Philosophy

Philosophy articles feature reflection and analysis about public life, values, ethics, and morals.

All philosophy articles at Brownstone Institute are translated into multiple languages.

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Consequences of the Wrong Worldview

Consequences of the Wrong Worldview

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The mechanistic view of the world and its quest for ultimate solutions have failed, for they are ultimately hostile to man as a thinking, moral being. In its place, we need a new vision of humanity, of society. What characterises that vision? I will not attempt to answer that question here and now. But I believe the experience and message of people like Mohamedou Ould Slahi may guide us. Reflecting on this experience and message is particularly fitting now when we celebrate Easter.

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Only Our Attention is Eternal

Only Our Attention is Eternal

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It is the elites’ understanding of the prodigious power of attention that has led them to engage in their current campaigns of massive distraction, symbolized by the constant bombardments of noise we suffer in our public spaces and the building of massive, history-less no-places like the Museo Soumaya in Mexico City. 

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Plato's Cave Resurrected

Plato’s Cave Resurrected

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Just as, at any given time, there are conventions or ‘shadows’ that have a stranglehold on people’s ability to see beyond what current, tacit agreements allow one to see, today there are unprecedented, deliberately manufactured ‘shadows’ that govern the visible and auditory world. What are some of these? 

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The Fall of Critical Thinking- Brownstone Institute

The Fall of Critical Thinking

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The most alarming aspect of the contemporary scene may actually not be things like the horrific potential of nuclear and biological weapons. Instead, it could be the rejection of objective truth and rational thought as essential guides to sensible conduct. When even the sciences and medicine become unmoored from reason and reality, we are all in serious trouble.

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Theft by Lockdown - Brownstone Institute

Theft by Lockdown

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The “welfare clause,” referring originally to the loose collective of the states under the Articles of Confederation, and the concocted “rights of the community,” either alone or in combination, do not (maybe, “shouldn’t”) excuse Theft-by-Lockdown. We know the Constitution doesn’t allow exceptions for fear or being afraid. Neither do the Articles of Confederation. That’s fortunate since we also know the Revolution – a cause for fear all on its own – was fought during a smallpox pandemic – a secondary cause for fear.

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Don't Slow the Spread of Joy - Brownstone Institute

Don’t Slow the Spread of Joy

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We spent years needlessly frowning behind masks and protocols. We didn’t smile. I frowned at my unreasonable cello playing. I didn’t smile, but I should have. I learned my lesson after that first recital. Now — I smile no matter how badly I play. It is the most important thing an aspiring cellist can do after a performance. Smiles will always be an infection we should Start to Spread.

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The Taboo Ingredient for Progress: Shame - Brownstone Institute

The Taboo Ingredient for Progress: Shame

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What no one told us, however, is that this reformist method of engendering peaceful change was highly dependent on the existence of a broadly-subscribed ethos of honesty, goodwill and, perhaps most of all, healthy shame in the class of people possessing an outsized ability to promote new ways of approaching social problems.

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Brownstone Institute - Our Last Innocent Moment

In the Shadow of Oedipus

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I want to take the thesis of the last essay a step further and explore what might be causing our collapse. Is it a coincidence that we are suffering in so many different areas of life right now? Is it a little misstep on an otherwise progressive path? If we are on the verge of collapse, is it part of the arc of all great civilizations? Or, like Oedipus, do we suffer from some tragic flaw — a collective destructive character trait that we all share — that is responsible for bringing us to this place at this moment in history?

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The War Between Knowledge and Stupidity - Brownstone Institute

The War Between Knowledge and Stupidity

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Judging by the fight between knowledge and stupidity today, the latter ostensibly still has the upper hand, but as more people are awakening to the titanic struggle between the two, knowledge is in the ascendant. It is up to us to tip the scales in its favour – as long as we realise that it is a never-ending battle. 

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