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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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Latest U.S. Move May Piss Off Russia 0
- Politics
- February 8, 2016
Does the U.S. really want to be pissing off Vladimir Putin? At this point, is the risk necessary? Last Tuesday, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter named Russia—not ISIS—as the primary threat to U.S. national security. To “deter Russian aggression,” he is proposing to quadruple military spending in Europe to $3.4 billion, which will allow the U.S.
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NARAL Calls Caring, Involved Fathers ‘Sexist’?0
- Culture
- February 8, 2016
If you watched the Superbowl yesterday, you likely saw the following commercial. The commercial, which advertises the merits of the 2016 Hyundai Genesis Car Finder, features a protective father stalking his daughter and her boyfriend on their first date. As a daughter who has admittedly rolled her eyes on occasion at the protective measures taken
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