Blog by Sumana Harihareswara, Changeset founder
The Other Philosophers' Song
Hi, reader. I wrote this in 2003 and it's now more than five years old. So it may be very out of date; the world, and I, have changed a lot since I wrote it! I'm keeping this up for historical archive purposes, but the me of today may 100% disagree with what I said then. I rarely edit posts after publishing them, but if I do, I usually leave a note in italics to mark the edit and the reason. If this post is particularly offensive or breaches someone's privacy, please contact me.
As per extremely recent tradition, I spent New Year's Eve quietly at Leonard's house, and watched a few minutes of fireworks at midnight.
The next day, returning videos (of which more anon), I stopped by Sarah's house, and enjoyed New Year's brunch with her St. John's gang, Moss and Cassie. Inspired by Pete Seeger's "Solidarity Forever", they did me the great kindness of singing The Battle Hymn of the Republic of Letters. The song versifies Plato, Ansell, Hobbes, Kant, and Hegel, in that order, as per St. John's curriculum. Lyrics by Henry Higuera.
(Other St. John's songs include "Livin' La Vida Logos" and the only parody of "Particle Man" I've ever seen. The author also shares bits of Johnnie life: "Sicut Gallia, sicut Gallia, ille vobis in partes tres divendi sunt! 'Just like Gaul, just like Gaul, divide them up into three parts, just like Gaul!'")
Who knows, maybe the Johnnies will provide Leonardic innovation with a use. Which brings me to the guitar. A year ago I got into logic, spurred on by smart friends; last night I learned the chords G, A, and E-minor on the guitar, envying talented friends. Low-priority 2003 goal: learn enough to knowledgably noodle on the guitar, maybe three songs suitable for playing at parties.
