History of Philosophy

Johann Herder as prophet of the contemporary university

3 Comments / History of Philosophy, Philosophy of History /

[Herder (1744-1802) was an early Counter-Enlightenment voice calling for group identity politics and value relativism, along with a rejection of cultural appropriation and an embrace of zero-sum cultural conflict. The following is excerpted from Explaining Postmodernism.] Herder on multicultural relativism Sometimes called the “German Rousseau,”[1] Johann Herder had studied philosophy and theology at Königsberg University. Kant was […]

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“Should I marry you?” How philosophers answer

Leave a Comment / History of Philosophy, Humor /

Romance is in the air, so here is a repost of my round-up of philosophers talking to their sweethearts – collected from conversations overheard at smoky cafés, college libraries, mountain caves, and seminar rooms the world over. The Aristotelian: “I wish to marry you, for I know that my happiness, both of body and soul,

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Philipse’s book on Heidegger — David Auerbach’s review

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Professor Kevin Hill drew my attention to Auerbach’s review of Herman Philipse’s Heidegger’s Philosophy of Being (Princeton, 1998) and this excerpt from Philipse in particular: Heidegger’s individualistic notion of authenticity, according to which Dasein has to liberate itself from common moral rules in order to choose one’s hero freely, tends to collapse into a collectivist

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Long on Kant and liberal politics [Cato Unbound Series]

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Professor Roderick T. Long has published his essay, “Kant: Liberal, Illiberal, or Both?”, in the Cato Unbound discussion series. Here is the abstract of his essay: Roderick Long offers a complex view of Immanuel Kant, who emerges as more often liberal in principle than in practice. Kant approved of taxation, a welfare state, and even

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Kant’s non-defense of classical liberalism — my article for Cato Unbound

Leave a Comment / History of Philosophy, Politics /

In the Cato Unbound series, my article “Does Kant Have a Place in Classical Liberalism?” is now up. Here, courtesy of editor Jason Kuznicki, is an abstract: Stephen R. C. Hicks argues that if our case for liberty comes from a mysterious other realm, then perhaps we have no case at all. He describes how

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