TPP Weekly Rewind
Monday, November 1 – Friday, November 5
TPP Week-In-Review
- On Monday, Charles reflected on a BBC report concerning business investments in Burma, and considered the moral implications of economic sanctions on that country
- On Tuesday, Han examined different reasons to support free speech to help determine whether video games deserve First Amendment protection
- On Thursday, Sam shared several interesting thoughts on the midterm election; Han posed a few questions in response to the Republican-led revival of debate over the 17th Amendment, which provided for direct election of senators; and Charles asked whether contraception should be thought of as a health issue or a lifestyle choice, and discussed possible answers to that question
In Others’ Words
- For New Jersey The Start Ledger, Paul Mulshine characterized the Stewart-Colbert rally as lacking in substance
- Stephanie Pappas explained at LiveScience that there are moderate views left in American politics, but that you won’t see them on television or in Congress
- The Florida Student Philosophy Blog had its 116th Philosophers’ Carnival, providing many great posts on philosophy from last month
- The AFP reported that President Obama’s political philosophy is still elusive
- Nikki Brungard argued that not everyone should vote
- The Huffington Post provided a gallery of the funniest signs from the Stewart-Colbert rally
- Andrew Malcom reported on turmoil in Washington’s social elite crowd on his blog with the LA Times
- At The American Spectator, Mark Tooley commented on the relationship between evangelicals and the tea party
- Matt Lewis at Politics Daily explained why “Marco Rubio’s win is the most important one for conservatives”
- Brian Matt at North Country Public Radio discussed whether or not Nancy Pelosi ought to continue to lead House Democrats
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TPP Weekly Rewind
Monday, October 25 – Friday, October 29
TPP Week-In-Review
- On Tuesday, Charles considered the suggestion that criminality and cyclic violence would be solved by separating parts of the legal process form politics and direct democracy, and Han explored what it means to call someone ‘immoral’ before blaming a pandemic of moral relativism for preventing society from doing any good moral philosophy
- On Thursday, Han described today’s public discourse as impoverished and conducive to a sort of arms race of extreme views and modes of expression, and Sam defended Jon Stewart as critic and comedian in the wake of his recent interview with President Barack Obama
In Others’ Words
- TPP’s own Sam Gill wrote an op-ed for the NY Daily News on shared responsibility in football
- Another of TPP’s own, Jake Bronthser, wrote for AskMen.com about Jon Stewart’s many roles, and the success and influence he has in each
- Stanford announced the launch of a new ‘Ethics and War’ series
- Larry Arnhart of Darwinian Conservatism found some Plato in China
- In Socrates’ Wake, a philosophy teaching blog, wrote about achieving more gender equality in academic philosophy
- The Philosophers’ Magazine continued its ‘Ideas of the century’ series
- Harvard historian James T. Kloppenberg found President Obama to be a kind of “philosopher president”
- James Rowley for Bloomberg explained that Congressman John Boehner’s blue-collar beginnings could help us understand and predict the representative’s views
- Susan Milligan argued for US News & World Report’s Politics & Policy blog that a Republican sweep of the upcoming elections would be a great thing for the Democrats
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TPP Weekly Rewind
Monday, October 18 – Friday, October 22
TPP Week-In-Review
- On Monday, Han pointed us to a piece at Newsweek disparaging the tea party’s veneration for the Constitution, and Charles explored the place of fear and revulsion in policy debates in response to a piece at Project Syndicate
- On Tuesday, Luke considered two Supreme Court Justices and their respective forms of constitutional originalism in light of Han’s post on Monday; Charles reflected on the decline of multiculturalism in Europe, and compared European immigration to immigration in the United States; and Han rallied to the side of contemporary philosophy and American university education in the face of a critique at The Wall Street Journal
- On Wednesday, Jake reflected on a proposed parallel between fire insurance and health care, and argued that health care is not a collective good
- On Thursday, Han highlighted an initiative in the United Kingdom to create the world’s first philosophy town, and warned that the project could create confusion and dogmatism if completed hastily; Sam explored forward-thinking policy measures in Europe and emphasized the importance of setting aside our moral feelings when making long-term decisions; and Charles reported on a new policy at Westfield High School in Virginia, and the tendency of fairness to require reducing everyone to the lowest common denominator
In Others’ Words
- Chris Rickert at Wisconsin State Journal defended the ‘Liberal’ name
- Atheists tried to work out how aggressive they ought to be
- Newsleader published a piece on everyday experience informing moral discussions
