In Part 1, I began to demythologize the political spectrum by re-rooting it in the struggle over power concentration. In Part 2, I debunked the libertarian marketing scheme of the dual axis political spectrum. Here in Part 3, I will […]
Read more
Tag: Politics
Recognition Part 2: The Key to Social Justice
Why do injustices continue to happen? We say it is because of prejudice but what is prejudice? It is difficult to fight something that we cannot define and one of the important tasks in philosophy is understanding what is behind social phenomena like prejudice. Recognition is the key.
Read more
Recognition, Part 1 - Why Ukrainians but not Syrians?
Listen here: Welcome to the Insert Philosophy Here podcast. Inserting the principles of philosophy into real life. In this week’s episode of the Insert Philosophy Here podcast’s philosophical look on current world events, the dominant world event, of course, is […]
Read more
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 […]
Read more
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 […]
Read more
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 […]
Read more
In 1914, Max Scheler Described Much of the Next 107 Years
In my previous article on German philosopher Max Scheler, I briefly summarized his philosophy of persons. He optimistically saw the possibilities for humanity if we could recognize the positive value of the individual person. Scheler was also able to see […]
Read more
What’s The Problem With “Wokeness?”
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 […]
Read more
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 […]
Read more
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 […]
Read more