More on philosophers’ mind-numbingly long sentences. My initial post with my top candidates is here. Kazuma Kitamura sends in a new contender — a 175 word plea from Chapter One of John Stuart Mill’s The Subjection of Women: “If the authority of men over women, when first established, had been the result of a conscientious […]
Updating the Philosophy’s Longest Sentences competition Read More »
In my Philosophy of Religion course, this week we are reading excerpts from the Koran and Seyyid Qutb’s influential Milestones. The Koran has many bloodthirsty passages as well as many suggesting qualified live-and-let-live policies. So we take up the question of whether Islam is essentially a religion of violence or peace. Qutb offered an influential
Seyyid Qutb and Islamism this week Read More »
The opening of my latest column at EveryJoe: “What explains the dramatic differences in economic performance between the two Americas? “Take some World Bank GDP numbers — one measure of economic success. We want people to make an adequate living, especially poor people who are struggling. And if we are ambitious, we want people to live
Comparing North and Latin American Economic Performance [new The Good Life column] Read More »
[At the beginning of the new academic year, a re-visiting of the beginnings of modern philosophy.] I vote for Francis Bacon. . . The standard answer gives the honor to René Descartes. Descartes’s claim to the title is based primarily on his epistemology — specifically his method of doubt. The method of doubt is both
The real father of modern philosophy — Bacon versus Descartes Read More »
Em nossa era de economia keynesiana sob efeito de esteróides, devemos perguntar: quão próxima está a prática keynesiana da teoria keynesiana original? A principal alegação que levou John Maynard Keynes à fama foi a sua defesa de gastos via déficit público como uma ferramenta de recuperação econômica. Em uma economia em depressão, segue o argumento,
Podemos culpar Keynes pelo keynesianismo? Read More »
A fascinating brief item from the Library of Social Science‘s site. All German soldiers swore an oath to Adolf Hitler, vowing, “I shall at all times be prepared to give my life.” Similarly, those in the Schutzstaffel, or SS, vowed “absolute allegiance unto death.” Hitler drew the following conclusion, as he and the National Socialist
The ethics of sacrifice, National Socialist version Read More »
Interview conducted at Rockford University by Stephen Hicks and sponsored by the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship. Hicks: Hi, I’m Stephen Hicks. I am executive director of The Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship here at Rockford University. My two guests today spoke at Rockford University on the themes of entrepreneurship and ethics. With me is
Interview with entrepreneurs Magatte Wade and Michael Strong — Transcript Read More »
[At the beginning of the new academic year, a re-visiting of the beginnings of philosophy.] The standard claim is that philosophy begins with Thales. When I teach this to my students, it’s a hard sell, for here are the founding texts in philosophy — ascribed to Thales by Aristotle: “The first principle and basic nature
The Birth of Philosophy — Thales and Homer Read More »