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5 Pieces of Education Advice from the 15th Century 0
- Education
- February 9, 2016
When looking at the state of our schools today – particularly the low proficiency scores which plague our nation – it’s easy to throw up our hands. But in our despair over how to fix these problems, do we all too often look for a new solution, while failing to look back at the reliable
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Here’s the Poem everyone is Quoting 0
- Culture
- February 9, 2016
Honestly, I think I’ve heard the line referenced in at least two or three recent movie previews as well as in other entertainment venues – set aside the obvious Interstellar reference. Since the line seems so popular these days, I thought it would be good to share the whole poem from which the line comes.
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Dostoevsky’s Critique of Socialism 1
- History
- February 9, 2016
The novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) was known as a voice for the poor and downtrodden in Russian society, and an advocate of social justice. Yet at the same time, he was a strong opponent of socialism and its presuppositions. As such, and given that the idea of socialism is a feature of the 2016 presidential
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Why Philosophy Should Be Part of the K-12 Curriculum 0
- Education
- February 8, 2016
Last fall, Intellectual Takeout’s Daniel Lattier asked “Should We Be Teaching Philosophy in High School?” and argued persuasively that we should. I needed no persuading, but I did need to be convinced of the wisdom of starting to teach philosophy to children even before high school, which I knew a few had proposed. But after
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Is Selfishness a Virtue?0
- Culture
- February 8, 2016
In her introduction to The Virtue of Selfishness, Ayn Rand gives us a fairly clear understanding of her definition of selfishness. “Since selfishness is ‘concern with one’s own interests,’ the Objectivist ethics uses that concept in its exact and purest sense. It is not a concept that one can surrender to man’s enemies, nor to
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Why People Do Evil 0
- February 8, 2016
In his TED talk entitled “The Psychology of Evil,” social psychologist Philip Zimbardo utilizes the following, typically flat-to-solid-perspective image from the work of M.C. Escher: The white images are angels; the black, devils. The dual lesson Zimbardo uses the picture to illustrate, in advance of his argument, is this: Not only are good and evil
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