We’ve gone from “Too many people!” a generation ago to “Not enough babies!” now. I don’t get either worry. Let’s take Europe as an example. Currently its population is about 740 million, and one projection is that by the year 2100 its population will decline to 600 million. And some commentators go “Yikes!” Why? Possibility […]
I don’t understand population fears Read More »
Tim Black, a senior writer at spiked, has a good review discussion of “Why they’re really scared of Heidegger.” The “they’re” refers to many contemporary academics, and Black’s review is of Emmanuel Faye’s wave-making Heidegger: The Introduction of Nazism into Philosophy in Light of the Unpublished Seminars of 1933-1935 (Yale, 2009). Some key quotations from
Heidegger’s anti-humanism and the Left Read More »
One of my professors in graduate school argued that St. Augustine is the most influential philosopher in history. I’m not convinced, though a good case can be made. I recently re-opened Confessions and came across Augustine’s strong version of original sin. As he exclaims to his God, “no one is free from sin in your
St. Augustine on why babies are evil Read More »
Chart 1, showing faculty political views are mostly left or far left (using ‘Democrat’ and ‘Republican’ as proxy for ‘more left’ and ‘more right’). E.g., Sociology has 43 Democrats for every Republican, and Religion departments have 70 Democrats for every Republican. Chart 2, from Higher Education Research Institute‘s survey of faculty: 80% of faculty say
Explaining ‘Woke’ activism’s origin in two charts Read More »
Hosts Vinay Kolhatkar and Roger Bissell ask guest Stephen Hicks: Transcript: Ayn Rand, Immanuel Kant, and Real-World Ethics The Savvy Street Show Hosts: Vinay Kolhatkar and Roger Bissell. Guest: Stephen Hicks. Date of recording: November 6, 2024 For those who prefer to watch the video, it is here. The transcript at the Savvy Street site.
Reposting this from a favorite novel, set in Paris in the world of mid-nineteenth century theater, a time and place of revolutionary art and politics. A young woman of wonderful intensity and resilience remembers a key lesson from a mentor, Nandou, an actor. “She walked to the place du Calvaire and stood for a time
The Center of the Universe (quotation) Read More »
In an 1846 review of Grote’s History of Greece, John Stuart Mill makes this claim: “The Battle of Marathon, even as an event in British history, is more important than the Battle of Hastings.” My first reaction to Mill’s sentence was agreement. My second reaction was to the audacity of the claim and to wonder
Audacious historical cause-and-effect claims Read More »
First, here’s the full interview, with timestamps for sub-topics, filmed in Arizona in November 2024: In the following excerpt, Dr. Peterson sketches a hypothesis, Dr. Hicks objects to it, Dr. Peterson then rephrases, and Dr. Hicks suggests an alternative formulation. An example of how disagreement can be constructive when truth-seeking is one’s mutual goal: Related: