 Aristotle and Epicurus
by Justin P. Wendling
The philosophies of Aristotle and Epicurus include some similarities, but at the same time, they are completely different in many ways. In a few ways, the two great philosophers have ideas that are almost exact duplicates; however, Epicurus seems to take a different direction when it comes down to certain ideas. For ex... (Read more...)
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How to Fight Terrorism Peacefully
by Tibor R. Machan
It isn’t often that I will relinquish my chance of sounding off on a vital topic to someone else but this time I find it just the thing to do.
My friend Alex Alexiev, who is now vice president at the Center for Security Policy in Washington, D. C., has been promoting an idea related to the effort to repel terrorism that simply hasn’t received the attention that it deserves. (Read more...)
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A Vacation to the Magical Kingdom of Capitalism, Part 1
by Ethan A. Dawe
I confess that I approached my visit to Disney World with a lot of trepidation. I’d never been to Disney, and would be going with my wife and five year old daughter, so I had more to worry about than myself. With our tickets purchased in advance we set out for Disney which was about twenty minutes from where we were staying. For those of you who haven’t been, there are five major Disney theme parks, and the target for our first day was The Magic Kingdom, which is home to many of the rides and attractions aimed at children my daughter’s age. With lunch, snacks, and plenty of water packed, we set out on our journey.
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Milton Friedman's Pragmatic and Incremental Libertarianism
by Edward W. Younkins
Milton Friedman (1912 - ) is a consequentialist libertarian and one of the most influential economists of the 20th century. He has been able to create both academic and popular support of the idea of increasing individual freedom and reducing government controls. Friedman fervently believes in the power of a sort of se... (Read more...)
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Teaching versus Preaching
by Tibor R. Machan
After having taught college for nearly forty years, I can report that a great many teachers use their class rooms to preach, not to teach. (The same is reportedly the case in secondary schooling but I am not qualified to speak to that.)
... (Read more...)
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Ashes to Flames
by A. Robert Malcom
A continuing iconoclastic history of Art... (Read more...)
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The Unkindest Cut of All
by Marty Lewinter
The scary thing about religion is that true believers will do just about anything if it is the will of their deity (jihad comes to mind). (Read more...)
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Roberts Court Statist to Core
by Tibor R. Machan
Of course, when someone in a house doesn't want others to come in, including cops without a warrant, this must be honored. As William Pitt The Elder, Lord Chatham (1708-1778) stated the principle, "The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail—its roof may shake—the win... (Read more...)
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Freedom and Ethics-Again
by Tibor R. Machan
This is a point that just cannot be stressed too often: Human beings both need to be free to choose and also ought to do the right thing. But to do the right thing is exactly why they need to be free to choose. If they are slaves or oppressed, they cannot choose to do the right thing. They lack sovereignty, self-rule, ... (Read more...)
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Book Review: The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology
by Ryan Brubaker
A review of the book The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology by Ray Kurzweil. (Read more...)
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Western Free Speech and Rewarding Murder
by Andre Zantonavitch
Islam is currently waging war on Western free speech. These open and brazen calls to murder Danish cartoonists are simply unacceptable. It's high time the West fought back. (Read more...)
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Hype Versus Truth
by Tibor R. Machan
Let’s admit it, most of us indulge in hype. If you’ve ever said, walking in from a cold outdoors, "My hands are freezing," you’ve done hype. Hype is just exaggeration—hyperbole. It has its point, namely, to call attention to something you regard important, like your cold hands and to plea for sympathy, perhaps. (Read more...)
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The BS of the BSA
by Mitchell McLeod Willcox
This is an op-ed that I am trying to get published in my university paper as an effort at activism. Unfortunately the op-eds can only be 700 words so it is hard to actually get into the roots of an issue, but at least it is being read and thought about. (Read more...)
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Death and the Meaning of Life
by Keith Augustine
On the time scale of the history of the Earth an individual human lifetime is a mere blink of an eye. We're born, we live, and we die--and then we are "heard no more." Death is like a dreamless sleep from which we will never awake, our consciousness snuffed out forever. If this life is all there is, what is the point of living? (Read more...)
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Entertainment & Business
by Tibor R. Machan
As I was channel surfing late the other night, having just woken up from my second nap, I went past one broadcast channel on which I saw and heard the following sentence uttered by a young woman: “He was a businessman so he would do anything to turn a profit.” I caught a glimpse of the name and it w... (Read more...)
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So, Here We Go Again!
by Tibor R. Machan
The lawsuit against a Kentucky school district over a Confederate flag prom dress, set to go to trial in August, is yet another illustration of what trouble is caused by public or government schooling. When Jacqueline Duty reportedly alleges that the Russell Independent Board of Education denied her right to free speec... (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Liberty & Journalism
by Tibor R. Machan
What journalists should and should not do as professionals can vary, depending on where they do their work, what topic they are dealing with, how often they publish, etc. and so forth. But there are objective standards of journalism—what students are supposed to learn about in journalistic ethics courses. It is no... (Read more...)
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Dying by the Post-Modern Sword
by Jason Pappas
We, who support the struggle of our brave Danish compatriots, are fighting with one hand tied behind our backs—and we are unaware of this handicap. Our side in this battle has failed to use our most important weapon: we are fighting for the truth. This isn’t incidental to the debate; this is the whole purpose of the de... (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings-Controversy: Private vs. Public
by Tibor R. Machan
If you read even just a couple of magazines or newspapers, or check in with some blogs, the presence of controversies cannot escape you. Consider, just for starters, what gets written in National Review versus, say, The Nation, The New Republic, Commentary, or Reason Magazine, say on environmental issues or... (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Defending Larry Flynt & the Danish Cartoons
by Tibor R. Machan
Maybe you have forgotten, but there’s a guy in America, named Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler’s, who was lionized in The People v. Larry Flynt, a 1996 movie, despite publishing one of the filthiest, nastiest, and slickest magazines on earth. Why? Because he wouldn’t give in to censors and kept defending his right to ... (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Respecting Another's Ideas
by Tibor R. Machan
It’s often said that people of one faith or set of convictions respect the ideas of those with whom they disagree. Say, you are a Roman Catholic, I a Lutheran or Muslim. Do we really respect each other’s beliefs? It may appear so because in some regions and historical periods of the world when large num... (Read more...)
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John Locke's Limited State
by Edward W. Younkins
John Locke (1632-1704) connected with the long tradition of medieval political thought going back to Thomas Aquinas. His philosophical writings led to the great revolutions toward the end of the 18th century. Locke is America’s intellectual Founding Father. Especially in his A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689) and Th... (Read more...)
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Wednesday
February 8, 2006 |
Afterglow
by A. Robert Malcom
The Roman era - continuing series of an iconoclastic art history (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings-Revisiting Objectivity
by Tibor R. Machan
In ordinary terms, to achieve objectivity one needs to check one's own likes and dislikes and guard against their influence and also check for influences coming from outside, such as flattery on the psychological front, or obstruction of visibility on the perceptual. To avoid bias one needs discipline and ... (Read more...)
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Altruism Against Freedom
by Joseph Rowlands
Politics is a branch of ethics. It is defined by the ethical system at its root. You can't just pick and choose ethical standards and political systems. Some are necessarily incompatible, and others are mutually reinforcing. The combination I want to focus on is the political system of liberty and the ethics of alt... (Read more...)
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