Some philosophies, indeed
Related: Sartre’s classic explanation of Existentialism, responding to Catholic and Communist critics, in my Philosophers, Explained series:
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Captainese interview on the Nazis’ accurate and inaccurate uses of Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche rejected liberal individualism, capitalism, egalitarianism, and peace—and he embraced struggle, hierarchy, and the ‘will to power.’ His philosophy was appropriated by the National Socialists—in some ways accurately and in some ways via misinterpretation. Captainese’s interview with Professor Stephen Hicks. Timestamps: 1:34 Do philosophers have a responsibility to prevent the misuse of their ideas?
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Ideological wars in anthropology
Is peace or war the natural state of man? Do men fight primarily over material possessions or over women? For decades anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon studied the Yanomamö, a remote tribe in South America, learning about their almost-constant warfare. His findings put him in open conflict with academic anthropologists and the American Anthropological Association. The latter
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Rocket Singh, Salesman of the Year
Check out Rocket Singh, Salesman of the Year, an engaging movie with a healthy business ethics kick. The main character is a young college graduate with mediocre grades who lands a job at a computer sales company. He is soon confronted with corrupt-but-usual practices in the company, and his naïveté puts him on the fast
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Genghis Khan on joy and the meaning of life
In the history of ethics, debates over the meaning of life have generated four broad positions: 1. The meaning of life is to flourish by creating value both materially and psychologically through one’s career, friendships, loves, and avocations. Examples here include Aristotelian eudaimonism, some sub-types of utilitarianism, and Objectivism.The good life should be a win
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Creative geniuses as selfish — Beethoven version
How did Beethoven become Beethoven? “The ‘personality’ of such a man as Beethoven is a slowly developed synthetic whole. It is formed by the gradual combination of its constituent elements into an organic unity. For the development of a personality a rich and profound inner life is necessary, and for that reason it is usually
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Foucault: It’s never about liberation
I understand the temptation to read Michel Foucault as a kind of Libertarian, with all of his attacks on oppressive powers. Or as a kind of ultra-cynical Public Choice theorist, with all his revelations of the sausage-making processes of culture and politics. Yet it’s important to recognize that, for Foucault, liberation is an impossibility. We
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Frigid and Warm feelings in politics
When a newly prominent politician says “We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism,” my first thought is to ask: What do the cold/hot feeling metaphors mean to him? Individualism conceptually means: I am my unique self, I decide and act independently, I take full responsibility for my life. To
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