Ron White's Schedule: Fall 2020 Semester

Mount St. Joseph University

S1-20

Name:             Ronald F. White     

Home Address:     2708 Cyclorama Drive, Cincinnati, OH, 45211                                  

Home/Cell Phone:       513-633-1951    

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
9-10 AM: OFFICE: ADM 19 10-10:50 AM: PHI 205 CL 101 11-11:50 AM ETH-PHI 397 CL 101	7-8 AM   OFFICE: ADM 19 8-9:15 AM ETH-PHI 250 CL 203 9:25-10:40 AM PHI 200 CL 203 10:45-11:15 OFFICE: ADM 19	9-10 AM: OFFICE: ADM 19 10-10:50 AM: PHI 205 CL 101 11-11:50 AM ETH-PHI 397 CL 101	7-8 AM   OFFICE: ADM 19 8-9:15 AM ETH-PHI 250 CL 203 9:25-10:40 AM PHI 200 CL 203 10:45-11:15 OFFICE: ADM 19	9-10 AM: OFFICE: ADM 19 10-10:50 AM: PHI 205 CL 101 11-11:50 AM ETH-PHI 397 CL 101

Krell, David Farrell. The cudgel and the caress: reflections on cruelty and tenderness. SUNY Press, 2019. 340p index ISBN 9781438472973, $95.00

  Reviewed for Choice Magazine by Ronald F. White, Ph.D.

This scholarly book documents the author’s “reflections” on the themes of “cruelty and tenderness.” His reflections have been shaped by years of scholarly research in Continental (German and French) philosophy, literature, poetry, and psychoanalysis. Part One (Ch. 1-6) explores “Tenderness”; Part Two (Ch. 7-10) covers “Cruelty.” This “reflection” includes references to: Sophocles, Aristotle, Kant, Holderlin, Schelling, Hegel, Heidegger, Freud, Schlegel, Nietzsche, and Derrida. Because this book documents the evolution of the author’s scholarly interpretation of so many authors, it generates enormous complexity. It’s Introduction (7 pages) does little to decode this complexity. The narrative is also rife with italicized terms in both German and French languages. The intended audience for this book is extraordinarily narrow; scholarly specialists dedicated to the history of Continental philosophy, literature, poetry, and psychoanalysis. Critics will observe that there is no attempt to broaden the book’s scholarly appeal by integrating the recent findings of the social science(s) and/or biology.  This scholarly book is too narrowly focused and technical for popular audiences, undergraduate students, or graduate students. If you already know what a “cudgel” was used for, and how it relates to cruelty, you might appreciate this reflection.