For use in my courses, additions to my Texts in Philosophy page. All files are PDFs. Antony Flew, R. M. Hare, and Basil Mitchell, “Three Accounts of What Faith Is,” from “Theology & Falsification: A Symposium” (1971). St. Augustine, on “Righteous Persecution” (c. 397-418 CE). HTML. David Hume, “Moral Distinctions Not Derived from Reason”, A […]
Texts in Philosophy — late 2015 additions Read More »
On Wednesday I will give a talk at FRI’s first North American event. Gloria Alvarez (Guatemala), José Benegas (Argentina), Marsha Enright (USA), Eduardo Marty (Argentina), Warren Orbaugh (Guatemala), and I will be participating. My topic will be “Progress and Betrayal: The Responsibilities of Intellectuals.” One theme of my talk is drawn from my recent column,
FRI’s one-day conference in Miami, September 16 Read More »
[This week in my Introduction to Philosophy course, we are reading Crito and discussing whether Socrates should escape or accept his death sentence. Here is a revisiting of an earlier post.] Socrates’ two bad arguments for not escaping In the Crito, Socrates is in prison awaiting execution for impiety and corrupting the youth. His impiety
Socrates in jail — escape or not? Read More »
More on philosophers’ mind-numbingly long sentences. My initial post with my top candidates is here. Kazuma Kitamura sends in a new contender — a 175 word plea from Chapter One of John Stuart Mill’s The Subjection of Women: “If the authority of men over women, when first established, had been the result of a conscientious
Updating the Philosophy’s Longest Sentences competition Read More »
In my Philosophy of Religion course, this week we are reading excerpts from the Koran and Seyyid Qutb’s influential Milestones. The Koran has many bloodthirsty passages as well as many suggesting qualified live-and-let-live policies. So we take up the question of whether Islam is essentially a religion of violence or peace. Qutb offered an influential
Seyyid Qutb and Islamism this week Read More »
The opening of my latest column at EveryJoe: “What explains the dramatic differences in economic performance between the two Americas? “Take some World Bank GDP numbers — one measure of economic success. We want people to make an adequate living, especially poor people who are struggling. And if we are ambitious, we want people to live
Comparing North and Latin American Economic Performance [new The Good Life column] Read More »
[At the beginning of the new academic year, a re-visiting of the beginnings of modern philosophy.] I vote for Francis Bacon. . . The standard answer gives the honor to René Descartes. Descartes’s claim to the title is based primarily on his epistemology — specifically his method of doubt. The method of doubt is both
The real father of modern philosophy — Bacon versus Descartes Read More »
Em nossa era de economia keynesiana sob efeito de esteróides, devemos perguntar: quão próxima está a prática keynesiana da teoria keynesiana original? A principal alegação que levou John Maynard Keynes à fama foi a sua defesa de gastos via déficit público como uma ferramenta de recuperação econômica. Em uma economia em depressão, segue o argumento,
Podemos culpar Keynes pelo keynesianismo? Read More »