Tim Madigan hears Pierre Bayle’s 17th century plea for religious toleration. “Comets, importing change of times and states,Brandish your crystal tresses in the sky,And with them scourge the bad revolting starsThat have consented unto Henry’s death!King Henry the Fifth, too famous to live long!England ne’er lost a king of so much worth.” – Shakespeare, Henry […]
Scott Remer thinks we arendt happy without a community and considers the complete reconstruction of the modern world to be well worth weil. In her 1951 book The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt, German-Jewish émigré and political theorist extraordinaire, chillingly wrote: “Totalitarian solutions may well survive the fall of totalitarian regimes in the form of
A Radical Cure: Hannah Arendt & Simone Weil on the Need for Roots Read More »
Major Todd A. Burkhardt considers under what circumstances it would be morally right to bioengineer super-soldiers. In 1940, as the United States prepares for war, Steve Rogers, a frail young man unable to enlist in the military due to physical limitations, volunteers for a secret experiment. Operation Rebirth transforms him into the ultimate physical specimen:
Operation Rebirth: Captain America and the Ethics of Enhancement Read More »
Sally Scholz traces the major currents of Simone de Beauvoir’s main work. Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) was one of the twentieth century’s leading intellectuals, and certainly its most famous feminist. Her book The Second Sex radically challenged political and existential theory, but its most enduring impact is on how women understand themselves, their relationships, their
Benedict O’Connell argues we must recognise our limitations about knowing God. As philosophers, we often like to think about what can be known. It is also important, however, to consider the reverse: what cannot be known – whether there may be certain truths that are simply beyond our understanding as human beings. I’m talking about
What does make a musical performance authentic? What do we mean by authenticity anyway? Michael Graubart looks for some answers. Bach fugues on the clavichord or the piano? Handel arias with added ornaments or plain? Mozart concertos on a fortepiano, gut-strung violins and valveless horns or on a Steinway grand piano and modern orchestral instruments?
Musical Hermeneutics: The ‘Authentic’ Performance of Early Music Read More »
Bharatwaj Iyer examines substance with the help of Hume & Vedantic philosophy. In his 1738 classic A Treatise of Human Nature, the Scottish philosopher David Hume criticised a conception of substance held by many philosophers throughout the long history of Western thought. He rhetorically asks these philosophers how they know of the existence and nature
Peter Keeble says philosophy, like love, is a many-splendoured thing. Philosophy is normally not shy in dealing with highly emotive issues: Philosophers often tell us what we should not do and that certain cherished beliefs are nonsense. However, not many modern philosophers have written about individual emotions, such as the feeling of romantic love. Yet
The Philosophy of Romantic Love Read More »
Stephen Doty says that the accumulated folk wisdom of the investment community should be taken with a large pinch of salt. Some people need to invest more in philosophy, not in stocks, so that empty sayings don’t muddle their thinking and mislead them. A yacht club gentleman gave me a little lecture on investing the
Investment Sayings May Mislead You Read More »
Adam Carter examines the most morally corrupting sport of all. Tom: “So, what did you have back on hole six, buddy?”Buck: “I told you – I had a par.”Tom: “I know that’s what you said, but are you sure?”Buck: “Are you … calling me a cheater, Tom?”Tom: “All I’m saying is that you were two in
You’ll Swing For This! Read More »