Stephen Hicks

Featured in Canada’s *Metro* — free speech on campus

1 Comment / Free Speech and Censorship, Philosophy /

I’m featured in Toronto’s Metro Canada newspaper’s “Defining Free Speech on Campus,” (page 9) as one of three perspectives on the current suppression/censorship versus tolerance/liberalism antagonisms. The other two participants are Denio Lourenco and Zachary Strong, who take opposite stances on University of Toronto’s Jordan Peterson. Metro reporter Genna Buck did the interviews and compiled […]

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Profits—Good, Bad, and Obscene [Good Life series]

Leave a Comment / Business Ethics /

Nobody likes to lose money, but profit generates polarized attitudes. As with most morally-charged phenomena—competition, wealth, poverty, property—getting past the often confused discussions requires some subtle distinctions. Let’s approach profit by way of an example of its opposite—an accidental destruction of property. Suppose that I’m careless and drive my car onto your yard, tearing up

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Goethe versus Beethoven on deference to aristocrats

Leave a Comment / Culture, Music /

From an account of the famous meeting of the two giants in 1812: Beethoven’s manners were described as rough, like “an unlicked bear,” while “Goethe’s social attitudes were shaped in a more formal age. For Beethoven, 21 years his junior, the only true aristocrats were artists. In the mythology, his disillusionment was clinched by Goethe’s

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