Culture

James Monroe is the Latest Victim of the PC Culture 0
- Culture
- July 18, 2018
In the latest move in what Politico has dubbed the “Nomenclature Wars,” a St. Paul school is considering scrubbing its namesake, President James Monroe, due to his slave-owning past. Matching similar trends around the country, this change is motivated by concern that the school name might not reflect the values of the community. In a
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Should Immigrants be Required to Learn English?0
- Culture
- July 17, 2018
One of the most popularly cited silly laws in my home state is a prohibition on crossing state lines with a duck atop one’s head. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on whether you see it from the perspective of the duck or the individual wearing said duck, this so-called law is bogus. An urban legend. There are,
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The Real Reason Many People Recoil From Political Correctness 0
- Culture
- July 16, 2018
Scrolling through Twitter recently, I came across a person questioning why so many are opposed to “political correctness.” The tweet conflated the dreaded PC with being polite and having respect and compassion, and expressed confusion as to why so many people were opposed to the concept. Strangely enough, I absolutely agreed. That is to say,
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Like Thinking For Yourself? Think Again 0
- Culture
- July 13, 2018
Most of us want to think for ourselves. We respect those that do and try to do so ourselves. This may be the wrong way to go about it, says Alan Jacobs, professor of humanities at Baylor University. Jacobs makes three helpful points about thought and why it is so hard to do well in
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Why Deep Thinkers Are Often Societal Outcasts 0
- Culture
- July 13, 2018
Since the beginning of Western societies, Socrates has been the prototypical intellectual inquisitor. Perhaps the “historical Socrates” has been difficult to pin down, but two things remain consistent among various accounts of this ancient thinker: 1) his claim to possess no true knowledge, and 2) his relentless examination of the knowledge claims of others. For
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Pascal on Why Living in the Present Is So Difficult (Yet so Important)0
- Culture
- July 12, 2018
Philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) is most famous for “Pascal’s Wager,” the argument that human beings “bet” with their lives on the existence of God. Yet Pascal’s celebrated book of philosophical musings Pensées (in which the Wager appears) is chock full of keen insights about the human condition—many as timely now as when they
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