The Enlightenment of the long 18th century was an era of awesome intellectual and cultural transformation. This Enlightenment Vision flowchart is pitched at a high level of abstraction, showing schematically how the philosophical revolution of the 17th century led to the 18th-century revolutions in science, technology, politics, and economics — which in turn led to […]
The Enlightenment Vision — updated flowchart Read More »
The Enlightenment of the long 18th century was an era of awesome intellectual and cultural transformation. My Enlightenment Vision flowchart [pdf] is pitched at a high level of abstraction, showing schematically how the philosophical revolution of the 17th century led to the 18th-century revolutions in science, technology, politics, and economics — which in turn led
The Enlightenment Vision — Flowchart Read More »
When did slavery end? Intellectual historian Zeev Sternhell makes the following observation: “But it is above all the French Revolution that is overlooked. Slavery was in fact abolished by the French Revolution. The slaves, like the Jews, were liberated, and for the first time in history, all men living within the frontiers of a single
The French Revolution and the ending of slavery Read More »
How different are Stephen Hicks’s and Jordan Peterson’s views on the origins of the Enlightenment? Was Christianity essential or a hindrance?
“A difference with Jordan Peterson on Enlightenment foundations” [Five-minute excerpt] Read More »
1. Why does reason even matter? 2. What’s important about the Enlightenment? 3. Kant’s “Copernican Revolution” — a counter-Enlightenment subjectivism? 4. Canada and the USA as importers of ideas from Europe? 5. Common themes in Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche? 6. Subjective passionism contra liberal democracy? 7. Which groups will dominate in the conflict? 8. Why are
Canada Strong and Free Network interview — Troy Lanigan Read More »
During a fun (and long) question-and-answer session after a lecture at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania — some of us were still going strong after three hours — I was asked my view on the origins of the Enlightenment. The first questioner noted that Jordan Peterson had spoken at Lafayette the year before and had argued
A difference with Jordan Peterson on Enlightenment foundations Read More »
Next year marks the 300-year anniversary of a landmark event in human achievement: “The last execution for witchcraft in England took place in 1716, when Mary Hicks and her daughter Elizabeth were hanged.” By the early Enlightenment, Europe had progressed to the point of shedding many superstitions and the often-bizarre cultural, political, and legal practices
Witchcraft, my family, and reparations Read More »
In your book Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault, you portrayed Hegel as a great force of irrationalism, whose philosophy has contributed immensely to deteriorating rather than improving the human condition. The philosophy of Hegel has been on the rise in Iran in recent years. The idea behind this rising wave has
Interview on Hegel for *Culture Today* magazine, Iran Read More »