Category Archives: Philosophy

Hedonism and the state’s interference in the lives of adults

Posted on October 17, 2019 by

Hedonists believe ‘the pursuit of pleasure is the most important goal of human life’. Hedonists are tolerant. Each person’s pleasurable activities is theirs. Hedonists don’t recognise any role for states in legislating the personal conduct of adults. The only caveat … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Laurent Binet ~ The 7th Function of Language (translated Sam Taylor) (2018)

Posted on October 8, 2019 by

Binet wrote the brilliant historical novel HHhH (2013) about the assassination of Heydrich in Prague in 1942. Naturally I bought this new book, without reading a review, and found myself engaging with a French intellectual. It was very bracing. The … Continue reading →

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John Maynard Keynes on the First World War

Posted on September 9, 2019 by

If the European Civil War is to end with France and Italy abusing their momentary victorious power to destroy Germany and Austria-Hungary now prostrate, they invite their own destruction also, being so deeply and inextricably intertwined with their victims by … Continue reading →

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Is Boris Johnson a strategist?

Posted on September 5, 2019 by

“He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.” ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War Chris

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Wittgenstein as a (failed) teacher

Posted on September 2, 2019 by

For our own part, we struck Wittgenstein as intolerably stupid.1 He would denounce us to our faces as unteachable, and at times he despaired of getting us to recognize what sort of point he was trying to get across to … Continue reading →

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The limits of personal responsibility: Auschwitz and Hiroshima

Posted on May 23, 2019 by

Although subordinates in the military are expected to obey orders, they remain beneath the law. Obeying orders is a personal responsibility, which entails deciding whether they’re lawful or not. Unlawful orders should be challenged or disobeyed. Many Nazis were executed … Continue reading →

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The meaning of prejudice

Posted on May 16, 2019 by

“Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.” J K Galbraith, economist and all round genius Chris

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