Baruch (or Benedict) de Spinoza is best known for two books: the Ethica (E), completed in 1675 but only published in his Opera Posthuma of 1677; and the Tractatus theologico-politicus (TTP), published anonymously in 1670. Although these books are widely held to be masterpieces today, much ink has been spilled over the question of how the two books are related given …
Lucian Lupescu says the disputatious Dane dares us to live. There is a general tendency in the non-philosophical world to dismiss philosophy as being purely theoretical, with no connection to the types of problems that people are confronted within their everyday lives. But this is not necessarily true. Many philosophers struggled to find ways to …
There are few more reliable ways to get attacked in public these days than by expressing sympathy for eugenics.[1] Often this reaction is a case of moral grandstanding.[2] Of course, much evil has been done in the name of eugenics.[3] But the word is ambiguous, and the past misapplication of a word or a theory doesn’t mean the underlying …
Alisa Anokhina on how the quest for authenticity can help in treating depression. Colloquially, the word ‘depression’ is often used for listlessness, extreme sadness, or a profound sense of loss. It’s no wonder that so many people with a diagnosis of depression struggle to be taken seriously: to the unaffected, the problem sounds akin to …
The view that ancient philosophers made no use of the notion of consciousness, and perhaps even the view that consciousness does not enter philosophical discourse before Descartes, may still have its adherents. However, anyone who reads the Enneads can hardly overlook the fact that consciousness plays an important role in Plotinus. D. M. Hutchinson’s study is thus …
Stuart Greenstreet on the abysmal failure of theories about crime and punishment. Prison doesn’t work. Theories about the punishment of lawbreakers fail in practice because they disregard the real conditions of people’s lives. The apparatus of criminal justice exists to secure a society in which everyone is free to do pretty well as they wish …
Hugh LaFollette has offered an informative, compelling and readable contribution to the philosophical literature on America’s gun debate, which, as of yet, is still relatively small. He gives an overview of three major sets of arguments for and against gun control: armchair arguments, rights based arguments, and empirical arguments. He appraises each in turn, and …
Darrin Belousek considers different ethical perspectives on drugs in sport. As a life-long fan and a former school player of baseball, my view on performance-enhancing drugs is not neutral: I think they are a scourge on the sport. As a philosopher who teaches ethics to university students preparing for professional careers, I also think performance-enhancing …
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