Monday, October 10, 2005
(11:25 AM) | Adam Kotsko:
Imitation
I find that I tend to imitate the writing style of whatever I'm reading, provided that I assess that style positively. When reading Nietzsche, I tend to overuse dashes and italics; when reading a work of Anglo-American political philosophy (as I am now), I aspire to the most perfect clarity that is humanly attainable.In a conversation over AOL's Instant Messenger service last night, I characterized the argumentative strategy of Anglo-American political philosophy as follows: "Common sense tells us one thing. But then, common sense also tells us another contradictory thing. Where do we turn to resolve this conflict? Common sense!"
