Philosophy

Understanding Triggers and Microaggression as *Strategy* (Part 2) [Good Life series]

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Micro-aggression theory could be seen a sign of progress. The luxury of obsessing over tiny hints of racism or sexism implies that the problem of macro-aggressions has been solved. If your environment — to draw a parallel — is dirty and unhealthy, then you focus on the big messes first. Only when those are cleaned […]

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Galileo and the Early Modern Compromise in Philosophy

2 Comments / Philosophy /

[In my Introduction to Philosophy course this week, we are reading and discussing Galileo Galilei’s attempt to reconcile the new science with traditional religion. The text of his Letter is at my Texts in Philosophy page.] In his open letter to the Grand Duchess Christina (1615), Galileo offered a defense of science against the prevailing

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Understanding Triggers and Microaggression as *Strategy* (Part 1) [Good Life series]

Leave a Comment / Education, Philosophy /

In your lifetime, how many times can you remember when everyone agreed about the significance of a major cultural phenomenon? It is happening now, as libertarians, conservatives, left-liberals and far-leftists all agree that a deep rot has set into Political Correctness. Hell is freezing over and pigs can now fly. The symptoms of P.C. are

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White on Kant and Classical Liberalism [Cato Unbound series]

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Professor Mark White has published the opening essay, “Defending Kant’s Classical Liberalism,” in the Cato Unbound discussion series. Here is the abstract of his essay: “Mark D. White praises Immanuel Kant’s political philosophy and recommends it to modern classical liberals. Kant’s ethics has often been caricatured as one of rigid, unthinking duty, and also of

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Is Austrian economics anti-empirical? (Horwitz, Caplan, Selgin, and Boettke)

Leave a Comment / Economics, Epistemology /

[I’m re-posting this good discussion from 2012 at Cato Unbound.] An instructive trio of essays by economists at Cato Unbound about Austrian economics’ reputation — especially Mises’s praxeological version — for being strongly a priori rationalist: Is Austrian economics anti-empiricist? Steve Horwitz says no. Bryan Caplan says yes. George Selgin also says yes. To Selgin’s

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The Three Stages of Far-Left Advocacy (sarcastic version)

2 Comments / Humor, Philosophy, Politics /

Now that we are solidly into Stage 3 … Stage 1 (early 20th century): Socialism is really true and moral and liberal capitalism is evil. [The evidence comes in. Shit.] Stage 2 (late 20th century): Evidence and logic are subjective constructs and all alternative constructs are equal. [Liberal-capitalist constructs continue to appeal to many people.

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A religião é boa ou má para a política? [Católico vs. Ateu, Parte 6, Portuguese translation]

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[This is a Portuguese translation of Part 6 of the Theist vs. Atheist debate series between Stephen Hicks and John Wright, originally published in English at EveryJoe.] A religião é boa ou má para a política? Por John C. Wright Tradução de Matheus Pacini Revisão de Mateus Bernardino A questão dessa semana é se a

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