Lecture 2. The Essential Questions In lecture two, we look at fundamental metaphysical questions, beginning with the Ship of Theseus paradox to examine identity and change, then covering core concepts like being, existence, identity, change, space, and time. We consider major positions on whether existence can be explained or simply affirmed, whether identity is intrinsic […]
Lecture 1. Origins of Reality In our introductory lecture, Dr. Hicks poses philosophical questions about the origin of reality by examining three competing narratives: the Big Bang theory, Hindu creation stories, and the Judeo-Christian Genesis account. We examine how they reflect differing metaphysical views—physicalism vs. spiritualism, monism vs. dualism, progress vs. regression—and contrasting approaches to
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A course by Stephen R.C. Hicks, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy. Eight lectures on fundamental questions about reality, causality, space and time, knowledge, mind and body, and volition. We work through the big questions — and the debates over the best answers to them — guided by claims and insights from major philosophers including Plato, Aristotle,
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Lecture 3. Morals & Human Nature Dr. Hicks examines how views of humans—as naturally destructive and conflictual (via the myth of Gyges and Freudian psychology) or cooperative and productive—shape ethics and business practices. “Lifeboat scenario” claims about resource scarcity influence moral decisions and highlight the tension between social Darwinism and altruistic sacrifice in zero-sum situations,
‘Lifeboat’ Ethics & ‘Dark’ Human Nature — Lecture 3 of BUSINESS LEADERSHIP ETHICS Read More »
In a short 1995 essay, “The Gnostic,” published when he was co-founder of Russia’s National Bolshevik Party, Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin urges young Russians to drink “The wine of socialist revolution, the joy of rebellion against the forces of fate, and the sacred, berserker passion for total destruction of all that was black”. To do
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The Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset (1883–1955) was of the generation before deconstruction, but I was stuck by these comments on post-Kantian German Idealism: “never before has a lack of truthfulness played such a large and important role in philosophy” And: “They did whatever they felt like doing with concepts. As if by magic
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According to The New York Times, Ali Larijani has effectively been running Iran since January 2026. He was in “charge of crushing, with lethal force, the recent protests demanding the end of Islamic rule.” [Source] He is now the key power broker in Iran’s transition. A colleague alerts me to the suprising-to-me fact that Larijani
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Lecture 2. Egoism, Altruism, Predation In lecture two, we study three distinct moral frameworks—egoism, altruism, and predation. We examine how each type manifests across various domains of life, including business, sports, sexuality, and gift-giving, analyzing each approach through the dimensions of intent, action, and consequences. Dr. Hicks concludes by highlighting how entrepreneurial traits align with
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