What’s Wrong with the World?
Posted on 08 May 2012
This essay is in many parts
- What’s Wrong with the World Part I — Introduction
- What’s Wrong With The World Part II— Qualifications & Definitions
- What’s Wrong With The World Part III —Illogical
- What’s Wrong With The World Part IV —Hypocritical
- What’s Wrong With The World Part V —More Hypocrisy— Four Puzzles
- What’s Wrong With The World Part VI —Vicious
- What’s Wrong With The World Part VII— Ignorant
- What’s Wrong With The World Part VIII—More Ignorance — The Parochialism of the Enlightened
- What’s Wrong With The World Part IX—More Ignorance — A Digression on Intolerance
- What’s Wrong With The World Part X—More Ignorance—A Digression on Ingratitude
- What’s Wrong With The World Part XI—More Ignorance—The Necessity of Ignorance
- What’s Wrong With The World Part XII—Barbaric
- What’s Wrong With The World Part XIII—More Barbarism—Paranoia
- What’s Wrong With The World Part XIV—More Barbarism—Loss of Authority
- What’s Wrong With The World Part XV—Craven
- What’s Wrong With The World Part XVI —Ugly
- What’s Wrong With The World Part XVII—Foolish
- What’s Wrong With The World Part XVIII—More Folly—The Role of Science
- What’s Wrong With The World Part XIX—Confused
- What’s Wrong With The World Part XX—More Confusion—Seven Deadly Sins
- What’s Wrong With The World Part XXI—More Confusion—The Role of Incoherence
- What’s Wrong With The World Part XXII—Conclusion—The Mother of Reason
Links are still dead – 404s pointing at the (now offline) 2010 version.
I agree. It’s difficult to comment very much on a bunch of dead links. Perhaps this is Mr. Wright’s wry way of illustrating what’s wrong with the world.
Links fixed
The links have been fixed
What’s right with the world? Despair is still a sin. Haven’t other periods also been troubled?
I am assuming no one reading this series of posts is tempted to despair, or will think that is what I am counseling. This is a diagnosis: it is outlining what is wrong with the world.
“As a rule however it duzn’t profit me to read Jeremiads against evil—the example of a little good has more effect.” – William James
Which is why it is a good idea to avoid dead-end philosophies like that of Mr William James. He can neither tolerate the diagnosis of the problem nor stomach the cure.
A little good does indeed have more effect, however clearly stating that somethings are evil or illogical which are not commonly seen as such by much of the current culture is also important. That is, for instance, what Jesus did: He both fed the thousands and gave the higher law, He both cured the sick and called the self righteous to repentance, He both prevented the stoning of the adulterous and called her to repentance.
Not putting your hopes in this world is a much better escape from despair than hunting around in it for reasons to hope.
(Though this may depend on what you mean, exactly, by “world.” C. S. Lewis’s Studies In Words has an interesting chapter on it.)
Under the assumption that you are calling for people to drive the ideas of modernism back to the pit from whence they came and not the people that believe in said ideas, then this was pretty good even if I disagree with a few things.