Adding philosophical depth to anything and everything
Sometimes, listening to politicians in the “developed” world, one gets the impression that hordes of barbarians are at the borders. These politicians tell us to be very concerned about the threat of immigrants. What these barbarians are accused of isn’t exactly clear; the message is vague beyond “be afraid.” These […]
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For the last seven years, I’ve had quite a few people here in Europe ask me to explain Trump and his MAGA sycophants. Their incredulous questions are understandable. What’s in MAGA minds? How could they believe such things? Why are they so full of hate? Europe has its own history […]
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Trump, Power, and Desire versus the Law Much will be said and written about the latest set of indictments handed down against former President Trump. I will leave it to the legal analysts to dissect the minutiae and details of the indictment. I’m a philosopher, so I want to […]
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Cooperation, loyalty, adherence to the rule of law. These are noble virtues, of which the following are necessary for a free and open society. But there are times when it is necessary to step outside these noble virtues. There are times when dissent is a virtue. There is a time […]
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Around a year ago, I produced a video about the philosophy of conspiracy theories. One comment several people made elsewhere is one I want to discuss here. I won’t repeat what I say in the original paper, but reading that will make what I am about to say much more […]
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Celebrating the freedom of constructive criticism. I was born in the USA, though I hate that song, and that’s a good metaphor for my thinking and feeling about the United States. I was born there, but I emigrated to Europe in 2012 and though I don’t hate the U.S., I […]
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From time-to-time, news items remind me of a conversation from years ago. I was with a group of fellow university students discussing a recent outbreak of armed conflict somewhere in the world. Being curious students, we talked about why the conflict had started. “Because the ___ are proud to […]
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Hannah Arendt is very well known in continental philosophical circles. She remains unfairly unknown outside of continental philosophy circles. Arendt is best known for her book Eichmann in Jerusalem, A Report on the Banality of Evil. That book was her report of the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, […]
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I heard there was some spectacle on one of the 24-hour “news” channels last night. It was some show where they handed Donald Trump a microphone and turned a camera on him. “Tortuous” was the description in one headline covering the ensuing car crash. As predictable as was Trump spewing […]
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Government at the consent of the governed. It is a principle we assume today and demand. It was not always so. For centuries in the medieval and early modern era the dominant European philosophy of government was the “divine right of kings”—the idea dating back to Augustine that the monarch […]
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