are the 97 millions things I do around here, good luck replacing that!” Then I offered 3 strategic options, two of which were horrifically bad and the third of which was what I obviously wanted. My de…

“A good way to handle Theories of Everything, it turns out, is to put all of them side by side (especially when they contradict each other), and then use skeptics like Snowden to underline why we should not take any such theory with absolute seriousness.”

For context, the essay is directed at an audience that is very much postmodern in the way you describe. My mission - mobilize them for effective action. The essay is a move in that direction.