Friday, June 29, 2012

Reading Each Other

Sarah Skwire has a piece in The Freeman on Reading Each Other, which talks about the value of literature for creating empathy. Indeed, literature contributes to the moral order -- but harldy in straightforward ways.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Perverse Spontaneous Orders and Stories

Nona Martin and Virgil Storr on how stories can contribute to the creation of a perverse spontaneous order/culture that further undermines and perverts other spontaneous orders in civil society. Of course, good stories can also create healthy cultures that provide the foundation for the creation of other spontaneous orders, the economies they create, and the civil society all their interactions produce.

Perhaps more work needs to be done along these lines, investigating the societal effects of stories, stories' roles in the creation of cultures, and their roles in the kinds of spontaneous orders which emerge. There is a few lifetimes of work for someone and their students.