tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60268432864991718862024-02-08T03:18:33.994-08:00The Emerson Institute for Freedom and CultureThe Official Blog of The Emerson Institute for Freedom and CultureTroy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-7680785017545099572009-01-31T13:31:00.001-08:002009-01-31T13:31:14.073-08:00Denis Dutton on The Colbert Report<style type='text/css'>.cc_box a:hover .cc_home{background:url('http://www.comedycentral.com/comedycentral/video/assets/syndicated-logo-over.png') !important;}.cc_links a{color:#b9b9b9;text-decoration:none;}.cc_show a{color:#707070;text-decoration:none;}.cc_title a{color:#868686;text-decoration:none;}.cc_links a:hover{color:#67bee2;text-decoration:underline;}</style><div class='cc_box' style='position:relative'><a href='http://www.comedycentral.com' target='_blank' style='display:inline; float:left; width:60px; height:31px;'><div class='cc_home' style='float:left; border:solid 1px #cfcfcf; border-width:1px 0px 0px 1px; width:60px; height:31px; background:url("http://www.comedycentral.com/comedycentral/video/assets/syndicated-logo-out.png");'></div></a><div style='font:bold 10px Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif; float:left; width:299px; height:31px; border:solid 1px #cfcfcf; border-width:1px 1px 0px 0px; overflow:hidden; color:#707070; position:relative;'><div class='cc_show' style='position:relative; background-color:#e5e5e5;padding-left:3px; height:14px; padding-top:2px; overflow:hidden;'><a href='http://www.colbertnation.com/' target='_blank'>The Colbert Report</a><span style='position:absolute; top:2px; right:3px;'>Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c</span></div><div class='cc_title' style='font-size:11px; color:#868686; background-color:#f5f5f5; padding:3px; padding-top:1px; line-height:14px; height:21px; overflow:hidden;'><a href='http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/217078/january-28-2009/denis-dutton' target='_blank'>Denis Dutton</a></div></div><embed style='float:left; clear:left;' src='http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:217078' width='360' height='301' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' wmode='window' allowFullscreen='true' flashvars='autoPlay=false' allowscriptaccess='always' allownetworking='all' bgcolor='#000000'></embed><div class='cc_links' style='float:left; clear:left; width:358px; border:solid 1px #cfcfcf; border-top:0px; font:10px Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif; color:#b9b9b9; background-color:#f5f5f5;'><div style='width:177px; float:left; padding-left:3px;'><a target='_blank' href='http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/full-episodes/index.jhtml?episodeId=216617'>Colbert Report Full Episodes</a><br /><a target='_blank' href='http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/217077/january-28-2009/better-know-a-beatle---paul-mccartney'>Paul McCartney Appearance</a></div><div style='width:177px; float:left;'><a target='_blank' href='http://www.colbertnation.com/home'>Funny Political Videos</a><br /><a target='_blank' href='http://www.comedycentral.com/funny_videos/index.jhtml'>More Funny Videos</a></div><div style='clear:both'></div></div><div style='clear:both'></div></div>Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-91410726070109795222009-01-31T12:10:00.000-08:002009-01-31T15:16:06.083-08:00Steven Pinker Reviews The Literary AnimalSteven Pinker reviews <a href="http://pinker.wjh.harvard.edu/articles/papers/Literary_Animal_review.pdf">The Literary Animal</a>. Pinker is right that Joseph Carroll is at his worst when criticizing others and at his best when analyzing literature. I fear the former turns many people off from learning about the latter. However, Pinker shows his propensity to be too literal with literary works (something Denis Dutton makes fun of in his latest book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Art-Instinct-Beauty-Pleasure-Evolution/dp/1596914017/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233433699&sr=8-1">The Art Instinct</a>) when he criticizes the evolutionary psychological approach to understanding Pride and Prejudice: "Today, a depiction of a contemporary middle-class family that worried aloud about finding wealthy husbands for the daughters, and about their being disgraced by a daughter running off with the son of a steward, would elicit guffaws, not a flash of recognition." Let me rephrase his statement: "Today, a depiction of a contemporary middle-class family that worried aloud about finding wealthy husbands for the daughters by sending them off to college, and about their being disgraced by a daughter running off with a high school dropout would indeed elicit a flash of recognition." Same plot, slightly different details. The point is the plot, not the details of the plot, for which historical and cultural analyses are indeed appropriate. Pinker also goes on to claim that the arts have no adaptive function at all, something which Dutton addresses in his new book. I also had addressed it in my dissertation <a href="http://www.evolutionaryaesthetics.blogspot.com/">Evolutionary Aesthetics</a> to some degree. In short, Pinker forgets about sexual selection, and he forgets about other animals in this criticism. Why do humans make music? Well, why do birds and whales and gibbons sing? Protohumans likely, like gibbons, were singing apes, and uses those songs for mating demonstrations. Music and language were likely byproducts of a bifurcation of that mating song, with poetry and songs a reunification of language and music. Why do humans dance? Well, why do territorial fish, displaying birds like the <a href="http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ecuador-travel.net/biodiversity.birds-cockoftherock4.