Philosophy

Philosophy articles provide deep reflection and analysis on public life, values, ethics, morals, human nature, and the philosophical foundations of liberty, freedom, and society — challenging technocratic trends, institutional failures, and threats to authentic humanity.

We examine critical themes such as AI and totalitarianism, Neuralink-style control, post-pandemic moral recovery, church closures, enlightenment critiques, sovereignty vs. state power, arrogance in governance, and pathways to reclaim personal dignity, truth, and human-centered philosophy.

All philosophy articles from Brownstone Institute are translated into multiple languages to support global readers, foster international dialogue on ethics and liberty, and promote thoughtful reform worldwide.

covid denial

Denialism: A Woke Way to Stifle Dissent

By / / / 5 minute read / Articles
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Covid denier, climate denier, election denier, science denier – are all bandied about to immediately end debate,  tar any difference of opinion as literally insane, and depict anyone who ever disagrees with you as stupid and evil.  This epithet is now even being used pre-emptively to makes sure that no matter what anyone who now or ever questions the move to ban gas stoves will not be doing so based on facts or logic but because of their “gas stove denialism.”

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Three Tests of Compliance

Covid and the Three Tests of Compliance 

By / / , / 11 minute read / Articles
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From legend and literature, this is how things usually are presented, not with one inviting temptation to go along but rather with three chances to comply, each with assurance that all will be well if we just give up our recalcitrant desire to think and act for ourselves. At each stage, every one of us faces enormous pressure, and not just from government but also from family, friends, and coworkers. 

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covid theology Australia church

Covid Theology in the Australian Church

By / / / 9 minute read / Articles
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By closing the church door to the unvaccinated, many were embracing a malicious apostasy that we have not seen since Franco. From July 2021 to mid-2022, vaccine passports were used in churches loyal to the state. What it meant was someone could go to church with the flu, hepatitis, syphilis, herpes, and early onset of Ebola, if they had their Covid Vaccination Certificate.

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morality, virtue, and courage

The Shift from Personal to Positional Morality

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Moral courage is risky: it has a price, which is why it is called courage. As Aristotle famously declared, “Courage is the first virtue because it makes all other virtues possible.” If that is true, and it is, then the power to reverse attempts to remake Western society into one devoid of the fundamental moral values that enable all individuals to thrive peacefully lies ultimately – and only – within each individual. 

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fight for freedom

Join Forces and Fight for Freedom

By / / / 4 minute read / Articles
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We must all join forces in the fight for the right to express ourselves, to think, to doubt, to come together in the public square to discuss, reason and shape society. This battle will not be easy, and there are many indications that it will soon intensify. But surrender is not an option, for what is at stake is a future fitting for humanity. We must fight for it in brotherhood, armed with compassion, courage and integrity.

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ethical challenges

Ethical Challenges Arising from the Grand Illusion

By / / , / 15 minute read / Articles
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The preliminary results of the mRNA vaccine randomized controlled trials (RCTs) by Pfizer and Moderna were celebrated as spectacularly successful and so governments and the media assumed that the solution had been found. A procession of leaders assured the public that the vaccines were so effective that once injected, you would not become infected or pass infection on to others.

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human sacrifice

Human Sacrifice, Then and Now 

By / / , / 8 minute read / Articles
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The peoples of the Mayan and Aztec empires were surrounded by monuments to the greatness of their leaders and their faith, and they celebrated both. We too look back in awe at what they built despite what we know: their social systems were bloody and barbaric in ways we cannot imagine now. And yet when we study their histories in our own times, with the appropriate amount of humility, we face a similar problematic disorientation. 

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shed the mask

Everyone Should Shed the Mask 

By / / , / 10 minute read / Articles
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Love, kindness, honesty, respect, creativity and freedom are necessary for human flourishing. Sadly, many still embrace the mask as if it is the only truth that exists. If society is to change, all will need to see and peel away the polish. Then, we will have to work together to replace the emptiness it covers with a society rooted in genuine morality and positive human values.

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human rights matter

How Long Did It Take Them Realize that Human Rights Matter?

By / / , / 9 minute read / Articles
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We face the question of how to purity test our leaders—both official and unofficial—in light of all the devastation we’ve witnessed during the response to COVID-19. If you believe, as I do, that the importance of this issue presently eclipses that of any other, then every step should be taken to select for leaders who opposed lockdowns as early and as vocally as possible.

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Ineffective Maltruism

Ineffective Maltruism

By / / , / 14 minute read / Articles
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The current fad of the financially fabulous is Effective Altruism, which essentially involves promising to give your money while you are still alive to causes and organizations that “do good,” while simultaneously tethering them to your whims through financial dependence. A very specific example of this is the massive money going to barely-surviving but purportedly legit media organizations (or you can just buy the Washington Post.) You get good press when you own it.

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