James Alexander finds Alain Badiou guilty of horrors but sometimes worth reading. It is always a pleasure to read a review by one established philosopher of another. In the Times Literary Supplement of 31 August 2012, Roger Scruton reviewed The Adventure of French Philosophy by Alain Badiou (b.1937). Badiou is one of those ‘New Left’ …
Ji Young Lee and Andrea Bidoli discuss how artificial womb technology will shape the abortion rights discussion. Abortion is the deliberate termination of a pregnancy. In current practice, this involves the death of the foetus. Consequently, the debate on whether those experiencing an unwanted pregnancy have the right to abortion is usually dichotomized as a …
Elad Uzan argues that although it may well be, this doesn’t necessarily justify a warlike response. In July 2020, then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden put Russia and others on notice. “If any foreign power recklessly chooses to interfere in our democracy”, he said, “I will not hesitate to respond as President to impose substantial and …
Gerard Elfstrom asks what such creatures, if they exist, would be like and how much it matters morally. For much of Western history, we have been confident that human beings are persons but no other creatures have that status. These beliefs matter because personhood has often been deemed a necessary requirement for possessing moral value. …
Charlotte Curran tells us precisely why fat shaming is unethical. Fat people are perhaps the most openly stigmatized individuals in our society: there is data which suggests that weight stigma is more pervasive and intense than even racism and sexism. There is certainly a well-documented social and cultural bias against fat people, particularly in the …
Frank Thermitus says prepare for the worst to achieve the best. Rather than imagining an ideal world, Stoics try to manage their emotions in order to deal with the world as it is. With this in mind, Stoicism would suggest that people of color should begin each day by reminding themselves, “I will face racism, …
Fintan Neylan explains the realism Maurizio Ferraris introduces in his Introduction. At the opening of his 1907 lecture series ‘Pragmatism’, William James commented on the growing disparity between academic philosophy and a philosophy whose relevance ordinary people would feel in their lives. This latter philosophy would be one which truly mattered to us, James claimed, …
Psychiatrist Eva Cybulska provides a psychological interpretation of Nietzsche’s Eternal Return. “Even as ‘a philosopher’ I still did not express my essential thoughts (or ‘delusions’).”Friedrich Nietzsche, in a letter to Overbeck, April 1883 “Like great works, deep feelings always mean more than they are conscious of saying.”Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus The influence of …
Bill Cooke on the humanist value of Nietzsche. The story of the long rehabilitation of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) after being unfairly implicated in the rise of Nazism is well known. But the time may be coming when another daring rescue operation will be called for. For several years now, Nietzsche has been hailed as one …
An introduction by H. James Birx. “Let us assume that people will be allowed to read [my work] in about the year 2000.”Nietzsche, 24 September 1886” Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche has emerged as the most influential philosopher of the twentieth century, although both controversy and confusion surround his life and thought. He was born on 15 …