“It is long past time that we abandon the transcendent appeal to rights as ways to settle more arguments, in part because—following Derek Parfit—it is far more constructive to ask why and which rights matter.”
Author: Matt McManus
Critiquing the Intellectual Dark Web: Michael Brooks’ “Against the Web”
“Peterson comes across no better in Brooks’ telling. He acknowledges that much of the Canadian psychologist’s self-help is quite useful, and he even jokingly admits that many leftists could do with some tough love about cleaning their room.”
In Defense of My Work Critical of Jordan Peterson
“The irony of this exchange is it has only reinforced my opinion that Peterson’s political rhetoric often has a stultifying impact on sincere intellectual debates.“
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Nietzsche and Godless Post-Modernity
“All of this culminated in the works of Nietzsche, who rejected the ontological and moral truths of monotheism, while retaining their stress on individualism.”
Hannah Arendt’s Concept of “Impotent Bigness”
“Impotent bigness uses empty violence to lash out against the vulnerable to compensate for its own utter inability to change the world in any meaningful way. “
Why Millennials Are Angry
“Millennials occupy the rather strange position of being both an angry and apathetic generation.”
Slavoj Žižek, Viktor Orbán, and Understanding “Post-Truth”
“This does seem to be occurring in the academy, as the contemporary academic stars of critical theory such as Alain Badious and Slavoj Žižek tend to be hostile to the extreme skepticism of post-modern theory.”
Announcing the Release of “Myth and Mayhem: A Leftist Critique of Jordan Peterson”
“Peterson himself described some of its symptomatic features in Maps of Meaning when he discusses how the breakdown of traditional mythopoetic traditions generated a sense of nihilistic uncertainty…”
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From Nietzsche to Trump
“This explains the turn to nostalgic and resentment-driven politics to seek to elevate authority figures who will not only halt the flow of time but turn back the clock.”
What Douglas Murray’s Book Does Well (And Where It Falters)
“I will begin with the pros of Murray’s book before outlining my disagreements. First, it is well-written and well-organized. His prose crackles with wit and salt, with pointed examples often blending seamlessly with political commentary.”
Jonathan Haidt and Understanding First Nations Protesters
“In the current Canadian context, I think the protestors are justified in blocking railway tracks and highways to make their point.”
How to Respond to the Global Right Phenomenon
“Veterans of the entertainment industry like Steve Bannon and the reality television star Donald Trump instinctively understood how to cater to the resentment of those who felt left behind by neoliberalism but were unwilling or unaware of left-wing alternatives.”
The Modern University: A Reply to Nate Hochman
“What makes Hochman’s essay far more interesting than the usual screed against academics and critical theory is his effort to locate the cause in the history of Western rationalism and ultimately nihilism.”
Another One-Dimensional Portrayal of Jordan Peterson
“It is hard for even those of us who disagree profoundly with Peterson’s diagnoses of society to fail to empathize with his common struggle to get through being human.”
Who Was Carl Schmitt?
“As just another political theology—albeit an especially vulgar one—liberalism would, paradoxically, be put into contexts where it abandoned a commitment to rights for the sake of protecting itself.”