Myth is already enlightenment, and enlightenment reverts to mythology. ~ Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, p. xviii. Steven Pinker is the public face of contemporary neo-Whiggism. In the midst of turbulent transformations and discontents, rather than try to understand the predicament of modernity and its possibility crisis brought forth by the … Continue reading The Myth and Lies of Steven Pinker’s “Enlightenment Now!”
Month: January 2019
Two Meanings of Reason
Reason, and rationality, are terms used by popular pseudo-scientific writers and authors, and YouTube hosts and podcasters, as if superior to all other schools of epistemological thought. The sad reality is that most self-professed rationalists, like Sam Harris, are really materialistic empiricists. Moreover, at least from the pen of Christianity (and Judaism and Islam as well), … Continue reading Two Meanings of Reason
Redeeming the Chariot: The War in Heaven in “Paradise Lost”
John Milton’s Paradise Lost is, without argue, one of the triumphs of the Christian imagination. Taking the story of the War in Heaven and giving it detail, especially in Book VI, Milton also makes constant usage of classical and biblical imagery and references to bolster his lively and imaginative retelling. As Raphael tells the story … Continue reading Redeeming the Chariot: The War in Heaven in “Paradise Lost”
Why Liberalism Fails
When the Berlin Wall fell, the eastern bloc “freed,” and the Soviet Union dissolved, euphoria and hubris swept the liberal West. The twentieth-century struggles against poverty, depression, racism, colonialism, fascism, and communism seemed to have proved the success of liberal democratic capitalism, or market-liberal societies, as the culmination of the movement of political conflict and … Continue reading Why Liberalism Fails
The Psyche of the Alt-Right: Freud, Myth, and Philosophy
For most people the Alt-Right is a pejorative term wielded by leftists and the liberal establishment who then label their opponents with it with anti-polite society connotations. The Alt-Right is racist, xenophobic, Islamophobic, sexist, in order to bypass any substantial or concrete engagement with the Alt-Right. Even alternative “conservative” media misrepresents the Alt-Right, like what … Continue reading The Psyche of the Alt-Right: Freud, Myth, and Philosophy
Why Conflict and Division is Good for Politics
Everyone seems to preach of the need of unity and “coming together.” In troubled times, in times of increased anxiety—sometimes spilling over into violence—the prophets of unity appear as a voice of “moderation.” Unity is, of course, a code-word for establishment power politics; for it is the existing status-quo which always loses its grip on … Continue reading Why Conflict and Division is Good for Politics
Liberalism: Freedom from Harm as Freedom from Responsibility
Liberal society—if we can call it a society—is stagnating. Moreover, it should be obvious to any observer over the “whimpification” of liberal society: liberals are weak; liberals are cowards; liberals capitulate to extremist forces; liberals are unwilling to employ the effective use of power; liberals blame other people for their problems; liberals do not take … Continue reading Liberalism: Freedom from Harm as Freedom from Responsibility
The Absurdities and Statism Inherent to Liberalism
Liberalism has been the most powerful philosophical force in the “Western” world for the last 400 years. Liberalism, as a term, is thrown around often as an epithet by “conservatives” and proudly worn by those who see liberalism as a driving force for progress and “enlightenment.” Like other political philosophies, liberalism often is used in … Continue reading The Absurdities and Statism Inherent to Liberalism
Allegory, Irony, and Satire in “Paradise Lost”
John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost is remembered for two things, the famous quote from Satan after having been expelled from Heaven, “Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav’n,” (i.263) and for creating the fiery depiction of Hell dramatically juxtaposed to the cold and frozen hell of Dante’s Inferno. Milton’s poem, though written … Continue reading Allegory, Irony, and Satire in “Paradise Lost”
The Many Faces of Postmodernism
Postmodernism is back with a vengeance. Celebrated and despised, postmodernism is sometimes cast as the bogeyman of all that is wrong with the modern world or defended as exposing the shallowness of the modern world. Which is it? There are multiple strands of postmodernism. For the sake of brevity, we will examine three; wherein the … Continue reading The Many Faces of Postmodernism
