The Limits of Transactionalism
When was the last time you talked with a young person about what it means to live a good life as it is conceived of outside the parameters of economic gain or the game of acquiring reputation chits?
- All
- Censorship
- Economics
- Education
- Government
- History
- Law
- Masks
- Media
- Pharma
- Philosophy
- Policy
- Psychology
- Public Health
- Society
- Technology
- Vaccines
When Information Had Weight
We’re still learning how to integrate these technologies into our lives, much like we did with search engines and the internet – remember when answering a simple historical question required a trip to the library?
Is Peace Possible Today?
As we the New Year, when one traditionally comes up with ‘resolutions’ for the year ahead, and of initiating creative projects, one has to ask: is all of this just Heideggerian ‘idle talk,’ or is peace a realistic possibility?
The Light That Shines above the Void
The Christmas story, beyond the current themes of presents, food, and self-gratification, provides a window on how distant the world’s dominant value system is from that which recognition of meaning in life represents.
Merry Christmas to the Merchants!
We should all do more to celebrate our local merchants. They connect the community through hard work, great risk, tremendous creativity, and service, and yet too often, they do not get the appreciation they deserve.
The Banalization of Education
Working within the classic canons of liberal reformism, we can surely institute changes that will slightly improve the educational experience of students. But it seems to me that incremental reforms of this type will no longer suffice.
The Season for Living
There is a happiness that only comes from keeping menace at bay. It is what has made Christmas so joyous – a festival of warmth and light reclaimed from the frost and the night. A hearth of all things human.
War, Revolution, and Ambition
Arendt’s elaboration on ‘deterrence’ (1990, p. 15-17) is equally relevant today, insofar as its focus on the (nuclear) arms race during the Cold War similarly applies to the conflict in Ukraine, but with important differences and specifications.
The Philosophy of Provisionality
Everything we do as humans is provisional. Because of time’s eroding power, everything is revisable. Every decision represents an acknowledgment that we have to act with incomplete, provisional knowledge, and that more information could lead to a different decision.
From Marcus Aurelius to Omar Little: A Man’s Code is Vital
The answer lies in the dignity of living according to our principles, engaging with our communities, and maintaining the courage to think independently. As the emperor-philosopher and the fictional street warrior understood, what matters is the integrity of our code.
From Marcus Aurelius to Omar Little: A Man’s Code is Vital Read Journal Article
Go Paint the Porch
Go ahead and paint the porch, clean the barn, clear the closet, cook the soup, even if you’re depressed and don’t feel like it. You’ll still have all the same problems when you’re finished but the porch will be painted.
Our Last Innocent Moment Is Our First Step Forward
When the history of our time is written, this period will be a case study for students of global corruption, classical tragedies, and mass psychosis, and we’ll be used as an example of what humans must never do again.
Our Last Innocent Moment Is Our First Step Forward Read Journal Article