Andrew Jason Cohen has written and important book. While I will not quibble over issues of toleration and the metaphysical dilemma of universalism or monism vs. pluralism—wherein the liberal philosophical tradition while advocating “toleration” endorses metaphysical monism—Cohen’s “reappraisal” of liberalism as a philosophy promoting freedom from harm is not so much new as it is … Continue reading Freedom from Harm: Andrew Jason Cohen’s “Liberalism Reconceived”
Philosophy
Marx’s “On the Jewish Question”
Karl Marx’s essay “On the Jewish Question,” at the face of it, seems like a typical anti-Semitic piece of writing where Marx decried the god of the Jews as the idol of mammon. However, the essay is of political importance as it details several noticeable things about Marx’s political thought. First is his assertion that … Continue reading Marx’s “On the Jewish Question”
Karl Marx’s Dialectical Historicism
One of the core elements to Karl Marx’s philosophy was his dialectical materialism and historicism, which come together in his dialectical historicism. Most people are probably familiar with it. There are five distinct stages (or epochs) of history: slavery, feudalism, capitalism, socialism, and communism. But the movement of history is not linear-progressive, it is cyclical; … Continue reading Karl Marx’s Dialectical Historicism
Rousseau: The Second Discourse on Inequality
Rousseau’s second discourse on inequality builds from his first. The second discourse contains his famous depiction of the noble savage, how man loses his freedom and equality through the establishment of property and society, and his ruminations about how reason corrupts human living and how knowledge is used as a tool of oppression and violence. … Continue reading Rousseau: The Second Discourse on Inequality
Rousseau: The First Discourse on Inequality
Rousseau begins his Discourses on Inequality by stating he is examining the question of man – quid sit homo – that eternal question that is at the bedrock of philosophy. Chronologically, Rousseau wrote the Discourses before the Social Contract, but the two works complement one another and should be read together. Within the Discourses Rousseau’s attacks include Aristotle, natural philosophy, Grotius, Hobbes, and … Continue reading Rousseau: The First Discourse on Inequality
Reflections on the Greek Classics
For those who would like to become more familiar with the classics, or, perhaps, understand more deeply the richness of the classics, you’re in luck! As part of my regular columns at TIC, I’ve covered Hesiod and Homer, and Pseudo-Apollodorus (among others). For Merion West, where I frequently freelance, I provided a five-part exposition on … Continue reading Reflections on the Greek Classics
On the Media Hierarchy
The media is not neutral or unbiased. It never has been. The formation of mass newspapers around the world were tied to political parties to promote respective agendas. The art of writing is itself a form of control and directionality. The great myth of modernity is egalitarianism. That is, metaphysical egalitarianism. A consistent egalitarian—not an … Continue reading On the Media Hierarchy
Lex Talionis and the Principle of Limitation
Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. That passage from Leviticus is often derided as, or pointed to for evidence of, “biblical harshness.” The principle of the passage is not unique to the Bible, however, for the code of legal retaliation is found in all Near Eastern law codes. In comparison to the … Continue reading Lex Talionis and the Principle of Limitation
Machiavelli’s “The Prince,” Part III
In finishing the last chapters of Machiavelli’s most famous work, The Prince, we will tie up loose ends and come to an understanding of what Machiavelli was saying in his work and what Machiavelli was not saying in his work. To review, up to this point Machiavelli’s Prince is about “practical advice” on new princes who have risen … Continue reading Machiavelli’s “The Prince,” Part III
Machiavelli’s “The Prince,” Part II
As we continue examining Machiavelli’s The Prince, we turn to Chapters 10-19 which contains his most famous phrase of it is better to be feared than loved. Well, Machiavelli didn’t exactly say those specific words in that order, but his recommendations to the Prince is that it is better to command fear than to be loved … Continue reading Machiavelli’s “The Prince,” Part II
