Stephen T. Asma

I'm really not sure what I was expecting when I dived into this, but it wasn't what I got. Not necessarily a bad thing. Asma digs into every sort of monster, from ancient Greek and Roman, through the Universal monsters (Frankenstein, Dracula, etc.) to the Jeffrey Dahmers and Charles Mansons of the world.

It's a smart, literary dissection of all the monsters in the world, real or imagined, and he does dig into why we consider these characters as monsters and whether they actually should be show more considered as such.

Illuminating. show less

When I was a kid, my brother and I used to negotiate Saturday Los Angeles traffic on our bicycles in order to get to the Museum of Natural History of Los Angeles, where the great collection of dinosaur bones from the La Brea Tar pits were exhibited. (Now, many of them are in the Page Museum and elsewhere). The museum had lots of things besides the dinosaurs, though, and it was all fascinating to me. Steven Asma has written a terrific book about how natural history museums came to be, and how show more natural history became scientific. He kindles (or rekindles) the sense of curiosity that so often opens the eyes of young people to science, and does a great job of explaining how mankind came to understand our place in nature and in evolution. The "pickled heads" in the title refers to those of William Mons, lover of the wife of Peter the Great, and Mary Hamilton, Peter's own lover. Peter had them both executed and their heads preserved. They were kept for many years in the chambers of his wife, Catherine. Stephen Asma has stuffed "Stuffed Animals" with dozens of stories like this, mixed with solid intellectual history. show less

He's a good writer, but completely off the rails. One of his early examples not only has a tavern owner hiring his brother's mediocre band over better entertainments because of nepotism, but the brother then skims off the top of the payment for his own needs (his daughter needs braces) before splitting with his band members. Asma thinks both the tavern owner and his brother are acting correctly. I'm prepared to think the tavern owner is within his rights (but his business will soon fail for show more consistently having awful music, so how does that advance his nepotistic interests?), but the brother cheating his fellow musicians (maybe they also have children needing braces) is wrong by any ethical standard. He also believes politicians should guide public monies to their relatives and friends because they have "history."

To put this perhaps in terms closer to the author's interest, if Asma was the editor of a prestigious philosophy journal, his argument puts the world on notice that he will choose his friends' and family's mediocre squibs over the superior work of strangers. And believe he is acting correctly and morally while doing so. Such favoritism exists in the world, but he hopes it becomes dominant, prevalent, and admired. All this he justifies by arguing that in elementary school children are not friends with everyone, they must discriminate, and therefore the ethos of "fairness" is a lie.

It doesn't help his case that he can only make his argument by lampooning what simple fairness demands. For most of the book he assumes "fairness" means everyone gets the same thing, no more, no less. That's naive, and suggests if nothing else he's never heard of Rawls. Because it fails this test, Asma says Occupy Wallstreet was not about fundamental fairness, but only about "justice," not fairness (cue Rawls). He offers no theory about why justice is not grounded in fairness, especially given he already concedes that fairness should prevail on questions of law and order. But not justice, it seems, leaving us to wonder that justice actually is, if not fairness. We're not told.

We always have favorites, and it is natural to want the best for them. Handing them unearned opportunities over others, even if better qualified, not only in private situations but public, as when a politician gives sweetheart deals to a nephew, though, does not follow from that simple observation. But such corruption is his ideal world.

That Asma views such dreadful self-interest as how morality ought to work says quite a bit about him, at least, but very little about how we should think about moral philosophy unless you favor some Ayn Randian self-interest as the highest good. Despite an early claim that he is adverse to Rand's objectivism, it is oddly ironic that he winds up in much the same place: my duties extend only as far as me and mine; everyone else can go to hell. This book, whatever his intention, will be warmly received by white supremacists who want to believe they're morally upstanding when restricting all privileges and benefits to people like themselves. Even Rosa Parks he rewrites to be someone who was not fighting for basic fairness, but only advancement of her own in-group, like all good nepotists ought.

The best that can be said is that Asma is a good writer. He is a provocateur, though, and not a careful or deep thinker. show less

Buddha For Beginners
Written and Illustrated by Stephen T. Asma

I really really liked this 162 page masterpiece on depth and enlightenment with a generous helping of some of the coolest illustrations out there, all wrapped up in this blessedly irreverent package. I totally believe that we learn through love and laughter and the author gets it in aces. The book is easy to follow, lighthearted and yet deals with some fairly serious subjects, like ego and life, but in the gentlest of ways.

This show more precious read is one of those I just couldn't put down, it kept my inner child totally preoccupied and I just raced from one great concept and phrase to another. Te cartoons are nothing short of phenomenal and I just loved the one on karma, the steamroller and the prayer wheel. I would recommend this much needed teacher to anyone looking for a deep and meaningful way through the 8 fold path. Thanks Stephen for showering us with your God-given talents. My spiritual toolbox is getting a little full, but I am sure there is always room for a gem such as this.

Love & Light,

Riki Frahmann show less