Iran Letter
Dear Professor McGinn,
My name is Ehsan Ahrari, a sociologist and writer based in Iran. Over the past years, I have been engaged in a series of grassroots conversations under the banner of Sociology of the Everyday, where we explore ordinary life through a philosophical and ethical lens—often without institutional scaffolding, but with deep intellectual urgency.
These dialogues have culminated in a book titled Strolling Through Society—a collection of reflective essays that attempt, in their own modest way, to wrestle with presence, fragmentation, alienation, and the erosion of attention in a digitized and commodified world.
I am sharing with you a curated selection of essays that echo, in tone and concern, many of the issues you’ve wrestled with—especially the limits of conceptual analysis, the mysteries of consciousness and meaning, and the question of how to philosophize from within lived experience rather than from above it.
If you find a moment to read them, I would be grateful beyond measure. If not, I consider even this outreach a small act of intellectual courage across borders.
With respect and curiosity,
Ehsan Ahrari
E.Ahrari91@gmail.com
Outside the context of art exhibitions, I hate the word “curated” for its pretentiousness. But here, in “a curated selection of essays,” it has no meaning. The phrase means “a selected selection of essays.” Maybe the implication is that the essays were selected with care, but I still hate the word.
I totally agree: it should be curated out of existence.
I just received an email advertising a concert by pianist Mark Markham: “Markham’s program curates works written by composers in their 20s, including Bartók, Brahms and Ravel.”
So the program chose the works. Amazing. It would have been bad enough if the ad had said that the program consists of curated works, though that would have been tautological, because a program’s works by definition have to be chosen. Even if the chooser did so at random, by blindfolding himself and touching a piece of paper with a list of musical works written on it, he chose them.
The amazing thing is that the program writer (“curator”) thinks she is being sophisticated! I hate the current fashion for “consequential” instead of “important”.
I hadn’t noticed the current fashion for “consequential” instead of “important.” The words mean different things, because something could be important for a reason other than its consequences. Or could it?
I hear it from TV journalists a lot. It’s a buzz word. It is not synonymous with “important” since it is value neutral.
The one that bothers me the most, even though it has become universal, is “issue” for “problem.” I don’t go to the dentist because I have an issue with my teeth. But everyone else seems to.
It seems to be used as a euphemism.
Nothing is worse than “beg the question” for “raise the question”.
I wouldn’t get too upset by the misuse of “beg the question,” because it derives from ignorance, not, like “curate,” from pretentiousness. Not many people know that it means to assume what you’re trying to prove, at least not many who haven’t studied philosophy.
I think it is pretentious: it is trying to sound “educated”. The problem is that it destroys a very useful phrase. The phrase “cognitive dissonance” is going the same way.
I understand that you feel upset about my misuse. I also value language and words greatly, and when I see words being used incorrectly, I feel deeply disturbed. I am deeply rooted in the Persian language, and English is my second language; I do not have the same social understanding of words as you do. I had absolutely no intention of showing off, and unfortunately, I did not realize the misuse. I do not want to make excuses—I hate excuses. Therefore, I sincerely apologize for this mistake.
I totally understand. The word “curate” has become a fashionable word in English but is over-used and is rather precious and pretentious. I don’t blame you at all for using it.
Very nice letter to get.
You see how odd my life has become.