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In this paper I discuss Hans Blumenberg's The Rigorism of Truth, a short polemic that criticizes Freud and Hannah Arendt for placing (what he considers) a misplaced faith in the liberatory potential of rational truth in moments of historical disaster. The secondary literature suggests that this piece exhibits either all the signs of a late, Romantic capitulation to the 'need' for myth, or Blumenberg's failure to recognize his own faith and debts to the 'mythology' of reason's emancipatory hopes. My argument hinges on the claim that these readings put undue emphasis on the philosophical anthropology component of Blumenberg's work. Instead, I offer a new reading of the essay, in keeping with an alternative reading of his theory of myth. The essay transforms, then, from a polemic regarding the need for myth, into a nuanced description of the ways in which we can overestimate our capacity to overcome it.

The United States finds itself in the historically anomalous position of maintaining exclusive or shared sovereignty in a number of islands in the Pacific and the Caribbean. Their dependent political status imposes more than financial obligations on the United States. Although U.S. domestic resources are stretched thin, some modest steps can be taken to help the islands govern more effectively. These include continuing attempts to improve administration, developing new models of public administration, and clarifying and stabilizing the political status of the territories.

AbstractThe concept of cultural attachment is in the vernacular in the Appalachian region of the United States and served to stimulate policy attention to the concept when a 765 kV electric transmission line was proposed through Peters Mountain on the border between Virginia and West Virginia. The environmental impact statement of the U.S. Forest Service examined the extent of cultural attachment in the project area using our social science consulting company, which resulted in a rejection of the line in 1995 and an acceptance in 2002 when the proponent changed routes to avoid communities with high cultural attachment. The concept has been noted and used in several other settings and has evolved into a policy tool that accommodates the three pillars of cultural attachment—attachment to land, to place, and to kinship and social networks. We contend that use of the concept as evolving is an appropriate way to consider "endangered cultures." The use of the concept of cultural attachment in decision making means there is now a track record and precedence that give legal weight to the concept, value to local residents in manifesting their voice, and improved prospects that we can continue to shape life in sustainable and human‐affirming ways.

Of the theory, history and duties of civil government--Of the history of the American Union.--Of the law of nations.--A summary of the course of lectures in Columbia College. ; Evans ; Sabin ; Mode of access: Internet.