The Fountainhead’s Gordon Prescott—Heidegger’s disciple?
Re-reading The Fountainhead made me wonder: Is the character Gordon Prescott based on Martin Heidegger’s philosophy?
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Philosophy
What are the most important works in 20th century philosophy?
Here’s a list based on philosopher Douglas Lackey’s 1999 survey of philosophers. The results were published in The Philosophical Forum. Interesting that the full list is dominated by works in epistemology. Metaphysics and ethics are less represented by a significant margin. The top ten books cited:1. Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations [179 citations]2. Heidegger, Being and Time
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Is architecture the best art form?
In the Renaissance, there was a lively debate among artists and critics over which art form was the best. Cases were made for and against painting, sculpture, poetry, and music. To my mind, the debate is silly philosophically, but it is a fun and instructive exercise to compare the strengths and limitations of each art
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The scientific mind, according to Aristotle
One of my all-time favorite passages from Aristotle is in his Parts of Animals (Book 1, Chapter 5).
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Heidegger’s dark politics and philosophy: book recommendations
In the below documentary, a number of Heidegger scholars discuss his philosophy and its relationship to his National Socialism. For follow-up scholarship on the philosophy-politics connections: Faye (https://www.amazon.com/Heidegger-Introduction-Philosophy-Unpublished-1933-1935/dp/0300172079/) and Philipse (https://www.amazon.com/Heideggers-Philosophy-Being-Herman-Philipse/dp/0691001197) are very good, in my judgment. Related: Heidegger on metaphysics, in the Philosophers, Explained series.
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Clarence Thomas vs. Derrick Bell [Black History Month]
Trailer for this documentary on the amazing trajectory of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas’s life and career: Philosopher of law Derrick Bell was fundamentally and absolutely opposed to Thomas philosophically and politically, as expressed in this now-classic law review article published at the time:
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Derrida, Deconstruction, Insanity
What is Deconstruction? Is reason a tyranny? Did Foucault go far enough? Can insanity be liberating? Jacques Derrida’s classic essay “Cogito and the History of Madness,” in the Philosophers, Explained series.
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My full course on Philosophy of Education — new playlist
My 15-lecture series on the Philosophy of Education in a dedicated playlist at YouTube. The videos are still also available at my site here. The series covers key issues in philosophy and their implications for education and how the major philosophers in history — Plato, Locke, Kant, Sartre, Rand, Foucault, and others — have influenced
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