philosophy

• 
• SOURCE: The Nation
  2/23/2021
  

  The Broken System: What Comes After Meritocracy?

  by Elizabeth Anderson

  Philosopher Elizabeth Anderson reviews Michael Sandel's critique of meritocracy, a book that locates an explanation for the Trumpian moment in the rise of competitive individualism in the platforms of both major parties. 

• 
• SOURCE: Public Books
  2/24/2021
  

  What Counts, These Days, In Baseball?

  by David Henkin

  A cultural historian considers recent baseball controversies in light of new books on the sport, and concludes that ideas of fair competition have much more to do with our social context than fans acknowledge. 

• 
• 2/14/2021
  

  History, Evidence and the Ethics of Belief

  by Guy Lancaster

  Untrammelled freedom of belief has been enshrined as an American civic virtue. The nation, democracy, and possibly the planet are imperiled without a collective commitment to respect belief only to the extent available evidence supports it. 

• 
• SOURCE: The Economist
  12/11/2020
  

  An Inspiring History of the Enlightenment

  A new book focuses on the generation of the body of Enlightenment thought through debate and dispute which foreshadows many of today's debates about the merits of universal humanism and liberal democracy. 

• 
• SOURCE: ArcDigital
  10/31/2020
  

  Is History Now Our Judge?

  by L.D. Burnett

  "Warning someone that they will face the judgment of history and the shame of opprobrium seems much more rational than warning them that they will face the judgment of God and the fires of hell."

• 
• SOURCE: The Baffler
  10/28/2020
  

  Grin and Bear It: On the Rise and Rise of Neo-Stoicism

  by Hettie O'Brien

  "Stoic practices may allow us to live more easily in the world as it is. But politics is as much about conflict as consensus, and depends, at least in part, upon people getting angry."

• 
• SOURCE: BBC
  9/23/2020
  

  Are We Living at the "Hinge of History"?

  Journalist Richard Fisher examines the argument that the present--this moment--is the most important juncture in human history because human capacity to affect the planet outstrips human wisdom to direct that capacity.

• 
• SOURCE: Times of London
  9/14/2020
  

  Edinburgh University Ditches David Hume over Slavery Link

  The University of Edinburgh will rename a tower in response to charges that philosopher David Hume endorsed racism.

• 
• 8/2/2020
  

  Free Speech and Civic Virtue between "Fake News" and "Wokeness"

  by Campbell F. Scribner

  Left critics of the recent "Harper's Magazine" open letter on free speech and open debate make some claims that are narrowly meritorious. But they don't address the value of speech as a way of building the collective citizenship necessary for democracy. In this respect, the signers are correct.

• 
• 4/19/2020
  

  Social Crisis and the Public Use of Reason

  by Sam Ben-Meir

  We cannot afford to overlook the public use of reason: reason that does not simply solve a given problem, but asks further unsettling questions, such as how did this problem arise in the first place?

• 
• SOURCE: The Conversation
  3/12/2020
  

  Why a Roman Philosopher’s Views on the Fear of Death Matter as Coronavirus Spreads

  by Thomas Nail

  Instead of worrying about what may happen after death, Lucretius advises people to focus on keeping their bodies healthy and helping others do the same.

• 
• SOURCE: The New York Times
  1/21/20
  

  The Road to Auschwitz Wasn't Paved With Indifference

  by Rivka Weinberg

  We don’t have to be ‘upstanders’ to avoid genocides. We just have to make sure not to help them along.

• 
• 12/1/2019
  

  Losing Sight of Jefferson and Falling into Plato

  by M. Andrew Holowchak

  Socratic Styled Teaching in Twenty-First Century American Classrooms

• 
• 10/27/2019
  

  Did Jefferson Think Humans Occupied a Privileged Position in the Cosmos?

  by M. Andrew Holowchak

  Just where did humans fit in the wondrous and gargantuan cosmos for Thomas Jefferson?

• 
• 9/15/19
  

  The Apolitical Antidote to Unjust Politics

  by Steele Brand

  Throughout history apolitics guided the greatest minds living in the most unjust times. 

• 
• 6/30/19
  

  What We Can Learn About Tough Times and Problem-Solving from the 1970s

  by Tracy Dahlby

  If 70s sage E.F. Schumacher has anything to teach us today, it may lie in his chronically appealing idea that optimism about the human spirit, and faith in our potential for problem-solving, can flourish even in the toughest of times.

• 
• SOURCE: The Hill
  1/14/19
  

  Barr memo suggests: To understand the Trump administration, read Hobbes

  by Eric Terzuolo

  To the extent that there is a Trump administration philosophy of the state, the Kavanaugh article and Barr memo are foundational documents.

• 
• 3/4/18
  

  It Wasn’t Just the Philosophers Like Diderot Who Invented the Enlightenment

  by Paola Bertucci

  So did the practical people known as artisans. We should acknowledge their contribution.

• 
• SOURCE: The Washington Post
  4-28-15
  

  Philosophy’s gender bias

  by Andrew Janiak and Christia Mercer

  For too long, scholars say, women have been ignored.

• 
• SOURCE: New York Times
  9-18-13
  

  Science’s Humanities Gap

  by Gary Gutting

  Humanists have been much more receptive to science than vice-versa.