Immanuel Kant famously said this: “Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made.”[1] And this: “The history of *nature*, therefore, begins with good, for it is God’s work; the history of *freedom* begins with *badness*, for it is *man’s* work.”[2] And he regularly makes other slights against human nature. So […]
Kant versus human perfectibility — strange interpretations Read More »
A snippet from philosopher Simon Blackburn about a forum on the world’s great religions: “First the Buddhist talked of the ways to calm, the mastery of desire, the path of enlightenment. “The panellists all said, ‘Wow, terrific, if that works for you that’s great.’ “Then the Hindu talked of the cycles of suffering and birth
Religious plurality or not? Amusing anecdote Read More »
Jagiellonian University is one of the ancient universities of Europe. 1364 was its founding year, and I am officially in residence — temporarily for my two guest lectures. Market square is huge and lively. Nicholas Copernicus was a student here, and Kraków has some smog issues, so this statue of Copernicus has a mask added
Jagiellonian University in Kraków visit Read More »
The Decline of the West By Oswald Spengler Translated from the German by Charles Francis Atkinson New York: A. A. Knopf, 1918 Spengler’s Preface to the First Edition The complete manuscript of this book — the outcome of three years’ work — was ready when the Great War broke out. By the spring of 1917
Spenger’s Introduction to *The Decline of the West* [text] Read More »
[Text is below or in PDF.] The Grand Inquisitor By Fyodor Dostoyevsky [From The Brothers Karamazov (1880, II.v.5). Translated from the Russian by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. In this novel, Ivan and Alyosha are brothers; Ivan questions the possibility of a personal, benevolent God, and Alyosha is a novice monk. Aside from this background knowledge, the
Dostoyevsky’s “Grand Inquisitor” scene [text] Read More »
Interview conducted at Rockford University by Stephen Hicks and sponsored by the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship. Part I Hicks: I’m Stephen Hicks, executive director of CEE, and our guest today is Dr. William Kline, an expert on David Hume, the 18th-century Scottish Enlightenment philosopher. He spoke today at Rockford University in the Ethical Theory
Dr. William Kline on David Hume — video interview transcript Read More »
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
Understanding Triggers and Microaggression as *Strategy* (Part 2) [Good Life series] 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 »
Patterson in Pursuit is Steve Patterson’s series of podcast discussions with intellectuals. Recently Patterson and I discussed the themes and background developments that led to postmodernism — the premodern worldview, modernism’s revolutionary break, the Enlightenment project, the counter-Enlightenment, an assortment of key people including Kant, Nietzsche, Foucault, and Rorty, and whether we are actually living
Postmodernism — podcast discussion with Steve Patterson Read More »
[Originally published at EveryJoe.com.] Many smart people — including Thomas Friedman in The New York Times, Naser Khader in Newsweek, John Lloyd in The Jerusalem Post, Ayaan Hirsi Ali in The Wall Street Journal — are hoping that the Reformation will come to Islam. Some are calling for an Islamic Martin Luther. Sorry, but no.
No Reformation for Islam, Please [Good Life series] Read More »