Sexism or Racism? The Best Quick Responses
Self-esteem is 90% of the battle.
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Ethics
Rand in *The Encyclopedia of Concise Concepts* by Women Philosophers
I wrote this brief entry on “Self-interest in Ayn Rand”, contrasting her view to the strong nativist e.g., Christianity, Freud) and strong tabula rasa (e.g., Skinner, Foucault) positions. Source: Ruth Hagengruber and Mary Ellen Waithe, editors, The Encyclopedia of Concise Concepts by Women Philosophers, Paderborn University, Germany, 2018.
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My advice to young Social Justice Warriors
My two-minute advice to passionate young activists: “You’re a younger person, and things matter to you … but keep an open mind to the possibility that you have received only a partial education — one side of a set of arguments from some very clever people.” “Your life is important, and if you let yourself
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Individualism, and why I love the Renaissance
From Jacob Burckhardt’s great The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (1860): In the Middle Ages, “Man was conscious of himself only as a member of a race, people, party, family, or corporation — only through some general category. In Italy this veil first melted into air; an objective treatment and consideration of the state
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Brian Medlin in *Explaining Postmodernism*
In 1957 — the decade during which the first generation of postmodern thinkers was arising — philosopher Brian Medlin claimed: “It is now pretty generally accepted by professional philosophers that ultimate ethical principles must be arbitrary.” For more on the context of Medlin’s point and its implications for postmodernism, see p. 87 of my Explaining Postmodernism:
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“On Natural Morality and Religious Amoralism” [CHURCH and STATE]
My “On Natural Morality and Religious Amoralism” is now republished at Britain’s Church and State site: “… religious belief is often autobiographical. That is, all religions have many messages and practices — some peaceful, some violent, and so on — and individuals choose among them to put together a personal religion that reflects the morality
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When Altruism becomes Pathological [Good Life series]
Who is more likely to cheat — those who play individual sports or those who play team sports? A fascinating experiment by Professor Sharon K. Stoll and reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education compared athletes in individual sports such as golf or singles tennis with those playing teams sports such as basketball or doubles
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The Wages of Sin, according to Osama bin Laden
In his “Letter to the Americans,” bin Laden issued a call for morality: “We call you to be a people of manners, principles, honour, and purity; to reject the immoral acts of fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants, gamblings, and trading with interest.” Americans’ failure to cleanse themselves of these sins is one of the justifications bin Laden
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