Stephen R.C. Hicks's Blog, page 24

RADICAL DOUBT: RENÉ DESCARTES. Lecture 2 of Modern Philosophy [Peterson Academy course]

“I think. Therefore, I am.” Lecture Two: Radical Doubt. René Descartes Themes: What can I doubt? Rationalism. Unintended Skepticism? God? External world? Dualism. Vesalius. Hobbes. Copernicus. Galileo. Pope Urban VIII. Text: Descartes: Meditations on First Philosophy. About the Instructor Stephen R. C. Hicks, Ph.D., has been Professor of Philosophy at Rockford University, Illinois; Visiting Professor […]

Does religion make you more warlike? Unamuno on war and the soul

From philosopher Miguel de Unamuno’s The Tragic Sense of Life, which I re-read for the first time since my undergraduate days. Note these arresting lines: “A human soul is worth all the universe, someone — I know not whom — has said and said magnificently. A human soul, mind you! Not a human life. Not […]

Was Kant really that skeptical?

Some readers of Explaining Postmodernism object that I over-interpret Kant’s skepticism. Some prefer a gentler, more objectivity-friendly Kant. So while I quote Kant a lot in making the argument that Kant’s philosophy is radically subjectivist and the critical step down the road to postmodernism, not everyone is convinced. So I am grateful to Quee Nelson […]

Poet Omar Khayyâm (1048–1131) on the Islamists of his era

Khayyâm was a Persian astronomer-poet and free-thinker. From his Rubáiyát: And do you think that unto such as youA maggot-minded, starved, fanatic crewGod gave a secret, and denied it me?Well, well—what matters it? Believe that, too! More on Khayyâm here. Related: My article No Reformation for Islam, Please, on why Islam needs reforming but not […]

More on how great artists become great: Liszt

Some fascinating glimpses of Franz Liszt, the virtuoso pianist and composer. Biographer Alan Walker writes:

From the Office of the Reproducer-General

Bulletin: Sex and Economics — A Modest Proposal Fellow citizens: Our nation’s sex life is in peril. Surveys show widespread sexual discontent. Market failure is everywhere. Many males complain of not getting enough sex and many females object to constant male looks and advances. Other males are dissatisfied with the options available in their local […]

THE BIRTH OF THE MODERN: FRANCIS BACON. Lecture 1 of Modern Philosophy [Peterson Academy course]

“Knowledge is Power.” Lecture One: The Birth of the Modern. Francis Bacon Themes: What is the Modern? 1500: Art. Science. Exploration. Religion. Economy. Politics. Individualism of independent thinking, Individualism of identity, and Individualism of worth. Galileo. Milton. Descartes. Empiricism. Experimentalism. Text: Bacon: The Great Instauration, esp. Novum Organon. About the Instructor Stephen R. C. Hicks, […]

The Department of Great Putdowns: Heine on de Musset and Kant

The satirist, poet, and radical Heinrich Heine described poet Alfred de Musset as “a young man with a great future behind him.” Ouch. Musset never forgave him. Heine is known to have fought in at least ten duels in his life. One wonders why. Heine also said this of Kant, describing his clockwork walks along […]

Creativity and the self-directed muse

I like this from Jeffrey Davis: “Creativity is not about waiting for the muse. Creativity is about showing up and shaping time for the muse.”[1] Reminds me of this exchange between a St. Petersburg journalist and Tchaikovsky about his work habits: T: “Once I have settled in Petersburg, I shall continue to work, as before, […]

Karl Popper | Science v. Pseudo-science | Philosophers, Explained | Stephen Hicks.

“Science: Conjectures and Refutations,” from Popper’s ​Conjectures and Refutations (1962)​. Key questions: Are Marxism and Freudianism pseudo-sciences like astrology and alchemy? What makes a theory genuinely scientific? Who are the great philosophers and what are their key ideas? From the beginning of philosophy in Greek myths to the influential thinkers of our own time, in […]