Ancestry, Time, and the Intimacy of Being

Ancestry, Time, and the Intimacy of Being

By Pedro Blas González Ancestry and Time From what primordial field comes the seed that breathes life into me? I ponder about the thoughts and aspirations of my ancestors. In order to keep life in perspective, we must reflect about things that once were and are no...
Like a Jazz Score: The Sense for Life

Like a Jazz Score: The Sense for Life

Pedro Blas González Improvisation as Metaphor Musicians often talk about there being no wrong notes, only notes that they do not intend to play. This is particularly true in jazz. At least in jazz, this serves as the impetus to structure improvisation. If we pay...
On Happiness as Harmony

On Happiness as Harmony

Pedro Blas González Of the many ways that we can exist as persons, happiness directs our glance inward, toward the essence of our individual being. This is the discovery of personhood as interiority. The ultimate form of happiness—joy—signals our participation in...

Hoffer and the True Believers

The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer. Perennial Classics, 1960, 2010. Paperback, 192 pages, $15. PEDRO BLAS GONZÁLEZ The American philosopher Eric Hoffer (1902–1983) is a rare thinker. Hoffer is a philosopher in the classic sense...

Schiller and the Two Drives of the Person

Pedro Blas González The German poet and philosopher Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) is known for his philosophy of man’s relationship with transcendence and the sublime. Schiller believed that only through concrete life, that is, individual existence as differentiated...