John Calvin’s Geneva
Those who questioned his theology he called “pigs,” “asses,” “riffraff,” “dogs,” “idiots,” and “stinking beasts.”
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Philosophy
Kindle version of my “Free Speech & Postmodernism” essay
… is now available at Amazon. Here is my theme: “The liberal case for free speech won out in the modern world, but it has been under strong attack in the past generation. The attacks have come not only from traditional conservatives but increasingly from the postmodern left. In this essay, Stephen Hicks presents and
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“Morality without God?” discussion
Two student groups at Rockford College are producing a discussing of a perennially important topic: Morality without God? * Is life purposeless or meaningless without belief in a particular God or religion? * Without God, does that mean “anything goes”? * Does belief in a particular God or religion incline one to morality? Does it
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Our new minor in Ethics
The Department of Philosophy at Rockford College announces a new minor track in Ethics [pdf]. Our department’s faculty members have strength in a wide range of philosophical areas, but all of us have special expertise in ethics, so we have put together an option for students wishing to concentrate in that area. Introduction to Ethics,
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Wilkinson on free speech versus equality
At The Economist web log, Will Wilkinson has a good piece on Rawlsian egalitarian arguments against free speech. The firing of Juan Williams makes perfect sense in that framework, as does the left’s outrage over the Citizens United decision. Wilkinson rightly notes the principled outcome of that framework: “it seems to me that this conception
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Kindle version of Explaining Postmodernism published
The Kindle version of my Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault is now available. The book had a gratifying two hardcover printings and eight softcover printings from 2004-2009, and I am finalizing an expanded edition to be published in hardcover in the spring of 2011. Here’s the book description: “Tracing postmodernism from
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Sir Ken Robinson on factory schools
A stimulating, 11:40-minute animated talk by Ken Robinson. I have qualms about some of Robinson’s intellectual-history-of-education claims, but his portrait of mainstream contemporary education (especially the repulsive cop-out that is the ADHD “epidemic”) and his prescriptions for reform are bang-on accurate. [Which reminds me of my extended series on the philosophy and history of education.]
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My upcoming SFL talk at University of Chicago
The Students for Liberty organization hosts conferences at colleges around the country. This year they’re having regional conferences at Berkeley, Harvard, Columbia, Arizona State, and other campuses. I’ll be giving a talk at the University of Chicago conference on October 16 on the theme “What Is Liberty Good For? Political Activism and the Meaning of
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