Philosophy

Comparing yourself to others —experiment and anecdote

I came across this report of an “experiment at Harvard University’s School of Public Health in 1995. In it, a group of students and faculty were asked to choose between earning $50,000 per year while everyone else earned $25,000 — or earning $100,000 per year while others made $200,000. The researchers stipulated that prices of […]

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Liberal versus gender feminism: McElroy’s *Sexual Correctness*

In my Ethics course, we cover the arguments for and against banning pornography. One of our readings is from Wendy McElroy’s Sexual Correctness: The Gender-Feminist Attack on Women. McElroy takes up the gender-feminist arguments against porn and contrasts them with liberal individualist forms of feminism. The following updated* chart of contrasts is a work in

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The Mongols and modern European history

Did the death of one man in Mongolia affect the entire course of European history since the 1200s? Here’s the context: In 1227, Genghis Khan’s son Ogedai became head of the Mongolian empire, which at that time included much of northern China, southeastern Russia, and Persia. Ogedai sent one of his generals, Tsubodai (or Subotai),

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Francis Bacon on marriage versus the single life

The opening of Bacon’s essay “Of Marriage and Single Life”: “He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune; for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief. Certainly, the best works, and of the greatest merit for the public, have proceeded from the unmarried or childless men.” Bacon was

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Studio audience invitation for *Philosophy of Politics* [new Peterson Academy course]

Live Audience Application, Miami, Florida, August 2024. Professor Hicks, renowned philosopher, will be teaching a two-part course on political philosophy, outlining the key thinkers and ideas that have shaped our politics: August 21-23: Philosophy of Politics: From the French Revolution to WW II August 26-28: Philosophy of Politics: From the Cold War to After 9-11

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