Educating a child is a hugely philosophical project. How does one become a fully-functional adult with a zest for all that life has to offer—and acquire the knowledge, skills, and habits to pursue it? Homework, traditionally conceived, is not part of the answer. And when we consider the sadly large number of young people who […]
Against Homework [Good Life series] Read More »
* The original hoax article, “The Conceptual Penis as a Social Construct,” was published by Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay in the academic journal Cogent Social Sciences. * Simultaneously they published this lambasting commentary. * Salon‘s Phil Torris deflated the hoax’s significance in a scathing piece. * Professor James Taylor agreed, arguing that the hoax
The Conceptual Penis — further developments Read More »
What happens when one meets a tension or outright contradiction in one’s thinking? How do we evaluate those who believe or at least express positions like “There is no truth” or “All beliefs are subjectively relative”? In our first conversation, Steve Patterson and I discussed the nature and origins of postmodernism, including thinkers such as
Contradictions in thinking — Patterson interviews me on the psychology of pomo Read More »
My primer on Political Ethics was published as a white paper at the Berens Foundation site. Each of the 22 sections of about 500 words discusses the essential rights and responsibilities of a major participant in the political process or explicates a key ethics concept in politics. Ethics for a Democratic Republic Table of Contents:
Ethics for a Democratic Republic — white paper Read More »
Things have only gotten worse on campuses in the last five years. But Nick Gillespie’s interview of the excellent Kors on “Campus Speech Codes, Libertarianism, & The Case for the Humanities” is timelessly relevant.
Alan Charles Kors on free speech and education Read More »
The Financial Times has good coverage of the increasing rift between American conservatism and free-market capitalism. President Donald Trump is both a result of that rift and a furtherance of it. Many of the deep thinkers behind conservative politicians have long favored the rift. Russell Kirk, Irving Kristol, Robert Bork — who represent differing versions
The further divorce of conservatism and free markets Read More »
Some of my books, articles, and reviews available in audio form are collected at my Audio Publications page, which I’ve updated this month.
Audio publications page — updated Read More »
Mao Zedong, in keeping with Marxism, argued this about the nature and purpose of art: “In the world today all culture, all literature and art belong to definite classes and are geared to definite political lines. There is in fact no such thing as art for art’s sake, art that stands above classes, art that
Art and morality, Mao and Warhol Read More »