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How Kenneth Clark ends Civilisation comes to mind: "At this point I reveal myself in my true colours, as a stick-in-the-mud. I hold a number of beliefs that have been repudiated by the liveliest intellects of our time. I believe that order is better than chaos, creation better than destruction. I prefer gentleness to violence, forgiveness to vendetta. On the whole I think that knowledge is preferable to ignorance, and I am sure that human sympathy is more valuable than ideology. . . . I also hold one or two beliefs that are more difficult to put shortly. For example, I believe in courtesy, the ritual by which we avoid hurting other people’s feelings by satisfying our own egos. And I think we should remember that we are part of a great whole. All living things are our brothers and sisters. Above all, I believe in the God-given genius of certain individuals, and I value a society that makes their existence possible."

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Dear Substack members,

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I recall that Jacob Klein, a teacher of mine, once said that the main obstacle to seeing things clearly is because we have an I problem.

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Elaine Scarry also touches on this in On Beauty and Being Just, but describes un-selfing as decentering (of oneself). https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691089591/on-beauty-and-being-just

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I LOVE Scarry’s book. I reference it in my book alongside my discussion of Murdoch and Burke. Thanks for flagging it here!

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Same – was the first book I read in college and has remained a timeless foundation to think upon ever since.

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