On Sullivan on Plato on America
Andrew Sullivan’s comments on Plato and American democracy need a little unpacking.
Category: Philosophy
The Engineering Process (or Of Course We Know What We Are Doing! Except That, We Have No Clue About That…)
Oscar talks about engineering and the choices that go into it.
Is Undercover Reporting Inherently Unethical?
Paging Elizabeth Picciuto! Paging Elizabeth Picciuto! We have an ethics emergency!
The Punisher’s Alignment
League Alum Jamelle Bouie asked: “On a D&D alignment chart, where would you put The Punisher?”
Conservatives, Donald Trump, and the Unseen
Conservatism stresses deference to the unseen. Trump rejects that out of hand, and he’s on the verge of the Republican nomination. What happened?
Respect Whose Authority?
Power, in the absence, of authority, can inspire some obedience, but no respect.
Pre-peeled Oranges and Owning Your Ignorance
Are we addicted to outrage or just narcissistic opinion-having?
How Much for Oral Sex?
How does the unregulated “free market” determine the wages paid to prostitutes?
The Libertarian Praxis Problem: Part 1
Libertarianism and the Left, and the more general problem for metaphysically individualist liberalism.
Why Discuss Anti-Modernist and Anti-Democratic Literature?
If we are willing to admit that there are social and political problems that we do not yet seem to have solved, then an examination of other-than-democratist and other-than-modernist thought may not be merely interesting to a few, but useful for the many, or even necessary.
Second-Guessing Confirmation Bias
Vikram thinks confirmation bias may be an adaptation to a bigger problem. Also, he finally saw Star Wars VII.
Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms & Pythagoras
I’m super-interested in this book, just like Bill Clinton is and John Adams and Thomas Jefferson probably would have been.
Philosophical Defense to the Slippery Slope Argument
How does the “slippery slope” relate to “post hoc ergo propter hoc” with a discussion of “causation” in a legal context.
The Slippery Slope of the Slippery Slope
To be fair, Slippery Slope arguments can at times be highly predictive. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t still a blight on clear thinking and honest discourse.
End of Sabbatical Report
Burt Likko took a sabbatical from public affairs for two months. What did he learn?
Shakespeare in American Politics
Guest Author T. Greer eulogizes the neglect of our literary heritage in contemporary rhetoric.
The Wager
Pascal wrote, “Too much and too little wine. Give him none, he cannot find truth; give him too much, the same,” so I recommend a reading this with a drink or two.
