In my judgment, Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead is the greatest novel on the themes of independence and integrity. I’m reposting the contrast of Howard Roark and Peter Keating below, as in my Introduction to Philosophy course this week we are reading Part I, in which Rand’s primary purpose is to contrast the characters of Roark […]
The Fountainhead — contrasting Roark and Keating Read More »
I gave a talk in Brazil earlier this year on “Progress and Betrayal: The Responsibilities of Latin American Intellectuals.” My abstract: The richest Latin American nations are only 25% as wealthy as Canada and the United States. Why is this? Some blame imperialism, a lack of resources, corrupt politicians, and/or crony businesses. All of those
Progress and Betrayal: The Responsibilities of Latin American Intellectuals [video] Read More »
Dr. Carrie-Ann Biondi of Marymount Manhattan College visited Rockford University to give a lecture sponsored by the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship. While she was here, I interviewed her about how she became a philosopher, Aristotle, the relationship between abstract and applied philosophy, how she teaches her ethics course, Jane Eyre, Harry Potter, Plato, and
Interview with philosopher Carrie-Ann Biondi Read More »
[Originally published at EveryJoe.com.] Many smart people — including Thomas Friedman in The New York Times, Naser Khader in Newsweek, John Lloyd in The Jerusalem Post, Ayaan Hirsi Ali in The Wall Street Journal — are hoping that the Reformation will come to Islam. Some are calling for an Islamic Martin Luther. Sorry, but no.
No Reformation for Islam, Please [Good Life series] Read More »
Here is a site devoted to Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840), the 19th-century German Romantic painter. The feature image is a portrait of Friedrich by Franz Gerhard von Kugelgen (1772-1820). [More of my art-related posts.]
Caspar David Friedrich faces the world Read More »
[This column is a part of the Theist vs. Atheist debate series between Stephen Hicks and John C. Wright. Here Hicks responds to Wright’s arguments for the existence of God. And here are the links to other columns in the series.] As we enter the third round of our debate series, our first major point of
On the Proofs of God’s Existence [Theist vs. Atheist series] Read More »
Chilean scientist Humberto Maturana on the biology of knowledge: “Living systems are cognitive systems, and living as a process is a process of cognition. This statement is valid for all organisms, with or without a nervous system.”
Embodied cognition — Humberto Maturana quotation Read More »
“Philip Ernst, the artist father of the surrealist Max Ernst, was painting a picture of his garden when he omitted a tree that spoiled the composition. Then ‘overcome with remorse’ at his offense against realism, he cut down the tree.” Source: Peter Watson, The German Genius, p. xvii.
Commitment to artistic realism — anecdote Read More »