Marxism as “scientific socialism” and what happens when the scientific data fail to cooperate. For more, here is the full 2018 lecture at the University of British Columbia.
How Failed Marxist Predictions Led to the Postmodern Left — lecture excerpt Read More »
I passed through Trier, Germany, mostly to see the Porta Nigra. But Trier is also the birthplace of one K. Marx, and this year is the 200th anniversary of his birth. The city is full of celebratory signage and knick-knacks, but for me one item captured the event best. I give you me and mini
[Revised from this earlier post.] When the great Polish intellectual Leszek Kolakowski (1927-2009) published “My Correct Views on Everything,” he was responding to Edward Thompson’s attack in “Open Letter to Leszek Kolakowski.” Kolakowski is best known for Main Currents of Marxism, his huge survey of Marxism from its neo-Platonic and Hegelian roots, on through Marx
True Believers against Leftist Responsibility — Kolakowski versus Thompson Read More »
Ignasi Boltó, a.k.a. the Spanish Libertarian, asked me eleven questions (below or at YouTube): 1. What’s your intellectual evolution? 2. Why do you say that postmodernism is the evolution of Marxism? 3. What values define Western Civilization? 4. Why does the New Left fight nihilistically against individual rights and capitalism? 5. Does philosophy matter to
Spanish Libertarian interview on pomo, Jordan Peterson, and red-pilling SJWs Read More »
My hour-long discussion with the energetic Ron Renaud: “Hang with me and super-hero philosopher Stephen Hicks talking about…” 0:00 minutes: Introduction 2:19: The evolution of socialist strategies and our culture wars 3:52: What a university should be 5:19: Rousseau, Marx, and one disaster after another 6:30: Feeling and rhetoric or logic? 7:50: Is Marxism a
Uncompromised Talk — discussion with Ron Renaud Read More »
Jacques Derrida on the relevance of Marxism to postmodernism: “deconstruction never had meaning or interest, at least in my eyes, than as a radicalization, that is to say, also *within the tradition* of a certain Marxism in a certain *spirit of Marxism*.” For more on the implications of Derrida’s writings for postmodernism, see p. 14 of
Jacques Derrida in Explaining Postmodernism Read More »
[John Enright translated this short piece by María Marty summarizing her interview with me. The video of the 12-minute interview follows.] Stephen Hicks is the author of Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault and Nietzsche and the Nazis. A Personal View, which have been translated into several languages, including Spanish. Hicks also
Latin America must abandon victimhood and open to the world Read More »
Mark Michael Lewis interviewed me on a variety of philosophical topics. Below is an excerpted transcription, from 26:55 to 36:05, on the evolution of postmodernism. The transcription is by Walter Evans-Wenz. PDF here. Mark Michael Lewis interviews Stephen Hicks Hicks: Right now we are with respect to that phenomenon—that’s third generation postmodernism. What you have
Three Stages of Postmodernism–From Foucault and Rorty to Now [transcript] Read More »
[Thanks to the careful work of Paula Nedved (mter2013@gmail.com), below is a transcription (PDF here) of our video discussion diagnosing the roots of postmodernism. Dr. Peterson’s introduction: “On August 17, I spoke with Dr. Stephen Hicks, professor in the philosophy department at Rockford University. Dr. Hicks is the author of the influential and courageous 2004
Jordan Peterson and Stephen Hicks diagnose pomo [transcription] Read More »
My site’s year-end statistics are pretty much in. Here are the most popular posts for 2017: 1. Interviewed by Jordan B. Peterson. 2. The lecture that launched my Explaining Postmodernism book project: at the Atlas Society conference, University of Colorado. 3. Plato on censoring artists — a summary. 4. From Marxism to Postmodernism: an excerpt