Re: Liberalism isn't enough - Reader comments at The New York Sun

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in response to reader comment: liberalism is not enough

Submitted by Bill in DC, Feb 28, 2008 22:50

Fender claims Nussbaum has yet to comment on religious violence. In fact, she is well aware of such things; her book-length treatment of violence in India (The Clash Within) addresses, particularly, Hindu-Muslim relations.

Moreover, I'd point to several societies that have achieved a space for the public exercise of reason and for individual freedom that are not themselves Jude-Christian: Turkey, Japan, Korea, and India all are strong, functioning democracies.

No doubt that the Judeo-Christian tradition, heavily influenced by (pagan) Greek philosophy, was important for the development of distinction between the public and private spheres; but no matter my debt to them, I am not my parents. So too in intellectual history -- lest we confuse Marxism with Judaism or the KKK with Christianity.

As far as Fender's point that "liberalism depends on inchoate emotions and irrationalities," may I recommend Nussbaum's excellent Upheavals of Thought: The Intelligence of Emotions. Since I presume my interlocutor a Christian, I would heartily agree: the very act of forming a judgment, like all acts, is predicated on emotion. But I'd suggest that Nussbaum is hardly unaware of this idea.

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
Fr. Neuhaus is an extraordinarily intelligent critic who exemplifies the qualities he attacks in Professor Nussbaum. Any long time reader... [MORE]	Jim Clark	Mar 22, 2008 09:54
Roger Williams defended Native Americans, saw us as "one blood" with them and was against forced conversions. He was against... [MORE]	Gretchen Robinson	Mar 10, 2008 15:52
Father Neuhaus's critique suggests again that a key, perhaps THE key of any argument is its ethos dimension, i.e. the... [MORE]	George T. Karnezis	Mar 4, 2008 14:24
Father Neuhaus, Your attempt to discredit Nussbaum's contention that Roger William's conclusions about religious freedom, which he based on his... [MORE]	curious sampler	Mar 3, 2008 19:34
We know the USA is a failed social experiment and every time a new change is introduced to diversify USA... [MORE]	HRossner	Mar 2, 2008 15:44
Father Neuhaus criticizes Nussbaum for missing the fact that religious conviction has been the grounds for the defense of religious... [MORE]	John Hacker-Wright	Feb 29, 2008 08:43
According to what Hacker-Wright is saying, Neuhaus has misread Williams, not Rawls. But Neuhaus's only point about Williams is that... [MORE]	Michael Mattair	Mar 5, 2008 14:09
Just because a view is a product of another does not mean it is essentially tied to that view. Nussbaum... [MORE]	John Hacker-Wright	Mar 12, 2008 13:13
There was once a time not so long ago when comments such as those of Father Neuhaus would have evoked... [MORE]	Stephen R. Marks	Feb 29, 2008 02:48
I seriously doubt that Jefferson, the man that removed all mention of miracles from his version of the bible and... [MORE]	Corey Long	Feb 28, 2008 17:47
Thank you for the review of Nussbaum's new work. It is clear where Father Neuhaus is coming from in his... [MORE]	Jim H.	Feb 28, 2008 13:07
in order to have freedom of any sort there has to be order and law. people have to refrain from... [MORE]	Fender	Feb 28, 2008 10:22
Fender claims Nussbaum has yet to comment on religious violence. In fact, she is well aware of such things; her...	Bill in DC	Feb 28, 2008 22:50