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11Narrative Rhyme and the Good LifePhilosophy and Literature 42 (1): 1-29. 2018."Quite otherwise than the scientist, and far more than the historian," writes R. G. Collingwood, "the philosopher must go to school with the poets in order to learn the use of language, and must use it in their way: as a means of exploring one's own mind, and bringing to light what is obscure and doubtful in it." Whereas the poet "yields himself to every suggestion that his language makes," however, the philosopher's words are assembled "only to reveal the thought which they express, and are val…Read more
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4Artistic expression and the claims of arousal theoryBritish Journal of Aesthetics 36 (3): 278-289. 1996.
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"The Utopian Function of Art and Literature": Ernst Bloch (review)British Journal of Aesthetics 29 (2): 185. 1989.
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23Boris Pasternak's Conception of RealismPhilosophy and Literature 12 (2): 211-231. 1988.In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:John Edward MacKinnon BORIS PASTERNAK'S CONCEPTION OF REALISM To desire truth is to desire direct contact with a piece of reality. To desire contact with a piece of reality is to love. —Simone Weil, The Needfor Roots According to czeslaw milosz, Boris Pasternak "did not pluck fruits from the tree of reason, the tree of life was enough for him. Confronted by argument, he replied with his sacred dance." Pasternak's poetry, he concludes…Read more
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40Scruton, Sibley, and supervenienceJournal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 58 (4): 383-392. 2000.
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30The Road to WellnessvillePhilosophy and Literature 37 (2): 486-506. 2013.Although Philippe Ariès’s claims that death has been replaced by illness as our main obsession, I argue that illness is being replaced by wellness, an approach to living that encourages preemptive behavior. I review various critiques of “survivalism,” a view that both insists on our vulnerability and welcomes professional intervention in personal life. The resulting sense of anxiety, critics maintain, extends even to the “minutiae of human behavior,” including diet and fitness. I follow Jackson …Read more
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18Advocacy, therapy, and pedagogyPhilosophy and Literature 20 (2): 492-500. 1996.In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Advocacy, Therapy, and PedagogyJohn E. MacKinnonBeyond Political Correctness: Toward the Inclusive University, edited by Stephen Richer and Lorna Weir; 272 pp. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1995, $55.00 cloth, $19.95 paper.Anyone who would doubt the relevance of philosophy to public affairs ought to attend to the unhappy evolution of the Canadian university. On campuses across the country in recent years, speech codes have be…Read more
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269Crime, Compassion, and The ReaderPhilosophy and Literature 27 (1): 1-20. 2003.In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Philosophy and Literature 27.1 (2003) 1-20 [Access article in PDF] Crime, Compassion, and The Reader John E. MacKinnon IN "WRITING AFTER AUSCHWITZ," Günter Grass describes how at the age of seventeen he stubbornly refused to believe the evidence arrayed before him and his classmates of Nazi atrocities, the photographs showing piles of eyeglasses, shoes, hair, and bones. "Germans never could have done, never did do a thing like that,"…Read more
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26Crime, compassion, andPhilosophy and Literature 27 (1): 1-20. 2003.In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Philosophy and Literature 27.1 (2003) 1-20 [Access article in PDF] Crime, Compassion, and The Reader John E. MacKinnon IN "WRITING AFTER AUSCHWITZ," Günter Grass describes how at the age of seventeen he stubbornly refused to believe the evidence arrayed before him and his classmates of Nazi atrocities, the photographs showing piles of eyeglasses, shoes, hair, and bones. "Germans never could have done, never did do a thing like that,"…Read more
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
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