Category Archives: Philosophy

Negotiated death sentences for heinous criminals in Britain 2019

Posted on January 3, 2019 by

Expressing surprise at the few votes required for an acquittal, Socrates joked that he be punished with free meals at the Prytaneum (the city’s sacred hearth), an honour usually held for a benefactor of Athens, and for the victorious athletes … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Prison reform | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Alexey Stakhanov: the most famous coal miner in history

Posted on November 29, 2018 by

  Stalin introduced a whirlwind of industrialisation in a series of Five Year Plans beginning in 1928. These plans centralised control of every part of industrial production. Every mine had productivity targets which had to be met or exceeded. This … Continue reading →

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Eat your heart out Sartre: Los Angeles is existentialism made concrete

Posted on October 11, 2018 by

Los Angeles is where you confront the objective fact that you mean nothing… You don’t matter… In Los Angeles you can be standing next to another human being but you may as well be standing next to a geological formation. … Continue reading →

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Two idiots talk about hurricanes

Posted on October 4, 2018 by

First Idiot: Donald Trump, President of the United States Ray H.   Second Idiot: a gay hating Texan fundamentalist “Just last week the state of Texas failed to pass a bill patterned after the North Carolina bathroom bill that would … Continue reading →

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G E Moore on Wittgenstein

Posted on September 20, 2018 by

When Wittgenstein submitted the Tractatus as his doctoral dissertation, G. E. Moore is reputed to have sent in an examiner’s report including the words, “It is my personal opinion that Mr. Wittgenstein’s thesis is a work of genius; but, be … Continue reading →

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John Kenneth Galbraith’s Wealth and Poverty (1963)

Posted on August 2, 2018 by

“The modern conservative… not even especially modern… is engaged… in one of man’s oldest, best financed, most applauded, and, on the whole, least successful exercises in moral philosophy. That is the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness….Social Security … Continue reading →

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The economics of human organs as ‘spare parts’

Posted on January 19, 2018 by

“… consider the idea of establishing a market for human organs. For example, the buying and selling of kidneys is currently illegal in the United States and United Kingdom. But demand for kidneys outstrips the supply of kidneys. More people … Continue reading →

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