Analyzing the statement “I intend to do X, although it is a mistake from every point of view” we can establish the relationship between reasons and intentions and reveal the absurdity of the statement. If we make the claim in the third person, or in the past tense (i.e. separate the speaker from the statement) [...]
an essay from Phin Upham In John Rawls’ book Political Liberalism he presents the original position as an adequate point of view for reaching a fair agreement on principles of justice between persons regarded as free and equal. The ultimate justification for this claim, I will argue, will reside largely in Rawls’ understanding of the [...]
How Bernard-Henri Levy fought his way into chronic interventionism by Christopher Caldwell Last year, Karl Zéro, the madcap newsman/comedian who has been a fixture on French television for a decade, asked the sixty-one-year-old celebrity philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy why people hated him so. Perhaps, Zéro speculated, it had to do with dual identity. There was Bernard-Henri [...]
by David Menconi Josh Knobe has comfortable seating in his philosophy department office at Yale University—a small couch somewhere between a love seat and a sofa in size. It is most decidedly not, however, an armchair, which might seem a trivial distinction. But in Knobe’s world, one’s position on armchairs can be a matter of [...]
by Stephen Metcalf When my daughters are ready for college, I’ll tell them a story they’ll scarcely believe: that when their father was first a graduate student, he attended a university where the most electric presence on campus was a philosopher. This will sound the same note of disbelief in them as sounded in me [...]
While George Romero introduced zombies to movie goers years ago, the fascination with the walking dead continues to grow like a zombie horde. While it is fun to watch the fictional zombies, it might be wondered whether or not the dead can really walk. While “science” based zombies are standard zombies of most movies, there [...]
Although you know your teenager takes some chances, it can be a shock to hear about them. by David Dobbs One fine May morning not long ago my oldest son, 17 at the time, phoned to tell me that he had just spent a couple hours at the state police barracks. Apparently he had been [...]
by Julie Sedivy, Ph.D. Corner offices. Tall and plush leather chairs. The swaggering gait and confident postures. Walk into an office environment, and it’s usually not hard to guess which people hold the positions of power, awarded the task of being the deciders. But do all these trimmings and reminders of the power hierarchy really [...]
by Michael H. Miller In 1909, after a six-day journey from Vienna with his associates Carl Jung and Sándor Ferenczi, Sigmund Freud arrived in New York Harbor and spent a week sightseeing in the city. He had traveled to America to give a series of lectures on his “talking cure” at Clark University in Massachusetts. [...]
by Mike Labossiere This past year has witnessed many protests ranging from those in the Middle East to the latest Occupy protests that are spreading around the world. Most recently Melissa Brookstone of the Tea Party Nation decided to get in on the protesting by calling on America’s small business owners to take the following [...]