Stephen R.C. Hicks's Blog, page 74

Pol Pot’s Cambodia and Pinochet’s Chile: (Im)Morally Equivalent?

1. A short follow-up on moral equivalencing. Yesterday I posted this about the killing fields in Cambodia under Marxist communism. Immediately I got huffy responses like “But what about Pinochet in Chile?!” And “Don’t forget the US also supported right-wing dictator Pinochet.” 2. Pinochet was a bad guy. No question. Yet numbers and context matter. …

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Contemptible European Philosophy — exam questions

[Humor alert: When I last taught Contemporary European Philosophy, I offered this alternative final exam.] Contemptible European Philosophy Dr. ShicksAlternative (Reality) Exam 1. Identify the correct choice. Jean-Paul Sartre was a(n):a) Existentialist.b) Essentialist.c) Excellent way to put yourself to sleep.d) Guy who knew how to have his way with the ladies. 2. “Why does the …

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“Kant at the Masked Ball” — article published

My article on the deep controversies over Kant, “Kant at the Masked Ball,” is now out in the academic journal Reason Papers. Thanks to editor Carrie-Ann Biondi, Ph.D., for her intelligent and efficient production of the issue. Here’s my opening: “1. Which of the Two Kants?We should grapple with the fact that two opposing traditions …

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The Watch and Watchmaker | William Paley | *Philosophers, Explained* series by Stephen Hicks

Who are the great philosophers, and what makes them great? Episodes: The full playlist. About the Professor: Stephen R. C. Hicks, Ph.D., is Professor of Philosophy at Rockford University, USA, and has had visiting positions at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., the University of Kasimir the Great in Poland, Oxford University’s Harris Manchester College in …

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El Liberalismo es injusto.[Liberalism: Pro & Con en Español]

Quince argumentos para el Capitalismo Liberal: Este post va a formar parte de una serie de argumentos del libro “Liberalism: Pro & Con” de Stephen Hicks en español. Pueden encontrar todos los argumentos que serán publicados en orden en el siguiente link: Liberalism: Pro & Con en español. EN CONTRA Argumento 9: El Liberalismo es …

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Sternhell on the Enlightenment vision

Reprising this post on Zeev Sternhell, an ally in the battle against the nihilism of the Anti-Enlightenment and its heirs. His book is written for scholars, but note this ringing conclusion: “To prevent the people of the twenty-first century from sinking into a new ice age of resignation, the Enlightenment vision of the individual as …

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Private coins and the Industrial Revolution

Reprising this post from when I enjoyed George Selgin’s Good Money: Birmingham Button Makers, the Royal Mint, and the Beginnings of Modern Coinage, 1775-1821 (University of Michigan Press, 2008). Come the Industrial Revolution, the number of wage earners rose dramatically, increasing dramatically the need for small denomination coins to pay them and for them to …

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Was Marx really that anti-Semitic?

Judge for oneself. Here is the mature Karl Marx writing, eight years after publishing The Communist Manifesto, for the New-York Daily Tribune: Thus we find every tyrant backed by a Jew, as is every pope by a Jesuit. In truth, the cravings of oppressors would be hopeless, and the practicability of war out of the …

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Could I be a philosopher-king?

Revisiting this deeply personal question: Do I have what it takes to be a philosopher-king? Maybe not, according to Plato’s Republic Book 6 description of the true philosopher’s character. A real philosopher, he says: 1. Will love the pursuit of truth [485b],2. Will be indifferent to the pleasures of the body [485d],3. Will not be …

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“Ask Us Anything About Philosophy” with Stephen Hicks and David Kelley

Join Senior Scholar Stephen Hicks, Ph.D. and Atlas Society founder David Kelley, Ph.D. Wednesday, May 3 @ 3:30 PM PT / 6:30 PM ET for a special 90-minute “Ask Us Anything” event where the duo will answer YOUR most pressing philosophical questions. Not yet on Clubhouse? RSVP for the event HERE. RELATED: