I will be debating Associate Professor James Orr, Faculty of Divinity at Cambridge University (UK). Dr. Orr also headed up the National Conservatism conference held in Westminster, London, May 2023. I will argue for Liberalism and Professor Orr will argue for Conservatism. The debate will be moderated by Konstantin Kisin, whose speech to the Oxford […]
Debate announcement: Liberalism versus Conservatism Read More »
Reprising this amusing item (via Roger Donway), from a brief obituary in The New York Times, August 2, 1927, page 21: “Emil C. Kant, last German relative of Emmanuel Kant, famous philosopher, was buried in Corozal Cemetery, Canal Zone, yesterday … . While a student at the University of Dorpat, Emil was conscripted by the
Kant’s wayward relative Emil Read More »
Blame and credit are two sides of the evaluative coin. So If I should accept guilt, shame, and be apologetic for bad things in the past, then I should also take credit for the good things. For example: I pride myself on the Industrial Revolution. All that Renaissance painting—I really am amazing. The Constitution of
Should We Apologize for the Past? Read More »
The Greeks, according to Cassius: “They are an arrogant people, I’ve always found. I remember one of them telling me they had invented everything, from gods to sex. I pointed out that Romans took their ideas and improved upon them. Ares became Mars, Zeus became Jupiter. And of course, although we could not improve on
Cassius on Roman versus Greek superiority Read More »
My long-form discussion with Robert Breedlove on the ethics of money, its history and roots in production and trade (and taxation), and the promise of Bitcoin. On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_PEIR9A4TY. Or on Rumble: https://rumble.com/v3632b3-the-philosophy-of-money-with… Related: My podcast on “You Should Love Money,” in the Open College series.
The Philosophy of Money — Breedlove interview Read More »
Reprising this fascinating short article in the British Journal of Medicine by Robert N. Proctor, professor of the history of medicine at Penn State University: “The anti-smoking campaigns of the Nazis: a little known aspect of public health in Germany, 1933-1945” [pdf]. The campaign was mounted despite the arguments that (1) taxes on tobacco were
Famous anti-smoking activists from history Read More »
This New York Times extended article (behind paywall) on Rand’s influence includes some snark from philosophers over whether she really was a philosopher. Oh, come on. It reminds me of Friedrich Nietzsche’s reception by the philosophers at the University of Basel (I haven’t come across their names in the history books) when Nietzsche assumed his
When philosophers boycotted Nietzsche at Basel Read More »
Professor Nazir Azad’s translation of my Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault has been published by Educational Publishing House, New Delhi, India. This follows up on the Pakistani edition published in 2023. Information about other editions and translations of the book is here, including the audiobook edition below:
*Explaining Postmodernism* published in New Delhi, India Read More »