Stephen R.C. Hicks's Blog, page 23

Thankful

On this day, I am thankful in a way that history puts in perspective. Three quotations: From William Manchester, A World Lit Only By Fire, on life in medieval Europe: “Because most peasants lived and died without leaving their birthplace, there was seldom need for any tag beyond One-Eye, or Roussie (Redhead), or Bionda (Blondie), […]

Tariffs as tit-for-tat revenge

First, a healthy way to think about trade: Canada produces more and better maple syrup and high quality copper than the USA does. Yet the USA’s California wines are better than Canadian wines and the USA produces more hickory lumber than Canada does. So, Americans get more of their maple syrup and copper from Canada […]

Higher education: Self-development, Career preparation, or Social Activism as Priority Goal?

This documents a huge shift in one generation. HERI is the Higher Education Research Institute. It asks faculty what their top educational goals are. Candidates: Individual self-development, becoming a well-rounded person, learning to think and judge for oneself, career preparation, becoming a social-change agent, and so on. In 1990, only about 20% of faculty said […]

Jordan Peterson interviews Stephen Hicks — Reality & the Philosophical Framing of the Truth

(0:39) Intro (2:19) Lecturing for Peterson Academy (two course published, three in post-postproduction) (5:16) The giants in philosophy who shook the earth — learn why (10:54) The practical case for philosophy (14:24) Narrative, weighting facts, and how various philosophies reconcile perception versus reality (25:24) Epistemology (the theory of knowledge), how you know that you really […]

My INTELLECTUAL HISTORY page

Related: My Explaining Postmodernism page, with links to the various English editions and foreign translations. Related: My Nietzsche and the Nazis page with links to the various English editions and foreign translations.

Israel: demographics

2024 estimates. Worth comparing the demographics of other Middle Eastern nations and groups.

Mind-body dualism or physicalism? [Introduction to Philosophy]

In my Intro. course, we read Descartes’ Meditations, in part using it to introduce the complicated and important set of issues known as the mind-body problem. The most ancient account of the mind-body relation is dualism, the view that the mind and the body are two different types of stuff that are temporarily joined. The […]

Inequality of anything

Eight billion human beings. Yet: * Only about 500 million run or jog regularly, and only about 75 million have completed a 5K race. So less than 1% have all the 5K completion certificates and trophies. Such unequal distribution of certificates? * Only about 500 million have college degrees, and less than 70 million have […]

The Bottom Button Rule on a man’s suit — a gripe

Many style guides for men’s wear will tell you never to use the bottom button on your suit. It is simply not done. I heard the rule as a young man when I wore a suit for the first time and mentions of it many times since. But why? Here’s the answer: “The tradition originated […]

Cover for Pakistani edition of *Explaining Postmodernism*

My publisher in Pakistan, Muhammad Fahad, sent me this interior cover design for the forthcoming edition: Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault will be published in Pakistan in both Urdu and English editions. Dr. Nazir Azad’s translation of EP was also published in India in 2023. Urdu is the first or second […]