[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 […]
Galileo and the Early Modern Compromise in Philosophy Read More »
[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
Is Austrian economics anti-empirical? (Horwitz, Caplan, Selgin, and Boettke) Read More »
I made this chart for comparing Clinton, Johnson, and Trump on the six dimensions that I think are most important in selecting a president. To use the chart the way I did for myself, score each candidate from 1 to 10 for each dimension, with 10 being the highest possible positive score. Then total your
Picking the President, 2016: A Guide Read More »
[This essay is a part of the Theist vs. Atheist debate series between Stephen Hicks and John C. Wright. Here Hicks responds to Wright’s previous column. Here are the links to other essays in the series.] We live in good times for religion and politics. The great majority of us are free to practice or not
Is Political Evil Built into Religion? [Theist vs. Atheist series] Read More »
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.
The Three Stages of Far-Left Advocacy (sarcastic version) Read More »
Next week Cato Unbound will publish a four-part discussion of Immanuel Kant’s place in the classical liberal tradition. The formal title of the series is: “Immanuel Kant and Classical Liberalism.” The whole series will be edited by Jason Kuznicki and will consist of four scholars addressing the topic from (likely) different angles. Professor Mark D. White (Staten
Was Kant a liberal? Discussion at Cato Unbound Read More »
[The text of William Paley’s famous analogy is below (and here is a PDF version). Here is my video-lecture discussion of the traditional Argument from Design. And my article-length discussion of the argument is posted here.] William Paley The Watch and the Watchmaker [From Natural Theology, or Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the
The Watch and Watchmaker analogy for the existence of a god Read More »
[This column is a part of the Theist vs. Atheist debate series between Stephen Hicks and John C. Wright. Here Hicks responds to Wright’s article. And here are the links to other columns in the series.] The quest for a meaningful life comes naturally to us. As infants we delight in exploring the world and developing
Making Life Meaningful without Religion [Theist vs. Atheist series] Read More »
[This column is a part of the Theist vs. Atheist debate series between Stephen Hicks and John C. Wright. Here Hicks responds to Wright’s column about whether religion is essential to ethics.] In my judgment, issues of morality are the most difficult in philosophy. They are intellectually challenging, as everything about the human condition is
On Natural Morality and Religious Amoralism [Theist vs. Atheist series] Read More »
In my judgment, Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead is the greatest novel on the themes of independence and integrity. I’m reposting the contrast of Howard Roark and Peter Keating below, as in my Introduction to Philosophy course this week we are reading Part I, in which Rand’s primary purpose is to contrast the characters of Roark
The Fountainhead — contrasting Roark and Keating Read More »