Philosophy Archives

In Defence of Liberal Education: Roosevelt Montás’ “Rescuing Socrates”

Roosevelt Montás is the author of a powerful new book called Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation, which is…

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6 min

In Defense of Beauty

The famous column overlooking the town of Astoria, Oregon has had a long and chequered history. Immense human capital has been expended on the construction of this tourist attraction on…

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10 min

Politics

Roger Scruton’s “Conservatism: An Invitation to the Great Tradition.” Book Review.

Roger Scruton is arguably the world’s most famous conservative thinker. Currently teaching philosophy at the University of Buckingham, he is the author of dozens of books and countless articles for…

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7 min

Politics

Abortion and Soundbites: Why Pro-Choice Arguments Are Harder to Make

Arguments are nowadays often presented as soundbites: as slogans, tweets, memes and even gifs. Arguments developed in detail often meet the response TL;DR (Too Long, Didn’t Read). This is unfortunate—especially…

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20 min

Psychology

What if I’m Wrong: Should Doubt Be a Sacred Value?

In my previous essay for Areo magazine, I claim that curiosity is sacred and that we should elevate curiosity into what Jonathan Haidt calls a “sacred value,” by honoring Richard…

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4 min

Psychology

Semantics and the Need for Good Explanations

Semantics have long played a role in the culture wars. As we grapple with the implications of concentration camps, identity politics and postmodernism, we are in desperate need of a…

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10 min

A. C. Grayling’s The History of Philosophy. Book Review

In Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow’s The Grand Design, the authors take aim at that most seemingly irrelevant of fields: philosophy. They pose some of the big questions about the…

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8 min

Politics

Is Philosophy Conservative or Progressive?

In their book What is Philosophy?, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari argue that it is advisable to wait until the end of your career to ruminate on the nature of…

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8 min

The Grain of Truth Behind Calls to Restrict Debate

Statements about the oppressive nature of academic debate or the need to balance free speech with a consideration of people’s feelings are often seen as outrageous enough to be instantly…

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8 min

The Philosophy of Slavoj Zizek

My recent article on Slavoj Zizek deliberately eschewed more extensive engagement with the philosophical underpinnings of his work. Given that his recent debate with Jordan Peterson—which I analyze here—concerned politics…

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10 min

Science & Tech

Human Exceptionalism with a Human Face

I think humans are exceptional. To many, this may seem naïve or chauvinistic. Surely, studies in animal behavior (ethology) have conclusively shown that all the attributes previously thought to mark…

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8 min

Politics

Why Do Conservatives Dislike Immanuel Kant?

In his bestseller, The Right Side of History: How Reason and Moral Purpose Made the West Great, Ben Shapiro recently became the latest in a string of conservative commentators to…

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9 min

Uncategorized

Anti-Natalism’s Existential Error

Unless suffering is the direct and immediate object of life, our existence must entirely fail of its aim.— Arthur Schopenhauer Nietzsche’s contemporary, Schopenhauer, had a remarkably pessimistic view of life, which…

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8 min

Psychology

The Moral Case for Nihilism

Since it became part of the zeitgeist of nineteenth-century Europe, nihilism has been blamed for virtually every atrocity committed by an unsound individual. This “philosophy of nothing” concludes that our…

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4 min

Transhumanism and the Death of Human Exceptionalism

Every few decades, a new ism comes along that many people see as a threat to the bedrock principles of Western civilization. Communism was one of the big ones, and…

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8 min

Psychology

Resisting the Transcendental Temptation

Throughout history, suffering and death have always followed when people have succumbed to the transcendental temptation. Today, it may be luring us to the brink of disaster yet again.

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8 min

Psychology

Living with the Grim Reaper Can Make You Happier

Death is everywhere. Trees die. Cows die. We die. Even inanimate objects like batteries and projects die. Abstract concepts like dreams and aspirations can die, too. But these latter deaths…

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7 min

Culture & Media

Do You Have to be Rich to be a Philosopher?

“Crito, we ought to offer a cock to Asclepius. See to it, and don’t forget.” These were the last words of Socrates, as recorded in Phaedo, Plato’s famous dialogue.

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Philosophy

In Defence of Liberal Education: Roosevelt Montás’ “Rescuing Socrates”

In Defense of Beauty

Roger Scruton’s “Conservatism: An Invitation to the Great Tradition.” Book Review.

Abortion and Soundbites: Why Pro-Choice Arguments Are Harder to Make

What if I’m Wrong: Should Doubt Be a Sacred Value?

Semantics and the Need for Good Explanations

A. C. Grayling’s The History of Philosophy. Book Review

Is Philosophy Conservative or Progressive?

The Grain of Truth Behind Calls to Restrict Debate

The Philosophy of Slavoj Zizek

Human Exceptionalism with a Human Face

Why Do Conservatives Dislike Immanuel Kant?

Anti-Natalism’s Existential Error

The Moral Case for Nihilism

Transhumanism and the Death of Human Exceptionalism

Resisting the Transcendental Temptation

Living with the Grim Reaper Can Make You Happier

Do You Have to be Rich to be a Philosopher?

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