On “Consumerism”
What's so bad about consumption? Everyone needs to eat to survive. In my own experience, everyone seems to like having nice things. Yet it is increasingly accepted as a kind…
On Wearing the Mask
There is one argument against wearing masks that I haven't heard anyone else making: masks are inherently anti-social. Our sixth amendment guarantees us the right to be "confronted with the…
The Philosopher’s Audience: A Problem
Since the beginning of philosophy, people have debated about who should be philosophizing because it is understood that the philosophy arrived at will, in some manner, reflect the nature of…
The Godcast Addresses the Dis-Ontological Argument
SuperLutheran and Myles from The Godcast recently took a shot at my dis-ontological argument. Their criticism was relatively snarky and obnoxiously nit-picky (at one point, they corrected a date that…
“Capitalism” Doesn’t Exist
I want to talk about a word. But first, an introduction. I've been on a Philosophize This bender recently -- it's a great podcast for nerds of that orientation, and…
The Tolerance-Error
One of the great moral paradoxes of 20th-century philosophy was the problem of "tolerance," which was most famously articulated by Karl Popper: Less well known (of Plato's paradoxes) is the paradox…
Evolution Disproves Platonism (A Hypothesis)
This is not so much an idea as the seed of an idea. Plato is a large object in Western philosophy; more needs to be said, and ideas often need…
Paying the Blood Price for COVID-19
But the folk were gathered in the assembly place; for there a strife was arisen, two men striving about the blood-price of a man slain; the one claimed to pay…
Cheap & Easy Quarantine Exercise
I'm leaving this video here because I know that a lot of people are looking for ways to stay active under quarantine. It's recently gotten a lot more traffic, and…
The Ecumenical Slope
I think it is critical -- in beginning an essay criticizing ecumenicalism -- that I begin by saying that I understand the attraction. By "ecumenicalism," I am referring to the…