Reprising this fascinating short article in the British Journal of Medicine by Robert N. Proctor, professor of the history of medicine at Penn State University: “The anti-smoking campaigns of the Nazis: a little known aspect of public health in Germany, 1933-1945” [pdf]. The campaign was mounted despite the arguments that (1) taxes on tobacco were […]
Famous anti-smoking activists from history Read More »
This New York Times extended article (behind paywall) on Rand’s influence includes some snark from philosophers over whether she really was a philosopher. Oh, come on. It reminds me of Friedrich Nietzsche’s reception by the philosophers at the University of Basel (I haven’t come across their names in the history books) when Nietzsche assumed his
When philosophers boycotted Nietzsche at Basel Read More »
Professor Nazir Azad’s translation of my Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault has been published by Educational Publishing House, New Delhi, India. This follows up on the Pakistani edition published in 2023. Information about other editions and translations of the book is here, including the audiobook edition below:
*Explaining Postmodernism* published in New Delhi, India Read More »
Lawrence Reed’s encomium for the man who became president of the USA one hundred years ago today. “In 1924, a man named Charles Gardner wrote to Coolidge to protest the Republican Party’s nomination of a black dentist for a New York congressional seat. … “ Full article at the FEE site. Related: The basic principles
Calvin Coolidge deserves more appreciation Read More »
The Kindle edition of my Nietzsche and the Nazis was my first ever Kindle publication, released just before the hardcover edition in 2010. It’s now out in many translations and in audiobook, and I’m well pleased with its track record. The audiobook has over 4.8 million views, which is gratifying. Here also is the original
Kindle edition of *Nietzsche and the Nazis* Read More »
Before Engels wised up, the proposed title of Communist Manifesto was Confession of Faith. As Engels wrote in a letter to Marx in late 1847, before the work’s publication in 1848: “Give a little thought to the Confession of Faith. I think we would do best to abandon the catechetical form and call the thing
A Communist Manifesto — or a Confession of Faith? Read More »
Immanuel Kant is arguably the most influential philosopher in the last two centuries. But how could the strict Kant have anything to do with the often-nihilistic modernist and postmodernist art worlds? In this interview conducted by artist and art critic Jan-Ove Tuv, philosopher Stephen Hicks discuss Kant’s general philosophy and his philosophy of art. Transcription
Stephen Hicks interview on Kant and Modern Art — transcript of the Norway interview Read More »
Anton Chekhov is a great writer, in large part because he follows ruthlessly a principle of selectivity named after him: “Chekhov’s gun” is principle of writing that says that every element in a narrative must be essential and irreplaceable, and anything that is neither must be eliminated. But I don’t like reading Chekhov. I read
Chekhov’s artistic choices (and the artist as a god) Read More »