There's a certain kind of political commentator who thinks the bickering between two political parties indicates some kind of difference between them, that one side is better than the other.
No guys. Politics is sports for nerds. It has less impact on our lives than that we have on each other.
Explains how the decay in politics has allowed the Supreme Court to ignore public opinion, undermining its legitimacy, and how to fix it.
(Bonus: learning about Mr. Martin Dooley and his silent auditor, Mr. Malachi Hennessy for the first time.)
Chinamaxxing from the perspective of a slightly younger generation than you might normally get. There are a few interesting intellectual threads to pull on here. (Ever heard of Sinofuturism?)
This sounds like a Hayekian objection -- which is fine; Hayek is a worthy thinker -- but why is non-intervention in the market better than capping profits, when the former approach is demonstrably increasing inequality? Three books and eight papers by Hayek and I still can't figure that out.
This sounds like a Hayekian objection -- which is fine; Hayek is a worthy thinker -- but why is non-intervention in the market better than capping profits, when the former approach is demonstrably increasing inequality? Three books and eight papers by Hayek and I still can't figure that out.
Arguing against the manosphere, and in favour of education, @simonvanteutem.bsky.social comes with a zinger:
"A degree from a top-ranked university can be worth £50k per year 5 years after graduation ... [Andrew Tate's] Hustlers University has yet to publish comparable data."
BAZINGA
Irish spring! I would have thought a Scotsman well used to such liminality.
How about the pacifists who hate Hayek? Asking for a friend...
An admittedly perfunctory read of Péter Magyar's bio says he was a member of Orban's party until 2024.
Am I wrong to be sceptical of Luke Skywalker's "very good feeling"?
Accidentally, AI provides some great insight for philosophers. To wit: three AI models took huge losses in betting on sports events, demonstrating that the future remains inscrutable to man and machine alike.
#PhilSky
A traditional-style Chinese painting shows a bearded man, Mencius, reclining in robes on a chair with a book propped up.
'If the worthy and Humane are not trusted, the country is an empty shell," said the Confucian thinker Mencius, as if he were living in the present day.
'If the work of government is ignored, no amount of wealth will satisfy a country's needs.'
In the 1970s the US had a dipshit but dangerous VP called Spiro Agnew. He said dumb things about how liberals were 'eroding the very fiber of America'.
But back then a dipshit VP could be ignored. Nowadays every spiel of this idiot VP gets publicised ... by the liberals who deign to despise him.
🤷♂️
When I say we Irish don't do many things well but we do the best funerals.
Fellow nerds of #PhilSky rejoice!
Many thanks!
Coming up this weekend it's the Dionysus Awards, our annual celebration of the most thought-provoking #movies (and, increasingly, #TV shows) of the past year. In this segment, the philosophers consider two of TV's best extended thought experiments on personal identity: youtu.be/NU39I_TzNDA #PhilSky
I've created a list for Bluesky users who were part of philosophy Twitter back in the day. Help me populate it! Also happy to add people who wish they had been part of the old community. I've added a few names already. (Ask if you'd like to be removed.) bsky.app/profile/did:...
I'm firmly in the latter category -- not on Twitter but would have loved it -- and would love even more to be a part of this!
Amazing that this is *not* the definition of Trump Derangement Syndrome.
What is the point of education?
Confucianism challenges teachers, leaders and parents to think (or rethink) the reason we teach kids the things we teach them.
The Missives will always be free; it just needs readers / listeners and commentators to keep it going. Start your journey here!
I read two lessons about fascism from this 1944 Orwell text:
On the one hand, one mustn't hate fascism (as to do so is to become it).
On the other hand, fascism has to be destroyed, especially its capability to make war.
These two points seem to be set against each other, but both seem equally true.
A graph showing the percentage of philosophy articles that cited empirical sources each year between 1970 and 2024. That proportion has increased from approximately 10% in the 1970s to over 50% in the 2020s.
Philosophy was mostly "armchair" in the mid-20th century—but it's not anymore! Philosophers have increasingly cited empirical sources and discussed empirical data and evidence. In fact, as of the 2020s, non-empirical philosophy has become the minority.
Anything that would make Hayek turn in his grave is a book I want to read. Sign me up.
Difficult to read this and not think it's a swipe at Trump's "Art of the Deal".
As humiliating as it may be for the US, it'll be worse for countries like ours who rely on Middle-East oil. I'm surprised Rubio seems to care so much. Or maybe he's just trying to drag would-be allies (like the UK or Spain) onto the bandwagon.
This hasn't yet dragged down the stock price of chip makers like Nvidia (long overdue) but it's worth watching.
Coop from Interstellar piloting a spaceship and saying "This little maneuver is gonna cost us 51 years"
your grandparents voting for reagan
The more I learn about physics, the more I think physicists are just failed philosophers.
Any school that removes books that promote empathy, cultural understanding, history and critical thought needs to be investigated for neglect. I don't think this is up for debate. If you're not teaching children this, what the fuck are you teaching them??
He's an idiot emperor, not a mad one -- the text (and events) attest to this.
Better to think of him as Commodus than Tiberius.