Some readers of Explaining Postmodernism object that I over-interpret Kant’s skepticism. Some prefer a gentler, more objectivity-friendly Kant. So while I quote Kant a lot in making the argument that Kant’s philosophy is radically subjectivist and the critical step down the road to postmodernism—not everyone is convinced. So I am grateful to Quee Nelson for […]
Was Kant really that skeptical? Read More »
Scruton: “Conservatism, as I describe it, involves the attempt to perpetuate a social organism, through times of unprecedented change.“ About the Course In this eight-lecture course, Professor Stephen R.C. Hicks takes us on a journey through the evolution of modern political philosophies from the tensions of Cold War to the turbulent post-9/11 era. Major thinkers
Suppose that God really is dead. Then, Sartre says “there is no human nature, because there is no God to have a conception of it.” Camus asks whether we are then like Sisyphus, “the absurd hero.” Themes: The decline of religion? The reality of war. Depression and the Depression. The pointlessness of existence? Existence precedes
Lecture Seven: Progressive Pragmatic Education From Dewey to Du Bois Themes: America’s rise. Woodrow Wilson as professor and president. Pragmatism. James and Dewey. Progressives. Deep democracy and Social Justice. Addams, Adams, and Du Bois. Examples from Sidney Hook. Teachers as agents of social transformation. Texts: John Dewey, Democracy in Education. Jane Addams, Democracy and Social
Strong words from Heine’s 1834 History of Religion and Philosophy in Germany: “The life-history of Immanuel Kant is difficult to write, for he had neither a life nor a history. He lived a mechanical, orderly, almost abstract, bachelor life, in a quiet little side-street of Königsberg, an old city near the north-east boundary of Germany.
Heine on Kant and Robespierre as terrorists Read More »
What distinguishes science from pseudo-science?Why is confirmation bias so hard to overcome?Why were many great scientists in history were labeled heretics?And why have so many crank theories been empowered and killed millions of people? The next time I teach philosophy of science, this “Scientific Heresy” talk by Matt Ridley will be on the reading list.
Ridley on scientific heresies, past and present Read More »
Marx: “The religious world is but the reflex of the real world.” And: “Capital is dead labor, that, vampire-like, only lives by sucking living labor, and lives the more, the more labor it sucks.“ About the Course In this eight-lecture course, Professor Stephen Hicks takes us through the development of political philosophy from the late
A world devastated by war. Sigmund Freud asserts “Man is a wolf to man.” Martin Heidegger — rejecting the Enlightenment and everything since ancient Greek philosophy — asks: “Are we allowed to tamper with the rule of ‘logic’?” Themes: The new psychology. Pessimism. Instinct and aggression. Logic as limiting. Emotions as accessing. Nihilism? World War