Philosophy

Before Engels wised up, the proposed title of Communist Manifesto was Confession of Faith. As Engels wrote in a letter to Marx in late 1847, before the work’s publication in 1848: “Give a little thought to the Confession of Faith. I think we would do best to abandon the catechetical form and call the thing […]

Immanuel Kant is arguably the most influential philosopher in the last two centuries. But how could the strict Kant have anything to do with the often-nihilistic modernist and postmodernist art worlds? In this interview conducted by artist and art critic Jan-Ove Tuv, philosopher Stephen Hicks discuss Kant’s general philosophy and his philosophy of art. Transcription

Ayn Rand Center Europe invited me and and Craig Biddle to Belgrade to debate whether Objectivism is an open or closed philosophy. I argued for open and Mr. Biddle argued for closed. The following recording of the debate does not show the slides I used with quotations and other materials, so I am posting my

The character Gail Wynand pursues a use-and-be-used career strategy. Wynand uses strong-arm tactics when necessary in building up his newspaper’s market; he manipulates his employees with money to break their integrity; he fires those (like Dominique) who refuse to bend; and he lets the lowest-common-denominator of public taste dictate the content of the newspaper he