TRIBUTES TO WILLIAM PHILLIPS
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sort of behavior would come as no surprise to William Phillips, who
long ago recognized that intimidation is a favorite tactic of the apostles
of political correctness: "Instead of simply arguing their case, politically
correct academics have distorted and smeared the opposition."
All of these episodes have been exacerbated by the fact that many
people systematically resist thinking seriously about international ter–
rorism. Writing several years ago, Conor Cruise O'Brien warned that
"terrorism is disturbing not just emotionally and morally, but intellec–
tually, as well. On terrorism, more than on other subjects, commentary
seems liable to be swayed by wishful thinking, to base itself on unwar–
ranted or flawed assumptions, and to draw from these assumptions irra–
tional inferences, fuzzily expressed. "
It
appears, in short, that many
scholars are crippled by an intellectual syndrome that can best be
described as a refusal to think seriously about terrorism. This disorder
has been fueled by political correctness and multiculturalism. The
cumulative effect of this syndrome has been the intellectual disarming of
liberal democracies as they face ruthless, unremitting enemies, political
terrorists in many guises who, for their part, think very seriously about
how they can inflict harm upon civilized society.
William Phillips urged his colleagues to challenge political correctness
by, above all, thinking seriously. He noted that "the opposition to polit–
ical correctness, in addition to independent academics, exists largely in
the serious culture of writers and practicing critics." When opposing
political terrorism, we must be confident in our past-without, of
course, succumbing to hubris, for "no serious person denies the unsa–
vory elements in the history of Western civilization." Still, the way for–
ward is in "constant intellectual and political argument against political
correctness by those who have not lost their faith in independent
thought and in the values of Western civilization. "
JULES OUlSKI
For many years I had not actually met William face
to
face. Long ago
he asked me to write something about art, because he presumed I would
know something about it. Writing about art, at least for myself, can be
terrifying. So, instead I sent him the first chapter of a novel, and, to my
amazement,
Partisan Review
published it. One of the fortunate things
Jules Olitski is a painter, sculptor, printmaker, and writer whose work is col–
lected and exhibited around the world .
