The purpose of the Stranger Voices section is to provide a means to share ideas from people other than me, and with this in mind I am introducing the ‘Stranger Voices Bazaar’ as a quasi-regular mid-monthly round up of interesting essays elsewhere. Stranger Travellers (i.e. paid or bartered subscribers) are free to submit anything relating to our principles for life and thought by any of the usual means for inclusion in the bazaar - my only request is nothing should be behind a paywall.
From the Stranger Travellers
Stalwart fellow traveller Frank has his own Substack, Citizen Philosophers, where he is explicating his view of science, consciousness and society. Most recently, “What’s Out There?” presents his perspective on the role of social reality on objectivity. I’ve become sceptical of ‘objectivity’, for reasons that come out often in my exchanges here with Frank, but I greatly enjoy his clarity on these issues.
Another of our travellers, Asa, ran this reflection on “Millikan & Michelson-Morley Myths” - I would have liked to read more of Arabatzis and Gavroglu’s argument here, but it’s definitely the case that some back-projection from the mythic consequences of Einstein’s theories occurs in regard to the Michelson-Morley experiment.
Nearby
Although not technically a Stranger Traveller (although all it would take would be the exchange of paid subscriptions, since we are already in discourse!), David McGrogan’s News from Uncibal recently ran a fascinating set of pieces on the strange way that ‘right wing intellectuals’ supposedly have enormous influence despite not being read by anyone. It began with the thought-provoking “The Intransigent Right in the Middle of the Century (Part One)”… and if this thinking speaks to you, you should read all three parts, although I personally struggled with the last one.
Otherwhere
In my ongoing search for a credible left-leaning Substack I might recommend, I have come to the anarchists - I find them much more charming than what I call ‘the new left’, but they certainly won’t appeal to everyone (and for anyone offended by such things, swearing is exceptionally common with this crowd). Caveat lector!
Anarchist-adjacent singer-songwriter David Rovics reflections “The Social Engineering and Paralysis of the US Left” has been a particular highlight of the anarchist crowd readings for me, not least because it helps emphasise the mechanisms that empowered ‘the new left’ in the first place…
A lot of what I’ve been reading concerns how gender metaphysics hijacked anarchist book fairs - including the bizarre spectacle of anarchists issuing fatwas about haircuts (!) reported in The Acorn #87. Fair warning: the prose will offend anyone who sincerely deploys the term ‘transphobia’.
Although haircuts don’t play into it, I found the Stirrer’s reflection “Why Do I Do This To Myself?” to be heartfelt and it makes clear something often overlooked: anarchists may oppose nation states, but they do so in a principled fashion.
Comments open. A new bazaar next month, chaos willing!
Thanks Chris.
Hi Chris, thanks for the shout out. And for the references to other posts you’re thinking about. Am I being naïve? Are we creating on the web a reincarnation of the soirees and coffeehouses of yore? It so I envision these as interconnected circles of a few thinkers, researchers, and writers dialoguing to enhance their understanding, but also to share their small group discussions with the whole world.