Philosophy

Juneteenth celebrates a great achievement. Slavery had existed for thousands of year in pretty much every culture in the world. But a few brave and lonely voices began to challenge it in the 1700s and within a century—almost a blink of an eye in historical time—it had been eliminated in the civilized parts of the […]

I’m delighted to announce my return to Peterson Academy. I will be teaching two separate courses, Philosophy of Education, on how major thinkers—from Socrates and Plato to Montessori and Foucault—shaped teaching and schooling, and Logic, on how to analyze arguments, spot fallacies, avoid bias, and understand reasoning. Filming in person in Phoenix, AZ. Spaces are limited. Apply

Professor James Orr: “a society that prizes freedom above all else is a society that will, in time, descend into tyranny.” That is from Dr. Orr’s second essay, “A Conservative Critique of Liberalism,” in this Reason Papers three-round debate with Dr. Stephen Hicks. Orr advocates and defends Conservatism; Hicks does the same for Liberalism. Links

Next month, I’ll be recording two new courses for Peterson Academy in their Arizona studio. Details forthcoming. Meanwhile, I was pleased to receive from the team this screen capture from the Academy’s discussion forum on my Modern Philosophy course. Thank you for the praise, Salvatore and Allan! More information about my other courses at PA—Modern

From a 2020 interview: Jennifer Grossman [11:59]: What is your perspective from now, particularly looking at it through historical time when we could point to … slavery, things like that, it would seem to me that it’s improved. The other question is: Is capitalism an institution and as an institution (if it is an institution) is

Poland’s new president is historian Karol Nawrocki, who was director of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk and head of the Institute of National Remembrance in Warsaw. Dr. Nawrocki did this interview with me (in English with Polish translation) on the ideas behind the rise of totalitarian movements such as National Socialism.

Professor James Orr: “only conservatism charts the middle course between ideologies that elevate the self over the collective and ones that swallow up the self in the collective.” That is from Dr. Orr’s opening essay in this Reason Papers three-round debate with Dr. Stephen Hicks. Orr advocates and defends Conservatism; Hicks does the same for

The philosopher Simon Blackburn tells an anecdote about a forum at which representatives of the major religions spoke. “First the Buddhist talked of the ways to calm, the mastery of desire, the path of enlightenment. The panellists all said ‘Wow, terrific, if that works for you that’s great.’ Then the Hindu talked of the cycles