Stephen R.C. Hicks's Blog, page 20

ABSURDITY AND MEANINGLESSNESS? JEAN-PAUL SARTRE and ALBERT CAMUS. Lecture 3 of Postmodern Philosophy [Peterson Academy course]

Suppose that God really is dead. Then, Sartre says “there is no human nature, because there is no God to have a conception of it.” Camus asks whether we are then like Sisyphus, “the absurd hero.” Themes: The decline of religion? The reality of war. Depression and the Depression. The pointlessness of existence? Existence precedes […]

A Short Story about the Conservative Reaction to the Enlightenment

A Short Story about the (or a) Conservative Reaction to the Enlightenment Two children grew up in a cave. They were taught that the outside world is and dangerous and sinful and that the Cave God protected them. Yet as growing children and curious about the rest of the world, they asked their elders many […]

‘The Truth About the Nazis’ with Stephen Hicks (Triggernometry interview)

Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster interview Stephen Hicks on the philosophers, intellectuals, and widespread support for the National Socialists. Related: The book the interview is based on: text version, and audio version below: Also at Triggernometry: ‘Postmodernism Explained’ by Professor Stephen Hicks.

Marcel Duchamp, Fountain (1917) | The ‘Father’ of Conceptual Art

“With his Fountain (1917), Duchamp made the quintessential statement about the history and future of art. Duchamp of course knew the history of art and, given recent trends, where art was going. He knew what had been achieved — how over the centuries art had been a powerful vehicle that called upon the highest development […]

Why did Roger Scruton say Kant is key for Modern Art?

In his book on Kant, philosopher Roger Scruton writes that without Kant’s Critique of Judgment, writes “aesthetics would not exist in its modern form.”* While it’s initially shocking to think that the priggish and uptight Kant has anything to do with the often-nihilistic modern art world—Kant is arguably the most influential philosopher in the last […]

Talk for MIT Free Speech Alliance

I’ll be speaking on philosophy’s role in the free-speech battles to this MIT organization on Monday, February 3, 2025. It’s an open meeting, so any interested party can listen in. Link to register here. Related: The MIT FSA’s coverage of the Dorian Abbot cancelation. Related: John Stuart Mill on the social requirements of free speech […]

Movement in-fighting and schisms — psychology

Here is an example of a phenomenon that has long puzzled me: Nasty in-group fighting. In The Rise of Neo-Kantianism, Klaus Christian Köhnke asks: What can “explain one of the most distressing features of the neo-Kantians: the fierceness and bitterness of their polemics, the nastiness of their ad hominem arguments, which destroyed personal friendships and […]

“Philosophy” of “Education” [Lecture 1 of Philosophy of Education course]

By Professor Stephen R.C. Hicks, Rockford University, USA Lecture 1: What is the purpose of education? Why is philosophy of fundamental importance to deciding one’s educational mission, curriculum, teaching and assessment methods, and even the location and architecture of one’s school? Other lectures in the series: Part Two: Reality: Metaphysics and Education: The Creation Story, […]

You Are the Entrepreneur of Your Life — video of my talk at Francisco Marroquin University

This lecture was given to UFM’s Psychology Faculty in October 2024. Themes: two anecdotes from the history of medicine, why we live in revolutionary times, what an entrepreneurial mindset is, why it’s essential for careers in this new era of robotics and AI, how entrepreneurism can re-focus one’s self-education and formal education. Related: “The Entrepreneurial […]

Text of Milei’s WEF speech translated into English

Javier Milei, President of Argentina, World Economic Forum Speech, January 2025 [Key concepts: wokeism, Leviathan State, Atlas Shrugged, Western values (Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian), freedom, creativity, capitalism, liberalism ] Good morning, everyone. How much has changed in such a short time. A year ago, I stood here before you alone and told some truths about the […]