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 »
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 »
When did slavery end? Intellectual historian Zeev Sternhell makes the following observation: “But it is above all the French Revolution that is overlooked. Slavery was in fact abolished by the French Revolution. The slaves, like the Jews, were liberated, and for the first time in history, all men living within the frontiers of a single
The French Revolution and the ending of slavery Read More »
Those of us in the democratic-republican West often find it impossible to understand how the world could go to war so often in the 20th century. We were raised in a culture that had internalized Locke, Jefferson, Mill, and others—for whom the goal of peace and respect for others’ rights to life, liberty, and property
Werner Sombart on heroes versus merchants Read More »
Reprising this post on Zeev Sternhell, an ally in the battle against the nihilism of the Anti-Enlightenment and its heirs. His book is written for scholars, but note this ringing conclusion: “To prevent the people of the twenty-first century from sinking into a new ice age of resignation, the Enlightenment vision of the individual as
Sternhell on the Enlightenment vision Read More »
Reprising this post from when I enjoyed George Selgin’s Good Money: Birmingham Button Makers, the Royal Mint, and the Beginnings of Modern Coinage, 1775-1821 (University of Michigan Press, 2008). Come the Industrial Revolution, the number of wage earners rose dramatically, increasing dramatically the need for small denomination coins to pay them and for them to
Private coins and the Industrial Revolution Read More »
Reprising this earlier post about Only a God Can Save Us, and my 40-minute interview with van Davis about his documentary on philosopher Martin Heidegger’s involvement with National Socialism: Part 1: Part 2 is here: See also Chapter Three of Explaining Postmodernism. Related:
Interview with director Jeffrey van Davis on Heidegger and Nazism Read More »
Join The Atlas Society for a special webinar discussion with Senior Scholar Stephen Hicks and Senior Fellow Robert Tracinski on Wednesday, March 15 @ 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET, when the duo will discuss the philosophy of history and take up the questions: What causes historical change? What’s the role of ideas, knowledge institutions, or
Philosophy of History with Stephen Hicks & Robert Tracinski (coming Mar. 15) Read More »