History of Philosophy

John Passmore in *Explaining Postmodernism* — on Kant’s significance

Leave a Comment / History of Philosophy, Philosophy /

In 1985, the historian of philosophy John Passmore claimed: “The Kantian revival is so widespread as scarcely to lend itself to illustration.” (p. 87) For more on the implications of Passmore’s strong claim and its implications for postmodernism, see p. 87 of my Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism from Rousseau to Foucault. Information about other editions and translations […]

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Individualism, and why I love the Renaissance

Leave a Comment / Ethics, History of Philosophy /

From Jacob Burckhardt’s great The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (1860): In the Middle Ages, “Man was conscious of himself only as a member of a race, people, party, family, or corporation — only through some general category. In Italy this veil first melted into air; an objective treatment and consideration of the state

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Foucault as Nietzschean: on knowledge as injustice

4 Comments / Epistemology, History of Philosophy /

Juxtaposing quotations from Michel Foucault (d. 1984) and Friedrich Nietzsche (d. 1900). First, here is Foucault: “All knowledge rests upon injustice; there is no right, not even in the act of knowing, to truth or a foundation for truth; and the instinct for knowledge is malicious (something murderous, opposed to the happiness of mankind).”[1] Friedrich

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“Should I marry you?” How philosophers answer the big question

3 Comments / History of Philosophy, Humor, Philosophy /

Romance is in the air, thus my annual reposting of my round-up of philosophers talking to their sweethearts – collected from conversations overheard at smoky cafés, college libraries, mountain caves, and seminar rooms the world over. The Aristotelian: “I wish to marry you, for I know that my happiness, both of body and soul, is

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(Professor) The Mistaken reviews Explaining Postmodernism

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Here’ s a 46-point overview of Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault, along with the anonymous author’s assessment of his or her agreements and (gasp!) disagreements. The author is a professor at an American university who writes under a pseudonym in response to the current climate of intimidation and reprisal that exists

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