Padd Solutions

The title of this weblog is a witty saying by the great French essayist Michel de Montaigne, who I heard described somewhere as "the original blogger." I intend for this space to deal primarily in the history of political thought - those very "kings and philosophers" - and to do so in such a way that reflects Montaigne's (and my) unshakeable conviction that people are just that - people - and, basically, that everybody poops. So, briefly, these are the "what" and "how" of this whole endeavor.

What, then, of the "why"? Why add my voice to the already raucous din of the internet? Am I not just another white guy (in Christian Lander's meaning), swimming about like Jonah in a depth of scumbag entitlement, the weeds of comfortable upper-middle-class-ness wrapped around my head? (See Jonah 2:5) Yes, I am those things. But then, I don't really intend for many people to read whatever appears on this blog. I just need to be writing right now, because I'm applying to doctoral programs in the history of ideas and I'm worried that my pen and my memory are not as sharp as they need to be.

"Why not simply write a journal, like a normal human being?," you might be asking. Meh, I'd tell you, I'm not really the best at self-motivation. That's where the audience (or the prospect, or the fear, of one) comes in. If I have this writing-space, and I know that people I know may be watching, I'd better be on my best behavior and write the goddamned thing. It's a psychological trick, this blog. I'm just a human being, and plenty weak, so I'll scheme little ways to get things done.

Which brings me back to Montaigne. The saying is just a very French version of the Delphic injunction gnothe seauton, "know thyself," which in its brevity can be taken to mean a few different things. It can mean, "keep in mind that I'm a guy who likes peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches, and that this self-knowledge can help me to say 'No, thank you' when offered Nutella." That's all well and good, but as my personal historical Superman Michael Oakeshott explained in his lectures at the LSE, it means something a little more humbling.

In the ancient Greek image of the world, "this precept was understood as a moral precept addressed to the race of human beings. It meant, 'Each of you, understand that you are a man and nothing more than a man; and behave accordingly.'" (Lectures in the History of Political Thought 70; 1959)

I think that's a pretty good guide for living, and it's with that in mind that I'll cease babbling and get on with reading, writing, and blogging it all down as a way of synthesizing a particularly delightful voice in the conversation of mankind.

Thank you for your kind attention.