Review of David Kelley’s *Evidence of the Senses* by Stephen Hicks [In Case You Missed It]
Related: Critique of Pure Reason | Immanuel Kant | Philosophers Explained | Stephen Hicks
Epistemology
Kleist: How Kant ruined my life
Kleist was widely traveled, energetic, a brilliant writer — and a suicide at age 34. Why? In reviewing Selected Prose of Heinrich von Kleist, Ian Brunskill writes: “Kleist in his youth had espoused with enthusiasm all the optimism of the Enlightenment. Reason would conquer all; happiness would come with experience and understanding. In March 1801,
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Nietzsche on Kant, and his influence upon Postmodernism [Pope Lecture]
In this invited lecture, Dr. Hicks surveys key educational ideas from pre-modern times, the modern era, and our post-modern times. Ancient education often stressed discipline, obedience and rule following, while modern thinkers such as Galileo, Locke, and Montaigne stressed independent judgment and the power of reason. He then examines a series postmodern (and fellow-traveler) thinkers
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Hersey, Galef, and the Scout Mindset
Thanks to Jon Hersey’s article, I became aware of Julia Galef’s The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don’t (2021). Based on Hersey’s overview and this chart, Galef’s book looks very good for those interested in cognitive improvement:
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Stephen Hicks, “A Primer on Objective Journalism” [Atlas Intellectuals]
This week of the self-paced course on Objectivity features Stephen Hicks’s primer on Objective Journalism. “Objectivity means being committed to the facts and to using one’s mind as best one can to discover and interpret them. Journalistic objectivity includes being open to all the facts, doing research to discover the facts, verifying claims, and to integrating logically
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Ayn Rand, “What is Capitalism?” [Atlas Intellectuals]
This week in the Atlas Intellectuals course on Capitalism we consider Ayn Rand´s controversial “What is Capitalism?” In this 1965 essay, first published in The Objectivist Newsletter and later in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, Rand presents her philosophical and especially moral argument for capitalism. The full course: https://www.atlassociety.org/course/capitalism. Other Atlas Intellectuals courses on Socialism, Objectivity, Money, Robotics, and
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*The Art of Reasoning* — new edition
I’ve used a dozen or more Logic books over the years in my courses, and this one is the best. Now out in its fifth edition, with philosopher David Kelley joining up with new co-author, logician Debby Hutchins. Invest in the power of your mind. When I talk with my students about reasoning, I analogize
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“Can women and minorities think rigorously?” The SJW say “No”
Old-time racists and sexists said: “Clear thinking — it’s not for woman, minorities, and gays.” Social-Justice Wokists today say: “Exactly!!” Rigorous thinking, according to some, is a virtue that leads to safe high-voltage electrical systems, pharmaceutical doses that are precisely calibrated, and bridges that stay up. Not so, says engineering Professor Donna Riley. Rather it
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