[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 »
A fascinating brief item from the Library of Social Science‘s site. All German soldiers swore an oath to Adolf Hitler, vowing, “I shall at all times be prepared to give my life.” Similarly, those in the Schutzstaffel, or SS, vowed “absolute allegiance unto death.” Hitler drew the following conclusion, as he and the National Socialist
The ethics of sacrifice, National Socialist version Read More »
Interview conducted at Rockford University by Stephen Hicks and sponsored by the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship. Hicks: Hi, I’m Stephen Hicks. I am executive director of The Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship here at Rockford University. My two guests today spoke at Rockford University on the themes of entrepreneurship and ethics. With me is
Interview with entrepreneurs Magatte Wade and Michael Strong — Transcript Read More »
[At the beginning of the new academic year, a re-visiting of the beginnings of philosophy.] The standard claim is that philosophy begins with Thales. When I teach this to my students, it’s a hard sell, for here are the founding texts in philosophy — ascribed to Thales by Aristotle: “The first principle and basic nature
The Birth of Philosophy — Thales and Homer Read More »
Here’s a four-minute video overview of Fundación para la Responsabilidad Intelectual‘s inaugural event in Buenos Aires last month. Next month, FRI will host its first North American event, in Miami on September 16. Gloria Alvarez, José Benegas, Marsha Enright, Eduardo Marty, and I will be participating.
FRI’s inaugural event in Buenos Aires — and soon in Miami Read More »
The opening of my final column in the Theist vs. Atheist debate series at EveryJoe: “To evaluate religion’s track record we need to specify our evaluative benchmarks and identify whether we are evaluating religion generically or a particular religion. “A religion is a set of beliefs and practices, and my primary benchmark is this: Does it
Religion and the Verdict of History [new Theist vs. Atheist series column] Read More »
The opening of my latest column at EveryJoe: “Higher education can be a path to a successful life. Yet many successful people did not graduate from college and many unsuccessful people have impressive degrees. “So who should go to college? And who should pay for it? Let’s start by imagining an average student who wants
Free College Tuition is a Moral Issue [new The Good Life column] Read More »