Brazil a century ago: “Sarah Bernhardt [the French actress] in 1886 … soon shocked [Brazilian] society with her daring swimsuit and alarmed the city’s inhabitants by entering the water … . At the time, Brazilians had believed a quick dip in the sea had some medical efficacy, but only around dawn before the sun became […]
Brazilian swimming ethics, then and now Read More »
In my Ethics course, we cover the arguments for and against banning pornography. One of our readings is from Wendy McElroy’s Sexual Correctness: The Gender-Feminist Attack on Women. McElroy takes up the gender-feminist arguments against porn and contrasts them with liberal individualist forms of feminism. The following updated* chart of contrasts is a work in
Liberal versus gender feminism: McElroy’s *Sexual Correctness* Read More »
Did the death of one man in Mongolia affect the entire course of European history since the 1200s? Here’s the context: In 1227, Genghis Khan’s son Ogedai became head of the Mongolian empire, which at that time included much of northern China, southeastern Russia, and Persia. Ogedai sent one of his generals, Tsubodai (or Subotai),
The Mongols and modern European history Read More »
Last month in Washington I gave this talk — on how the Woke activist movement developed (in large part) out of two related theory movements, Critical Theory and Postmodernism — at TAS “Galt’s Gulch” event. It was a full-house international event with professionals as well as students from a surprising range of countries: USA, Morocco,
The Rise of Woke | Talk in Washington, DC Read More »
The opening of Bacon’s essay “Of Marriage and Single Life”: “He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune; for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief. Certainly, the best works, and of the greatest merit for the public, have proceeded from the unmarried or childless men.” Bacon was
Francis Bacon on marriage versus the single life Read More »
Live Audience Application, Miami, Florida, August 2024. Professor Hicks, renowned philosopher, will be teaching a two-part course on political philosophy, outlining the key thinkers and ideas that have shaped our politics: August 21-23: Philosophy of Politics: From the French Revolution to WW II August 26-28: Philosophy of Politics: From the Cold War to After 9-11
Studio audience invitation for *Philosophy of Politics* [new Peterson Academy course] Read More »
For years I’ve used the Borden case in my Critical Thinking course. The case became part of American folklore, generating anonymous ditties like this: Lizzie Borden took an axAnd gave her mother forty whacks,And when she saw what she had done,She gave her father forty-one. Yet she was found Not Guilty at trial. Why? I
The Lizzie Borden double-murder case Read More »
Postmodern Philosophy A course by Stephen R.C. Hicks, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy Eight lectures. Key philosophers and philosophies since 1900 CE, with focus on the proponents and opponents of Postmodernism. Major thinkers covered: Bertrand Russell, John Dewey, Sigmund Freud, Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Karl Popper, Thomas Kuhn, Ayn Rand, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida,
Syllabus for my Postmodern Philosophy course [Peterson Academy] Read More »
Reprising this on why some cultures become great explorers and others stay home: the role of metaphysics. “And as for trying to sail down the west African coast, everyone knew that as soon as you passed the Canary Islands you would be in the Mare Tenebroso, the Sea of Darkness: ‘In the medieval imagination [writes
On the dangers of exploration — medieval version Read More »
A strong observation from Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges’s The Ancient City: “It is a general fact, and almost without exception in the history of Greece and of Italy, that the tyrants sprang from the popular party, and had the aristocracy as enemies. ‘The mission of the tyrant,’ says Aristotle, ‘is to protect the people
How Populists become Tyrants — classic examples Read More »