From Ben Shapiro to Stefan Molyneux: How the Right “Uses” Philosophy
The Left - “For the many activists and intellectuals on the Right, who identify with the ambiguously defined “Western civilization,” a nostalgic and selective association with Western civilization’s philosophical grandeur can be extremely appealing.” 1/19/2020
The Left - “For the many activists and intellectuals on the Right, who identify with the ambiguously defined “Western civilization,” a nostalgic and selective association with Western civilization’s philosophical grandeur can be extremely appealing.” 1/19/2020On Mourning for One’s Enemies: Remembering Sir Roger Scruton
The Left - “And that is why I will miss Roger Scruton, enemy of my beliefs that he was.” 1/16/2020
The Left - “And that is why I will miss Roger Scruton, enemy of my beliefs that he was.” 1/16/2020Killing of Soleimani Presents Opportunities, Not Just Challenges
The Right - “…it can be argued that the challenges emanating from this sequence of events have the potential to be turned into golden opportunities to clip the Islamic regime’s wings in the Middle East and beyond.” 1/15/2020
The Right - “…it can be argued that the challenges emanating from this sequence of events have the potential to be turned into golden opportunities to clip the Islamic regime’s wings in the Middle East and beyond.” 1/15/2020Enough Empathy: The Case for Punching Down
The Right - “…because heedless empathy for the worst among us is currently leading us on the downward-sloping path to mediocrity and beyond.” 1/14/2020
The Right - “…because heedless empathy for the worst among us is currently leading us on the downward-sloping path to mediocrity and beyond.” 1/14/2020From Ayn Rand to Amartya Sen: Using the Concept of “Rights”
The Left - “Again, there seems to be no ideological bias against the concept of rights; views on the subject come from various distinct standpoints.” 1/13/2020
The Left - “Again, there seems to be no ideological bias against the concept of rights; views on the subject come from various distinct standpoints.” 1/13/2020Review: “The Enigma of Clarence Thomas” by Corey Robin
The Left - “Despite this, Thomas has also long acknowledged the history of racial discrimination in the United States and has never accepted the popular conservative trope that the impact of racism is merely a historical issue in the present day.“ 1/12/2020
The Left - “Despite this, Thomas has also long acknowledged the history of racial discrimination in the United States and has never accepted the popular conservative trope that the impact of racism is merely a historical issue in the present day.“ 1/12/2020Review: “Can the Left Learn to Meme? Adorno, Video Gaming, and Stranger Things” by Mike Watson
The Left - “Despite the majority of voters aged 18-39 resisting the smear campaigns and voting for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party, Britain’s aging population overwhelmed the voice of its youth to take the landslide victory.” 1/10/2020
The Left - “Despite the majority of voters aged 18-39 resisting the smear campaigns and voting for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party, Britain’s aging population overwhelmed the voice of its youth to take the landslide victory.” 1/10/2020Why Greta Thunberg Should Go Back to School
The Center - “As a fellow person with autism, I hope to make clear why educational support—and going to school—is so essential to the lives of people with autism.” 1/7/2020
The Center - “As a fellow person with autism, I hope to make clear why educational support—and going to school—is so essential to the lives of people with autism.” 1/7/2020What Sohrab Ahmari Has Failed to Sense
The Left - “Such specious reasoning is so problematic that it may well produce more of the existential instability Ahmari is keen to reject, rather than placate it.” 1/5/2020
The Left - “Such specious reasoning is so problematic that it may well produce more of the existential instability Ahmari is keen to reject, rather than placate it.” 1/5/2020Can We Read Moby Dick?
The Center - “But, as I found myself stumbling in my response to my sister, a more elemental question arose: Can we read Moby Dick?” 1/4/2020
The Center - “But, as I found myself stumbling in my response to my sister, a more elemental question arose: Can we read Moby Dick?” 1/4/2020Reflecting on the Start of a New Decade (and the Wisdom of Augustine)
The Right - “I must admit that as for many others, the last ten years were neither a singular triumph nor an unmitigated disaster. There were joys and sadnesses, the melody of life soaring high and crashing low. No one finds heaven on earth.” 1/1/2020
The Right - “I must admit that as for many others, the last ten years were neither a singular triumph nor an unmitigated disaster. There were joys and sadnesses, the melody of life soaring high and crashing low. No one finds heaven on earth.” 1/1/2020The Decline of the Intellectual Dark Web
The Left - “…if one truly believes that the better argument can and should win the day, more formidable ammunition will be needed on the part of the Intellectual Dark Web.” 12/29/2019
The Left - “…if one truly believes that the better argument can and should win the day, more formidable ammunition will be needed on the part of the Intellectual Dark Web.” 12/29/2019Pope Francis, the Consummate Politician
The Center - “From its very beginnings, Christianity has been fond of buddy tales, i.e. stories in which two great defenders of the faith become close friends.” 12/28/2019
The Center - “From its very beginnings, Christianity has been fond of buddy tales, i.e. stories in which two great defenders of the faith become close friends.” 12/28/2019A Few Thoughts on Christmas
The Center - “If historical debunking is waging a ‘War on Christmas,’ then we must fire our artillery because, indeed, the story of Christmas has no historical basis whatsoever.” 12/22/2019
The Center - “If historical debunking is waging a ‘War on Christmas,’ then we must fire our artillery because, indeed, the story of Christmas has no historical basis whatsoever.” 12/22/2019When Neuroscience Interjects Itself into Debates on Sexuality
The Center - “The concept is called ‘reverse inference.’ It’s both neuroscience’s greatest ambition, and the origin of its most frustratingly breathless overstatements.” 12/21/2019
The Center - “The concept is called ‘reverse inference.’ It’s both neuroscience’s greatest ambition, and the origin of its most frustratingly breathless overstatements.” 12/21/2019Harold Macmillan, Roger Scruton, and Putting the U.K. Election in Context
The Right - “As Matthew Goodwin has repeatedly written, it is easier for the Conservatives to move slightly left on economic issues than it is for Labour to move right on cultural issues.” 12/14/2019
The Right - “As Matthew Goodwin has repeatedly written, it is easier for the Conservatives to move slightly left on economic issues than it is for Labour to move right on cultural issues.” 12/14/2019