Philosophy

The Tyranny of Rationalism and Michael Oakeshott 1
- Culture, Featured, Philosophy
- September 3, 2024
Michael Oakeshott was one of the most important philosophers of the 1900s, but perhaps because he was an Englishman, his work is not very well known in America. That’s a shame. By tracing the deep roots of modern political thought, Oakeshott laid bare the dangers of rationalism—and predicted the divisive politics we see today. Oakeshott
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Kierkegaard: The Freedom He Discovered in Uncertainty 5
- Philosophy, Featured
- August 26, 2024
There is a story about the post–World War II Nazi trials. A Holocaust survivor had broken down when one of his former tormentors entered the courtroom. Later, a reporter, assuming the survivor to be shaken by the Nazi’s presence, asked for a comment. The Holocaust survivor answered that he was not crying because of the
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Cicero and Democracy: What an Ancient Thinker Can Teach Us About Government 2
- Politics, Featured, Philosophy
- August 9, 2024
Ancient philosophers didn’t like democracy. Cicero, the great Roman defender of natural rights, is a case-in-point. So as Americans gear up for another presidential election, it’s worth taking a look at his reasons for rejecting popular government. Politics played an outsized role in Cicero’s life, so it’s not surprising that he wrote and spoke a
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Adam Smith Thought This Was His Most Important Book 2
- Economics, Featured, Philosophy
- August 8, 2024
Adam Smith is best known for writing The Wealth of Nations, but in a way, his work in economics took a back seat to his moral philosophy. In fact, Smith thought that his first book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, was more important than his economic theory. It’s in this book, for example, that Smith
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What Jerry Seinfeld Learned While Reading Marcus Aurelius 0
- Culture, Entertainment, Featured, Philosophy, Politics
- July 29, 2024
Emperor of Rome from 161–180 AD, Marcus Aurelius is remembered as the “Philosopher King,” largely because of his classic work Meditations, a cornerstone of Stoic philosophy that delves into such themes as reason, virtue, self-control, self-improvement, and finding peace in a turbulent world. The book might seem like an odd choice for a comedian, but Seinfeld
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Our Universe: Chaos, or Cosmos?0
- Culture, Featured, Philosophy
- July 23, 2024
Is the universe a meaningless collection of lifeless matter? We live on a small planet in an out-of-the-way corner of an insignificant galaxy, and though our lives might feel real and important, is that just a delusion? After all, the only thing that’s really going on is that atoms are randomly careening off of one
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