In Book 10 of The Republic, Plato remarks that there is an “ancient quarrel between philosophy and poetry” — with poets and philosophers battling for intellectual and moral superiority. It seems that some contemporary Russians have turned Plato’s inter-disciplinary war into a pair of intra-disciplinary battles. Datum 1 — poetry: “Russian ‘kills friend in argument […]
The ancient quarrel — philosophy and poetry, Russian style Read More »
The Polish translation of Nietzsche and the Nazis will be published in March of 2014. The publisher is Foundation Fuhrmann. Many thanks to Przemysław Zientkowski of Nicholas Copernicus University for arranging this translation and publication. I’ll post again about availability when the book is out officially.
Polish translation of Nietzsche and the Nazis — update Read More »
The last question on my Introduction to Philosophy exam was: In your judgment, what is the most dangerous work we read this semester? First give a clear and sympathetic presentation of the work’s important themes; second, state your criterion/criteria of dangerousness; finally, explain why you think the work is dangerous. Eighteen students took the exam.
The most dangerous philosophy book, Fall 2013 Read More »
In Barron’s, Paul Theroux argues that 150 years of aid to Africa has not helped much — and may have hurt more than it helped. Theroux discusses the failure of several recent externally-generated efforts, including Jeffrey Sachs’s top-down Millennium Project and the long history of well-meaning “Telescopic Philanthropists,” as well as Africa’s internal problems of
Paul Theroux on ending aid to Africa Read More »
Noam Chomsky is a mixed bag intellectually, but I like this quotation forwarded to me by Edward Fox: “There are lots of things I don’t understand — say, the latest debates over whether neutrinos have mass or the way that Fermat’s last theorem was (apparently) proven recently. But from 50 years in this game, I
Chomsky on postmodernism Read More »
My review of Allan Gotthelf and James G. Lennox’s Concepts and Their Role in Knowledge: Reflections on Objectivist Epistemology (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2013) is now out in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews. Gotthelf and Lennox jointly edited the volume and provided essays of their own. The other contributors are Benjamin Bayer, Jim Bogen, Bill Brewer,
Review of Gotthelf and Lennox’s *Concepts and Their Role in Knowledge* Read More »
I have a review forthcoming in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews of the impressive new volume by Allan Gotthelf and James G. Lennox. Concepts and Their Role in Knowledge: Reflections on Objectivist Epistemology was published in 2013 by the University of Pittsburgh Press. Gotthelf and Lennox both edited the volume and provided contributions of their own.
Review of Gotthelf and Lennox forthcoming Read More »