The Epistemology Behind this Quintessential Travesty of Justice Yesterday President Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. That Obama would nominate such an individual could be inferred from this passage from Obama’s remarks on Justice Souter on May 1st: Now, the process of selecting someone to replace Justice Souter is among my most serious […]
In his speech on national security on Thursday, President Obama said this: I know some have argued that brutal methods like water-boarding were necessary to keep us safe. I could not disagree more. As Commander-in-Chief, I see the intelligence, I bear responsibility for keeping this country safe, and I reject the assertion that these are […]
Because some people deserve it. If Osama bin Laden is captured, he deserves to be tortured before he is executed. A day of excruciating torture for each of the more than 3,000 victims on 9/11 would be getting off easy. Torture and execution as punishment for murder is not cruel. It is just. In fact, […]
My paper, “Past Longevity as Evidence for the Future,” appears in the new issue (Vol. 76, No. 1) of Philosophy of Science, a leading mainstream academic journal of philosophy. The abstract and acknowledgment—including my acknowledgment of the epistemology of Ayn Rand—are here, on the Web site of the University of Chicago Press. (Update, 6/29/2011: Read […]
Thank you, Ryan, Rogan, and IMH for your excellent answers to the question I posed at the end of my previous post, Dramatic Conflict. I had not thought of the points you make. (Thanks also to David for your thanks.) With revenge and altruism as the only values (if any) that today’s heroes fight for, […]
This post is about art, but I will start by quoting something I wrote a few weeks ago in a political context: Even a rat fights when cornered. But a man of reason and courage does not wait until his loved ones have been murdered and his own survival hangs by a thread. He fights […]
On May 1, his 92nd day in office, the nation’s leader said this: And finally, we shall endeavor to take this year the first step on the way to an organic economic development, working on the fundamental principle that there can be no recovery which does not begin at the root of national economic life, […]
Yesterday evening, Obama held a press conference marking his first 100 days as President. But I want to comment on this statement he made yesterday morning at a Town Hall in Arnold, Missouri: We’re going to continue to help our schools meet high standards and close achievement gaps. The notion of ‘closing achievement gaps’ has […]
Much has been written, in the past few weeks, on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s report entitled “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.” Some bloggers, including me, held off on writing about this news immediately because the report is so irrational that it seemed like a spoof […]
Since my favorite Shakespeare sonnet (#29, “When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes”) is so well known, here instead is my second favorite (#76): Why is my verse so barren of new pride So far from variation or quick change? Why with the time do I not glance aside To new-found methods and to […]