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On Domed Cities and Doomed Dreams
On Domed Cities and Doomed Dreams Recently I’ve been reading the writings of the American philosopher William James. You won’t see much discussion of his work among philosophers nowadays, and that’s not just because he happened to be white and male. He had the bad luck to reach maturity as Western philosophy was in its […]
Pandemic Armchair Philosophy Blog 04-15-2020
Pandemic Armchair Philosophy Blog 04-15-2020 First, a recap. The Pandemic Armchair Philosophy Blog was born in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, and is designed to demonstrate philosophy’s practical side in these challenging times. It encourages readers–and not just professional philosophers–to utilize the hard-wired human propensities to think, imagine and create. It’s of the armchair variety […]
Permaculture as Philosophy
Permaculture as Philosophy It’s almost spring – all right, it’s the middle of winter – and I’m reading about gardening. It’s my yearly ritual to keep hope alive in the dark months. I sort my seeds, draw up garden plans while standing by the snow-covered garden beds, and flip through the glossy garden porn that […]
3 Stoic Lessons That Can Help Heal Our Toxic Political Culture
Statue of philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius 3 Stoic Lessons That Can Help Heal Our Toxic Political Culture Back in the days of Ancient Rome and Greece, the founding fathers of the stoic school of philosophy taught the importance of rationalism. Emotional. Tribal. Irrational. These are just three adjectives which could be applied to the political discourse […]
Bastiat Knew the Proper Limits of Government Force
Bastiat Knew the Proper Limits of Government Force If you don’t violate the life, liberty, or property of someone else, you should not see the arm of the law. High school students in the United States are usually required to take a course in government. They learn about the structure of government but rarely discover […]
Does Postmodernism Pit Us Against Each Other?
Does Postmodernism Pit Us Against Each Other? Feminist maverick Camille Paglia has called him “the most important and influential Canadian thinker since Marshall McLuhan,” declaring that “his bold interdisciplinary synthesis of psychology, anthropology, science, politics and comparative religion is forming the template for the genuinely humanistic university of the future.” Meanwhile, conservative commentator David Brooks […]
Is “Fake News” Really Fake?
Is “Fake News” Really Fake? The more complicated a situation, the more open to interpretation it is. The term “fake news” has been much in the news since the 2016 election. Unfortunately, it is not usually defined in any clear fashion. The implication is that the media engages in deliberate distortion and misrepresentation of the […]
I May Be a Radical, But I’m Definitely Not a Utopian
I May Be a Radical, But I’m Definitely Not a Utopian I don’t have a grand, sweeping plan. I just want peace. I become a very fun party guest when the topic turns to politics. My Mundane Radicalism RE: Politics I come at questions about policy from a different angle than most. I don’t believe […]
The Great Unraveling: Using Science and Philosophy to Decode Modernity
The Great Unraveling: Using Science and Philosophy to Decode Modernity Photo by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | CC BY 2.0 “Forty percent of the United States drains into the Mississippi. It’s agriculture. It’s golf courses. It’s domestic runoff from our lawns and roads. Ultimately, where does it go? Downstream into the Gulf.” —Sylvia Earle […]
The International Road to Serfdom
The International Road to Serfdom When a global governing body is the ultimate authority, rather than multiple sovereign nations serving as checks and balances to each other the opportunity for abuse is ripe. In the previous chapter of The Road to Serfdom, F.A. Hayek spelled out his concerns for the problems facing America in the […]
England Inches Down the Road to Serfdom
England Inches Down the Road to Serfdom Hayek’s whole purpose in writing this chapter, “The Totalitarians in Our Midst,” serves as a warning to his readers. Hayek has spent the last few chapters of The Road to Serfdom explaining the roots and rise of totalitarian governments. In chapter twelve, Hayek highlighted prominent Marxist theorists who […]
Don’t Be Surprised by Authoritarianism
Don’t Be Surprised by Authoritarianism Kids are conditioned from birth to submit to authority. Most kids are conditioned almost from day one to obey arbitrary authority. No one attempts to explain or justify the source of the parent or teacher’s authority; no consent is sought, and no choice is offered. Schools demand complete conformity to […]
How to Cope with Inevitable Chaos
How to Cope with Inevitable Chaos And that’s okay. You don’t need to. And neither does governments. Is it me or does it seem like current times are more chaotic than ever? The world seems to be constantly threatened by mass shootings, terrorism, war in the Middle East, nuclear proliferation, and lack of international diplomacy. […]
The Dream of the Machine
The Dream of the Machine As I type these words, it looks as though the wheels are coming off the global economy. Greece and Puerto Rico have both suspended payments on their debts, and China’s stock market, which spent the last year in a classic speculative bubble, is now in the middle of a classic […]
A Moral Code For The Post-Collapse World
A Moral Code For The Post-Collapse World Popular media today, including television and cinema, are rife with examples of what is often referred to as moral relativism — the use of false and fictional moral dilemmas designed to promote the rationalization of an “ends justify the means” narrative. We are also bombarded lately with entertainment […]
