I need to write this up, but here’s my working hypothesis: *Metaphysically*, philosophy was born with Thales and the Milesians. *Epistemologically*, it was born with Parmenides and the Eleatics. The Milesian school began around 600 BCE on the coast of Asia minor. The Eleatic school began around 500 BCE about 1100 kilometers west in the […]
The *Two* Births of Philosophy Read More »
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
(Professor) The Mistaken reviews Explaining Postmodernism Read More »
Our discussion is embedded below or at YouTube. Topics discussed: 1:00: The various uses of “postmodern” 3:30: The epistemology of reason in early modern philosophy 4:30: Pomo as a skepticism about reason by mid-1900s 5:00: Individualism in early modern philosophy 7:00: Pomo as a reaction to individualism 7:30: Social-psychological-linguistic determinisms of mid-1900s 10:10: Perception and
Tyler Ashby discussion: Pomo, Perception, and Reason Read More »
My review of Nicholas Capaldi & Gordon Lloyd’s Liberty and Equality in Political Economy: From Locke versus Rousseau to the Present is now published at the Library of Law and Liberty site.
Review of Capaldi and Lloyd on Locke versus Rousseau Read More »
My video meditation on Jean-Paul Sartre’s famous phrase from his “Existentialism is a Humanism,” below or at YouTube:
Sartre on “Existence precedes essence” Read More »
Here are my three collected posts in the Cato Unbound series: Does Kant Have a Place in Classical Liberalism? How Kant’s political views are a mix of liberal and anti-liberal claims, but, more importantly, how his fundamental distinction between noumenal and phenomenal selves means that philosophically he has no defense of practical liberalism.
Immanual Kant versus Liberalism — my three Cato articles collected Read More »
The thesis of my Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault: More information also at my: Explaining Postmodernism page. Credit: Matheus Pacini made this graphic meme. Here’s his group’s Facebook page.
Why Postmodernism? — politics plus epistemology Read More »
An audiobook version of my “Egoism in Nietzsche and Rand” is below or at YouTube: Text version published in The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies 10:2, Spring 2009, 249-291. Also here as PDF. Also relevant: My chart (with sources) comparing Nietzsche’s and Rand’s positions on 96 philosophical issues.
Is Rand’s Ethics Nietzschean? Read More »