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ecuador-travel.net/biodiversity.birds.cockoftherock.htm&usg=__bl_XM8frvQgl9yxMsAeg5NPd430=&h=465&w=585&sz=103&hl=en&start=6&sig2=7VZ3eNDiR6-AHIGs2x69QA&um=1&tbnid=3iyXhtx7-IdsVM:&tbnh=107&tbnw=135&ei=7LeESdLsI5eENfKopdID&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcock%2Bof%2Bthe%2Brock%2Bdancing%2Bmating%2Britual%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG">Cock-of-the-Rock</a> and deer dance/display? They are showing off their physical fitness. And so are dancers. Fiction allows for the creation of "what-if" stories that people can use to make better choices in the future, which is certainly adaptive in the sense of natural selection (as Pinker does at least acknowledge) -- even if language and storytelling probably had their origins in sexual selection. There is a natural tension and back-and-forth between sexual and natural selection, after all. Pinker then goes on to suggest that literature's ability to instruct is indeed adaptive, but its ability to delight is a mere byproduct. But what is delight? The feeling of delight is produced by the brain, and is a reward to itself for engaging in adaptive behaviors. The feeling of delight is how the brain rewards itself for seeking out instruction that will help the organism to survive in the future. Delight is thus not a by-product, but is itself an adaptation. Those who delight in storytelling will seek it out, and gain the educational benefits; those who do not delight in storytelling will not seek it out, and will not gain the educational benefits. Even a slight benefit will be selected for over time. So how is delight not adaptive? However, Pinker is right that there needs to be a broader consilience in regards to bringing the sciences to the study of the arts. I would also add to his list the inclusion of <a href="http://www.12manage.com/methods_graves_spiral_dynamics.html">Gravesean psychology.</a>Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-11632506614512015432008-12-04T13:08:00.000-08:002009-02-06T21:37:45.757-08:00Income Tax StatusThe Emerson Institute for Freedom and Culture is exempt from federal income tax for related purpose net income as described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Accordingly, contributions to Emerson are deductible for federal income, estate, and gift tax purposes. In addition, Emerson has been classified by the Internal Revenue Service as a public charity and is not a private foundation.<br /><br />This information will be formally put on the web site when it is redesigned -- hopefully soon.Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-12004389503441242432008-11-28T13:35:00.001-08:002008-11-28T13:35:20.746-08:00Wisdom and LiteratureThe arts have a future when you actually have a critic argue that the reason why we should study literature is because it is full of <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/cu/alumni/Magazine/Fall2008/feature3.html">wisdom.</a>Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-70851751513583973402008-11-28T13:33:00.001-08:002008-11-28T13:33:45.714-08:00501(c)(3) Achieved!Good news! The Emerson Institute is now a 501(c)(3). That's right, we're a nonprofit. That means we can now collect money and get to work on supporting pro-market artists and scholars!Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-29274017667561693272008-10-08T05:48:00.000-07:002008-10-08T05:54:15.386-07:00Patronizing the Arts ReviewJoseph Epstein gives an interesting and excellent review of Marjorie Garber's <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Utilities/printer_preview.asp?idArticle=15648&R=13C6C1FE3A">Patronizing the Arts</a>. In it he points out all the problems of the government and the universities as arts patrons. I think it also shows why there needs to be someplace like The Emerson Institute to patronize the arts. When we get to thte place where we can do so. Of course, all patrons require something of the artists they are patronizing, and EIFC will be no different, but you may rest assured that it will be excellence, and not the kind of mediocrity created by government patronage nor the kind of insularity created by the university's patronage.Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-13818641605073124362008-09-30T11:53:00.001-07:002008-09-30T11:55:25.648-07:00Experimental Arts and HumanitiesThe Emerson Institute for Freedom and Culture is very interested in experimental approaches to understanding the arts, literature, and the humanities, including <a href="http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i06/06b00901.htm">philosophy</a>. I am hoping we can get some experimental philosophers to publish here. Naturally, experimentalists in the study of the arts and literature are also more than welcome.Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-48151464308883782402008-09-22T14:10:00.000-07:002008-09-22T14:11:51.420-07:00Direct and Overall LibertyHere is a working paper on <a href="http://www.mercatus.org/uploadedFiles/Mercatus/Publications/Direct%20and%20Overall%20Liberty%20-%20Areas%20and%20Extents%20of%20Disagreement%20by%20Klein%20and%20Clark.pdf">freedom</a>.Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-22205888128955411182008-09-22T11:09:00.000-07:002008-09-22T11:10:33.873-07:00Secrets of StorytellingHere's an excellent article on the biological and psychological-neurological elements of <a href="http://www.sciam.com:80/article.cfm?id=the-secrets-of-storytelling&print=true">storytelling</a>.Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-51353069381689641212008-09-15T18:48:00.001-07:002008-09-15T18:48:55.661-07:00The Symphony of Personal and Social LifePlease leave comments and questions about Maria Alejandra Vanney's "The Symphony of Personal and Social Life" here.Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-52223644618982261692008-09-15T18:46:00.000-07:002008-09-15T18:48:17.048-07:00Sentimental DeceptionPlease leave comments and questions about Gerald Schwartz's "Sentimental Deception" here.Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-55359392207882480732008-09-06T19:12:00.000-07:002008-09-06T19:22:57.308-07:00PatronageThere is an interesting article at <a href="http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/08/why_the_artists_hate_conservat.html">The American Thinker</a> about why artists hate conservatives. There is a lot there with which I concur. But there is something else that I think contributes quite a bit -- something which The Emerson Institute is designed to rectify. That thing is patronage. Artists look at the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities that think the government is who supports the arts. However, these two support not artists, but other bureaucracies. Primarily due to several scandals. Which shows up the problem with using public funds to support the arts: you either cannot support anything interesting or challenging, or you make the public angry. What do you think politicians are going to choose? In the meantime, artists are fooled into thinking that the government, and not the free market, is where they are getting support.<br /><br />It would be nice if the EIFC could in essence replace the NEA and NEH, funding the arts and humanities with private funds. As we do get funds, we would love to set up artists, poets, etc. with a place in the Dallas area to do their work for a year or so. We would, in essence, bring back the old style of patronage, but give it a contemporary twist. Many are not comfortable choosing artists to patronize, not thinking they are qualified, as though their artistic tastes are not valid. I happen to disagree with that, but I understand how they feel. We at EIFC, however, are qualified to make such choices, and we hope that we can convince people to trust us with their money to support the arts and humanities. Many artists, philosophers, etc. in the past were supported by patrons -- the practice produced a great deal of great works. We would like to bring back that tradition.Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-68135857877891205572008-07-17T10:32:00.000-07:002008-07-17T10:33:20.780-07:00King Tut LetterRead my letter to the editor on the <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/letters/stories/DN-thursletters_0717edi.ART.State.Edition1.4de6595.html">King Tut Exhibit controversy</a> at the Dallas Museum of Art.Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-54670504775371397262008-07-17T08:59:00.001-07:002008-07-17T09:13:11.963-07:00A Few Articles on MusicHere are two interesting articles about music and contemporary music. The first deals with the influence of music on <a href="http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2008/07/12/cant_get_it_out_of_my_head/?page=full">infants.</a> There we learn it's not so much the Mozart Effect as the Wide Variety of Music Effect -- that the important thing is to have complex and simple music across the spectrum. The article ends with Steven Pinker dismissing the value of having your children listen to music by referencing Judith Rich Harris's idea that parents have no effect on their children's personalities or tastes -- which if true, I would be a huge fan of 80's hair metal and/or country music and not The Beatles. Teens and people in their 20's may stray away from their parents in rebellion, but in the end, older adults come around to become who their parents were trying to raise. <br /><br />The second article deals with the fact that nobody really likes <a href="http://music.guardian.co.uk/classical/story/0,,2289751,00.html">new classical music.</a> Though people like Schoenberg have been around for 70 years now, they're still not actually popular. This is certainly enough time for people to have been raised on the music, yet still it's not considered popular. Babies don't like it, and don't seem to get used to it. In fact, it seems that there is a range within which we appreciate music, and much new classical music is outside that range. So why the "popularity" of new classical among critics and art elites? Precisely because the average person can't stand it, they love it. They don't actually love it, of course, but they insist they do, and that it makes them better people to love it, precisely because no real human being can stand it. It's a way to maintain their elite status, by insisting that bad music is good.Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-54833786590865042052008-07-05T11:10:00.000-07:002008-07-05T11:11:51.508-07:00THe Burden of the HumanitiesI highly recommend this essay by Wilfred McClay, <a href="http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=wq.essay&essay_id=452772">The Burden of the Humanities</a>. Understand this article, and you will understand the need for The Emerson Institute.Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-82867049108828326332008-06-27T14:18:00.000-07:002008-06-27T14:19:23.851-07:00Turner's PoemsPlease leave comments and questions about Fred Turner's poems here.Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-73680318028286798752008-06-27T14:17:00.000-07:002008-06-27T14:18:39.526-07:00Freedom EvolvesPlease leave comments and questions about Troy Camplin's essay Freedom Evolves here.Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-15497609137195068192008-06-27T14:16:00.000-07:002008-06-27T14:34:42.610-07:00The New Classicism and CultureFor those who want to know about the kind of classicism EIFC is about, read this article by Frederick Turner: <a href=http://www.phillysoc.org/Turner.htm>The New Classicism and Culture</a>. You should also read Turner and Poppel's <a href =http://www.cosmoetica.com/B22-FT2.htm>The Neural Lyre</a> about why poetry necessarily is rhythmic/patterned and has line lengths.Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-8401274641070794672008-06-25T13:13:00.000-07:002008-06-25T13:14:59.720-07:00The Motives That Ought to Encourage Us to the SciencesEveryone should read <a href="http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-motives-that-ought-to-encourage-us-to-the-sciences">The Motives That Ought to Encourage Us to the Sciences</a> from The New Atlantis. It is the beginning of an idea that should be investigated further. Especially the barely-touched-on ideas in the arts.Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-65296358547234427952008-06-16T08:41:00.000-07:002008-06-16T08:51:20.232-07:00Charles JencksCharles Jencks is an architect who is beginning to do work based on fractals, complexity, and self-organization. <a href="http://www.fractal.org/Samenhang-Industrieel-Ontwerpen/Charles-Jencks.htm">Here</a> is a short interview with him.<br /><br />His <a href="http://www.charlesjencks.com/current.html">earthworks</a> are amazing.Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-77437591093238980062008-06-15T14:37:00.000-07:002008-06-15T14:38:29.763-07:00Tax Song<a href="http://www.smallgovernmentact.org/carla_howell-taxes_mac.mp3">Tax Song</a>Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-43813518579043051142008-06-15T13:45:00.000-07:002008-06-15T15:06:33.720-07:00Emerson Institute InterviewYou can now access the interview I gave to <a href="http://blogtalk.vo.llnwd.net/o23/shows/show_204491.mp3">Grizzlygroundswell</a>.<br /><br /><embed src='http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mediaplayer.swf?displayheight=&file=http://www.blogtalkradio.com%2fGrizzlyGroundswell%2fplay_list.xml&autostart=false&shuffle=false&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/FlashPlayerCallback.aspx&width=180&height=152&volume=80&corner=rounded' width='180' height='152' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer' quality='high' wmode='transparent' menu='false'></embed>Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-10997941484457707672008-06-15T13:27:00.001-07:002008-06-15T13:39:51.077-07:00Frederick Turner VideosFrederick Turner is not just an incredible poet, but also a brilliant interdisciplinary thinker. If you enjoyed his poetry, check out these appearances available on YouTube:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PwwFQwOVu6M&hl=en"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PwwFQwOVu6M&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />You can also see him speak, with others, here at <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1WhOICr1bE">The Motive for Metaphor</a>.Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-27249529185530545522008-06-06T07:55:00.000-07:002008-06-06T07:57:03.952-07:00KinderarchyEveryone should read this essay: <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Utilities/printer_preview.asp?idArticle=15161&R=13A93125C3">Kinderarchy</a>. We desperately need a more adult culture.Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026843286499171886.post-83093335629305951032008-06-05T05:51:00.001-07:002008-06-15T13:42:48.982-07:00Online Radio Interview for The Emerson InstituteI will be on a blog talk radio show Monday to talk about The Emerson Institute. More information at <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/GrizzlyGroundswell">Grizzly Groundswell</a>. Hope everyone comes by and listens!Troy Camplinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00307384807023512052noreply@blogger.com0