Vincent Colapietro: The Rhetoric of Evil, Inescapable, Dangerous & (Occasionally) Justifiable: A Homage to Richard J. Bernstein
Room: Languages & Literature, 1st Floor
It seems appropriate to mark this gathering by a recollection of Richard J. Bernstein, whose roots were in a Jewish working-class neighborhood in Brooklyn. He returned, time and again, to questions pertaining to evil. Often, he did so in conjunction with critical readings of texts by such historical figures as Kant, Hegel, Marx, and Arendt, but he always did so principally for the sake of understanding historical reality, not interpreting philosophical writings. After 9/11 he published a book entitled The Abuse of Evil. Prof Bernstein's death on July 4th, 2022, his long, distinguished career at the New School, and his Brooklyn roots combine with the darkness of our times to make our gathering an especially appropriate occasion to recall his probing, nuanced, and suggestive attempt to address one of the most elusive yet urgent of philosophical themes.
Vincent Colapietro is Liberal Arts Research Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and African American Studies at Pennsylvania State University and Professor of the Humanities at the University of Rhode Island. He has written on a wide range of topics, from hermeneutics and psychoanalysis to jazz and cinema. But his principal area of historical research is American thought and culture, with a special focus on the pragmatist movement.
Room: Languages & Literature, 1st Floor
It seems appropriate to mark this gathering by a recollection of Richard J. Bernstein, whose roots were in a Jewish working-class neighborhood in Brooklyn. He returned, time and again, to questions pertaining to evil. Often, he did so in conjunction with critical readings of texts by such historical figures as Kant, Hegel, Marx, and Arendt, but he always did so principally for the sake of understanding historical reality, not interpreting philosophical writings. After 9/11 he published a book entitled The Abuse of Evil. Prof Bernstein's death on July 4th, 2022, his long, distinguished career at the New School, and his Brooklyn roots combine with the darkness of our times to make our gathering an especially appropriate occasion to recall his probing, nuanced, and suggestive attempt to address one of the most elusive yet urgent of philosophical themes.
Vincent Colapietro is Liberal Arts Research Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and African American Studies at Pennsylvania State University and Professor of the Humanities at the University of Rhode Island. He has written on a wide range of topics, from hermeneutics and psychoanalysis to jazz and cinema. But his principal area of historical research is American thought and culture, with a special focus on the pragmatist movement.
Brooklyn Public Library - Central Library MM/DD/YYYY 60