In the book Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking, William James gives this rough distinction of types of philosophers:
THE TENDER-MINDED | THE TOUGH-MINDED |
Rationalistic (going by ‘principles’),
Intellectualistic, Idealistic, Optimistic, Religious, Free-willist, Monistic, Dogmatical. |
Empiricist (going by ‘facts’),
Sensationalistic, Materialistic, Pessimistic, Irreligious, Fatalistic, Pluralistic, Sceptical. |
Further in the text James says
The tough think of the tender as sentimentalists and soft-heads. The tender feel the tough to be unrefined, callous, or brutal. Their mutual reaction is very much like that that takes place when Bostonian tourists mingle with a population like that of Cripple Creek. Each type believes the other to be inferior to itself; but disdain in the one case is mingled with amusement, in the other it has a dash of fear.
I guess those who have read some parts of this blog, know what group I fall into. Most of the time, I carefully hold my ‘tender-mindedness’ under control, but it is that time of the year that probably even the most ‘tough-minded’ will give some space to “romantic spontaneity”. And for me, it is through the top!
Enjoy!
Dean Martin:
Diana Krall:
Christina Aguilera:
Frank Sinatra: