The words “woke” and “wokeness” have recently entered the political lexicon. These words puzzle me as to what they mean and why people use them. “Woke” and “wokeness” are used mostly, if not exclusively, as an insult. They are used […]
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Category: Political
Agonistic versus Antagonistic Politics
I recently talked about the philosophy of democracy, and I am a philosopher; I’m not a political theorist; I’m not a political scientist. What that means is I look at what are the fundamental underlying issues related to political actions, […]
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What Is Democracy? Is It the Best System of Government?
Welcome to the insert philosophy here podcast. Inserting the principles of philosophy into real life. As I record this, it is less than three weeks from the United States Election Day. So on this week’s edition of the insert Philosophy […]
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The Fake Left (Book Excerpt)
A sure sign of intellectual and emotional maturity is the ability and willingness to think beyond simplistic binaries. Alas, it is something that political extremists are unable or unwilling to do. How could people who claim to be anti-war and […]
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Book: What Left and Right Mean
What Left and Right Mean: Clarifying the Political Spectrum Understanding the political spectrum and what motivates political actions have never been so vital. Politics is complex, and many political conflicts have considerable effects on our lives. We are all so […]
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What Is Political Philosophy?
Video Lecture. Click to watch. Text Transcript below: What is Political Philosophy? The point I’m trying to make here is that when we talk about political philosophy is that we strangely aren’t talking about Politics. Politics we all have a […]
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What IS America? A Philosophical Look at Being American
What IS America? What does it mean to be American? I ask these questions on July Fourth, a day when the United States commemorates its independence. That date and commemoration in itself is significant in it not being entirely true. […]
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Can War Ever Be Justified?
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine brings up a vexing philosophical question: when is war morally defensible? A small but ancient part of political philosophy is known as “just war theory.” There are two aspects to just war theory. One explores the […]
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Why #CancelStudentDebt Is the Right Thing to Do
I’ve taught university courses since 1998. Someone born that year could have just graduated from a university. Chances are good that such a person has graduated with a heavy load of student loan debt. That is more than unfortunate; that […]
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The Authority to Claim Recognition
Social recognition among individuals and groups is what keeps together communities. Without it, struggles for justice and freedom are impossible. All struggles for justice include the struggle for the authority and power to claim recognition. Excerpt from the book, Rethinking […]
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