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…
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…
Vox Day is Wrong About American Identity
As if to prove my point about the incompatibility between Christianity and Nationalism, Vox Day has been tripling-down on his recent anti-American position: A question asked on SocialGalactic: What tribe does…
“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…
On Homer (Part 2): What is the Iliad About?
In most stories, "what is it about?" refers to a question of the plot: what happened? In higher literature, there is -- in addition to the plot -- themes and…
Quarantine Queasiness
Today was the first day of Spring for my bike. I had to open the choke with a carabiner (the lever is wedged between the air filters, and is almost…
A Hypothetical Dialogue
An elderly Italian man hugs a Chinese national in solidarity against racism. He contracted Coronavirus and becomes seriously ill. Examination all but certainly determines that his condition is mortal. In…
A Critique of Nietzschean Nobility
I have to begin this argument with an asterisk. Nietzsche uses the concept of "noble" in different senses, depending upon the work in question. Across all of his works, two…