The Sound of Rain on Metal

Section 1 of Hume's Enquiry recently struck me as having an odd relationship to all of the other things he's so famous for within philosophy. We get his preparatory remarks about his epistemological project, the flourishes about two types of philosophy (topped off with the comment about anatomy's relationship to art), and then--WABAM--we get a theory of human nature. Humans are reasonable, social, and active, and the good life is one where all of these elements intermix in even proportions. While Hume's basically telling his readers how a careful consideration of epistemology will show that human reason is not capable of making justified metaphysical claims, he insinuates that this constitutes a genuine service on the part of epistemology only because of what it means for human ethical life. In bringing a close to metaphysics, epistemology eliminates a force alleged to be generally hostile--the abstruse philosophy whose superstitions bring about such negative consequences for our more sociable and practical affairs, "overwhelm[ing]" the mind "with religious fears and prejudices." Hume’s assault on metaphysics is motivated by a desire to eliminate error and superstition, but this is because metaphysics means the elevation of philosophy at the expense of genuine human good.

Apparently he just wasn't in much of an is-ought gap mood. It looks to me like we're starting with a fact about ourselves (whether metaphysical or something else) and then moving to nothing less than a condemnation of metaphysics and a plan for its burial--all in the spirit of British modesty, of course.

"I always knew you had to be willing to die to even do this job, but I don't want to push my chips forward and go out and meet something I don't understand. A man would have to put his soul at hazard. He'd have to say: okay, I'll be part of this world."

I was originally planning on writing up my thoughts on Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, but I could probably benefit from reading the book again beforehand. I got in most of the first reading while I was sick; I came down with a cold on Christmas night. This made the book read even more like an odd fever dream than if I hadn't punctuated the chapters with coughing fits and naps. So in lieu of talking about my vague impressions of the novel, I'll write something about the movie version of No Country for Old Men and Oprah's interview with McCarthy (which I've recently rewatched and seen, respectively). Since I think both Blood Meridian and the movie have quite a few thematic elements in common--and I suspect these might be major themes of McCarthy's work in general--this will help when I eventually revisit Blood Meridian.
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"...for that called body is a portion of the soul discerned by the five senses." - William Blake