I am quite the international trader, it turns out. Earlier today I put on my made-in-Argentina jacket and my new made-in-India shoes and got into my made-in-Japan truck. I stopped for gas at a British petroleum station and chatted with its owner, a guy from Mexico. To help pay for it all, I taught my […]
Free Trade Makes You a Better Person [Good Life series] Read More »
I was interviewed for PanAm Post by columnist María Marty. The 13-minute interview itself is in English with Spanish subtitles and is prefaced by Ms. Marty’s summary in Spanish. PanAm‘s title is “América Latina debe abandonar su victimismo y abrirse al mundo” (“Latin America Needs to Abandon Its Victimization and Embrace the World.”) The topics:
Interview: “Latin America Needs to Abandon Its Victimization and Embrace the World” Read More »
Penguin has published a new translation by R. Kevin Hill and Michael Scarpitti of Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Will to Power. In the mid-1880s Nietzsche was extraordinarily productive making and reworking notes for an intended magnum opus. But he did not complete it and turned to publishing the final few short books of his career before
*The Will to Power* — new translation by Hill and Scarpitti Read More »
In a recent post, philosopher-turned-businessman Robert Garmong made this observation: I’m now convinced that 99% of business success comes down to skill at defining and applying concepts. Those who are mere cogs in the machine, generally speaking, are those who don’t really understand the concepts. They may grasp the rules, but not the reasons. They
Who succeeds in business — Garmong on *conceptual* thinking Read More »
Both are smart guys, and I haven’t read the book or the review, but I am fascinated by the social dynamic, which follows a common pattern: What could be an engaged and productive argument devolves quickly into insults, exasperation, uncharitable interpretations about who said what, claims of immoralities, and suggestions of lawsuits. Also fascinating is
Steve Patterson and Jason Brennan Read More »
Plato argued that there’s a perennial quarrel between poetry and philosophy.* Now science argues that the poets may have an edge in the dating market. If I understand this phenomenon correctly: * The poet says: Your beauty, so like a red, red rose, thrills my core with longing. * The philosopher says: Your functional properties
Do poets or philosophers romance better? Read More »
Romance is in the air, so here is a repost 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,
“Should I marry you?” How philosophers answer Read More »
[Kant died on February 12 in 1804.] Duty, not inclination: “Now an action done from duty must wholly exclude the influence of inclination and with it every object of the will, so that nothing remains which can determine the will except objectively the law, and subjectively pure respect for this practical law, and consequently the
Kant on what makes one morally worthy Read More »
At TRI, my short article “Trump’s Corruption Mandate” begins this way: “Donald Trump’s astonishing election victory was in part a backlash against increasingly corrupt American politics. “Transparency International publishes an annual Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking all nations from most to least clean in their political conduct. The United States entered the twenty-first century by falling
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Reading postmodern history can be frustrating, with its philosophical antipathy to facts and truth and its ideological priors. Here’s an example — Jean-François Lyotard on the rise of authoritarianism: Saddam Hussein is a product of Western departments of state and big companies, just as Hitler, Mussolini, and Franco were born of the ‘peace’ imposed on
Correcting postmodern history — imperialist version Read More »