Nietzsche comments wryly on contemporary religious morality: “One believes one must disapprove of Cesare Borgia; that is simply laughable. The church has excommunicated German emperors on account of their vices: as if a monk or priest had any right to join in a discussion about what a Frederick II may demand of himself. A Don […]
Romantic advice to women — Nietzsche version Read More »
I’m crossing Martin off my next party-invitation list. “As many paces as the man takes in his dance, so many steps he takes toward Hell.” Quoted here. I like to contrast Luther with John Locke who, in his Some Thoughts concerning Education, mentions dancing first as an essential element of a child’s formal instruction. Related:
Martin Luther on dancing and the steps one takes toward Hell Read More »
“National-Socialism and Medicine” is Hamburger‘s address to the German medical profession. The University of Vienna professor outlines the philosophical basis for the Nazis’ collectivizing medicine, sex, and family life. Three passages caught my attention. 1. The importance of religion to National Socialist medicine: “we scientists and doctors simply and soberly affirm the principle of strength
Dr. Franz Hamburger and the National Socialist collectivizing of reproduction Read More »
Un-edited transcription of this previously released podcast. Audio links: iTunes. Stitcher. YouTube. Transcription: The Initial Debate It’s a faux pas in some intellectual circles — mostly conservative ones — to say that there was a Dark Ages in European history. But the mainstream view, by contrast, has been that the Middle Ages were a dark
Conservatives: Get Over the Dark Ages [Open College transcript] Read More »
In Western nations, there is a clear connection between philosophy and totalitarian politics. Hegel’s philosophy, for example, took a “left” turn in Marx’s thinking — which Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin drew upon — and it took a “right” turn in Treitschke’s and Nietzsche’s thinking — which Goebbels, Hitler, and the National Socialists drew upon, as
German philosophy in pre-World-War-II Japan Read More »
The author of Brideshead Revisited was a nasty man. So much so that “a woman once remarked to Waugh that, though he claimed to be a Christian, he was one of the most unpleasant men she had ever met. Did he not, she asked, sense any contradiction here? ‘Not at all,’ Waugh is supposed to
Evelyn Waugh’s Christian self-control Read More »
My “Egoism in Nietzsche and Rand” was published in The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies. Here is the abstract for my 43-page study: “Philosophers Friedrich Nietzsche and Ayn Rand are often identified as strong critics of altruism and arch advocates of egoism. In this essay, Stephen Hicks argues that Nietzsche and Rand have much in
Egoism in Nietzsche and Rand Read More »
Strategy question: Does one plunge into political activism—or will political efforts not be effective until the broader culture is ready for it? A common response is to say “Politics is downstream from culture.” Here is one datum, from Philip Reiff: “[T]he first Christian culture revolution accommodated itself from the beginning to the ruling classes of
How do political cultures change? Read More »