Philosophy

In the below documentary, a number of Heidegger scholars discuss his philosophy and its relationship to his National Socialism. For follow-up scholarship on the philosophy-politics connections: Faye (https://www.amazon.com/Heidegger-Introduction-Philosophy-Unpublished-1933-1935/dp/0300172079/) and Philipse (https://www.amazon.com/Heideggers-Philosophy-Being-Herman-Philipse/dp/0691001197) are very good, in my judgment. Related: Heidegger on metaphysics, in the Philosophers, Explained series.

Trailer for this documentary on the amazing trajectory of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas’s life and career: Philosopher of law Derrick Bell was fundamentally and absolutely opposed to Thomas philosophically and politically, as expressed in this now-classic law review article published at the time:

What is Deconstruction? Is reason a tyranny? Did Foucault go far enough? Can insanity be liberating? Jacques Derrida’s classic essay “Cogito and the History of Madness,” in the Philosophers, Explained series.

My 15-lecture series on the Philosophy of Education in a dedicated playlist at YouTube. The videos are still also available at my site here. The series covers key issues in philosophy and their implications for education and how the major philosophers in history — Plato, Locke, Kant, Sartre, Rand, Foucault, and others — have influenced

What is Pre-Modernism? What was the Modern revolution? How does Postmodernism reject both? Are some elements of the Postmodern critique worth preserving? What would an after-Postmodernism movement look like? Related: Explaining Postmodernism.

Carrying on the fun Renaissance debate about which art form is the best. Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571) was a goldsmith, sculptor, revenge-killer, likely a rapist, and party animal. Check out his Autobiography for all the energetic and sordid true-confessions details. Cellini did the bronze Perseus with the Head of Medusa, now in the Loggia dei Lanzi

Why some cultures become great explorers and others stay home: the role of metaphysics. “And as for trying to sail down the west African coast, everyone knew that as soon as you passed the Canary Islands you would be in the Mare Tenebroso, the Sea of Darkness: ‘In the medieval imagination [writes Peter Forbath], this