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
Karl Marx and 1848
The path to understanding Marx begins by understanding this excerpt from The Communist Manifesto: A spectre is haunting Europe — the spectre of Communism. All the Powers of old Europe have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this spectre… Karl Marx, […]
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What Lurks Behind Conspiracy Theories? A Philosophy of Conspiracy Theories.
Some people, despite all proof to the contrary, believe the moon landings were faked. Some people, despite all proof to the contrary, believe the last election was stolen. And those are just two of the many conspiracy theories that […]
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Calvinism and the American Conception of Evil
Largely underestimated is the significant influence that John Calvin has had on culture in the United States. Perhaps only John Locke has had more philosophical influence on the American Zeitgeist than has Calvin. To understand America and its uniqueness, you […]
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The Siloization of Humanity – Technology has enhanced an age old habit
Siloization – ˈsī-lō-ə-ˈzā-shən : the process of isolating a group apart from others especially in ways that hinder communication and cooperation In business jargon, “silo teams” refer to situations in which teams or departments don’t communicate with each other and […]
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Frantz Fanon on Being Black
Frantz Fanon on Being Black “I am black; I am in total fusion with the world, in sympathetic affinity with the earth, losing my id in the heart of the cosmos — and the white man, however intelligent he may […]
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Let’s Call Racism What It Is: Structural Cowardice
What is racism? Hatred? Yes. Ignorance? Yes. But the hatred spewed within ignorant racist views are symptoms of a deeper dis-ease. We need to call racism what it really is — something larger than any individual but is an emotion […]
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The U.S. Has Found Something Worse Than Trump
Yes, Trump is a horrible human being. Yes, Trump’s policies are horrible. But as I’ve written previously, Trump isn’t the problem. There’s a problem worse than Trump, and the U.S. has just made that problem worse. “Feckless” is a good […]
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If You Think Trump Is The Problem, You Aren’t Part of The Solution
People ask me “when have things in the US ever looked this bad?” I reply, “1968, to name just the most recent time,” but I do understand their consternation. Things do look bad in the US and we need to […]
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Let’s Insert Some Philosophy into the Response to the Pandemic
It shouldn’t be a political debate, but somehow it is. What should we as a society do in response to the Coronavirus pandemic? Seems obvious to anyone with any humanity: save people’s lives. Bizarrely, some feel we shouldn’t spend efforts […]
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