Podcast We Are Not Born Submissive: How Patriarchy Shapes Women鈥檚 Lives July 09, 2021 What role do women play in the perpetuation of patriarchy? On the one hand, popular media urges women to be independent, outspoken, and career-minded. Yet, this same media glorifies a specific, sometimes voluntary, female submissiveness as a source of satisfaction. Read More
Essay On self interest June 30, 2021 Self-interest drives capitalism. Capitalism鈥檚 friends and foes agree on this, even if they agree on nothing else. Read More
Video How the giving habits of the super鈥憆ich affect the rest of us May 16, 2021 It鈥檚 the time of year when our personal finances come to the forefront, but not many Americans are aware that the spending and giving habits of the super-rich are having a direct impact on public provision and policy. Read More
Essay How Hume anticipated Darwin May 06, 2021 It鈥檚 a great irony that many still believe Darwin鈥檚 theory of evolution was a sudden, startling revelation rather than itself being the fruit of the evolution of ideas. Read More
Podcast Listen in: Why We Are Restless April 16, 2021 We live in an age of unprecedented prosperity, yet everywhere we see signs that our pursuit of happiness has proven fruitless. Dissatisfied, we seek change for the sake of change鈥攅ven if it means undermining the foundations of our common life. Read More
Essay Minds wide open April 14, 2021 How to Keep an Open Mind is a selection of writings from the ancient Greek skeptic Sextus Empiricus. The title is mine, not his. Sextus鈥� skepticism is all about suspension of judgment concerning the true nature of things. Read More
Interview Sylvana Tomaselli on Wollstonecraft March 03, 2021 Mary Wollstonecraft鈥檚聽A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, first published in 1792, is a work of enduring relevance in women鈥檚 rights advocacy. However, as Sylvana Tomaselli shows, a full understanding of Wollstonecraft鈥檚 thought is possible only through a more comprehensive appreciation of Wollstonecraft herself. Read More
Essay The irrationality of 2020 December 16, 2020 Irrationality聽was published in 2019, but the real subject of the book, it turns out, is the year 2020. The book now seems to me to be describing a world that had been gestating for some years, but that only came out kicking and screaming, loud enough for all to hear and for none to deny, in the pandemic era, which coincides, significantly, with the final year of Donald Trump鈥檚 ignominious presidency.聽 Read More
Essay Timeless wisdom on generosity and gratitude December 01, 2020 The approach of the winter holidays invites us to wrestle once again with the complexities of giving.聽On surface it seems simple enough:聽Buy something nice, wrap it in colorful paper, present it to your giftee. Read More
Podcast Conspiracy theories are more dangerous than ever November 16, 2020 Conspiracy theories are as old as politics. But conspiracists today have introduced something new鈥攃onspiracy without theory. In the era of Donald Trump鈥檚 presidency, this new conspiracism has moved from the fringes to the heart of government. Read More
Essay T.M. Luhrmann on small acts of real鈥憁aking November 11, 2020 The most important question to ask about religion is not why but how. 鈥淲hy鈥� is a skeptic鈥檚 question鈥攁 puzzle around the seemingly absurd ideas (a talking snake, a virgin birth) that we find in religions. Read More
Essay Voting freely in a rigged election November 02, 2020 Can a person act freely in a system that is completely rigged, in which every action is determined from the outset? Maybe you are haunted by this question as you slog off to Town Hall to vote. Maybe it is so bothersome that you just stay home.聽Maybe you鈥檝e already sent in your ballot, but you feel somehow unsatisfied. Read More
Essay How to be content: The contemporary lessons of an ancient poet October 20, 2020 The poet Horace (65-8 BCE) is one of the most celebrated writers of Latin literature. His work has been copied and preserved over the centuries for both its sparkling form and its enlightened content. Read More
Video The Murder of Professor Schlick book trailer October 13, 2020 On June 22, 1936, the philosopher Moritz Schlick was on his way to deliver a lecture at the University of Vienna when Johann Nelb枚ck, a deranged former student of Schlick鈥檚, shot him dead on the university steps. Read More
Essay Spinoza鈥檚 guide to life and death October 01, 2020 How should we face our mortality? Whether death is鈥攁s we all hope鈥攁 far off eventuality or, through age or illness, imminent, what is the proper attitude to take? Should we fear death? Read More