- The Guardian reported, in light of some New Yorker works, that David Cameron is having difficulty realizing his political philosophy
- A Coastal Carolina University lecturer published a book on philosophy and Facebook
- Glenn Beck lambasted the news media’s coverage of the current election season
- Southern California Public Radio wondered whether or not DNA defines your ideology (see the PDF they link to, also)
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TPP Weekly Rewind
Monday, October 11 – Friday, October 15
TPP Week-In-Review
- On Monday, Han reviewed Israel’s decision to require new citizens to declare loyalty to a “Jewish and democratic state,” and argued that Israel cannot call itself pluralistic
- On Tuesday, Han examined dogmatism’s effect on democratic deliberation in light of a recent video for the “10:10” campaign, and Charles considered the deeper implications of whether or not people should be allowed to hang their laundry out to dry
- On Wednesday, Jake spoke out against the unfortunate influence and use of money in elections, and suggested we consider banning political TV ads
- On Thursday, Han reported on the possibility for cyclic third-party neglect, and pointed us to a specific case in the California gubernatorial race, and Charles linked us to some interesting information on Icelandic culture before explaining would be required to improve our culture
In Others’ Words
- William Grimes reported on the death of famous moral philosopher Philippa Foot for the New York Times
- Steve McCann called President Obama a “liar and demagogue” at American Thinker
- According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, local Virginia politicians warn of the onset of socialism in America
- USA Today’s Faith & Reason blog recounted Philippa Foot’s famous ‘Trolley Problem’, and shared some tributes to Foot
- Charles Barclay reviewed Amartya Sen’s latest book on social justice for The Morung Express
- Leiter Reports shared the results of his ‘most significant moral philosophers of the 20th-century’ poll
- Musalman Times explained the Islamic influences on John Locke
- BBC’s Will & Testament blog shared a list of news articles concerning religion and ethics from this week
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TPP Weekly Rewind
Monday, October 4 – Friday, October 8
TPP Week-In-Review
- On Monday, Han pointed us to a piece at The National Review, in which Jonah Goldberg criticized liberals who legislate without considering the constitutionality of their legislation, and Charles examined distortion and libel in light of the recent film about Facebook’s origins, The Social Network
- On Tuesday, Charles mentioned a recent Rutgers suicide case before discussing questions concerning murder and unintentional death, bullying, and privacy
- On Wednesday, Han defended McDonald’s Happy Meals against a proposed ban in San Francisco, and guest poster Joanna Langille reflected on the decision of Ontario’s Superior Court to strike down federal laws criminalizing prostitution by tracing human dignity in Western intellectual history and explaining what it means for the prostitution debate
- On Thursday, Sam examined a recent attempt to limit what food stamp users can purchase to get at a deeper question concerning government authority and individual autonomy, and Charles criticized ‘silly laws’ like the one prohibiting firefighters from saving the house of a Tennessee who didn’t pay their annual $75 fee
In Others’ Words
- Matt Lewis explained at Politics Daily why ‘red herring’ candidates may end up helping diehard conservatives
- Ian Boyne claimed for The Gleaner that there is a conspiracy against tolerance
- Robert Wilson defined ‘conservative’, and claimed a number of people are incorrect in calling themselves by that name
- Rob Long, for The National Review, playfully decided that conservatives should defend complicated toilets from zealous environmentalists
- David Murdter discussed for The Cornell Daily Sun, in his ‘Column to Restore Rationality’, the two rallies to be put on by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert
- Greatly influential moral philosopher Philippa Foot died on Sunday
- Judy Lin reported for the AP that Carly Fiorina, Senate candidate from California, developed her conservative philosophy rather early
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TPP Weekly Rewind
Monday, September 27 – Friday, October 1
TPP Week-In-Review
- On Monday, Jake defended the role of the free market in managing public services in response to a New York Times report on the privatization of some public libraries, and Charles pointed to several cases of sexual hypocrisy and tragedy, blaming them on theological conservatism’s creation of strict taboos
- On Tuesday, Han argued in favor of American military might and intervention abroad, especially in light of China’s rise to power, and Charles argued that the debate over public school library blacklists distracts from a larger and more important discussion on how children should be raised
- On Wednesday, John suggested that religion and religious conflict has rarely been about actual theological content, and pointed to a recent Pew poll illustrating Americans’ ignorance of their own religion as evidence (take the poll yourself), and Luke argued for a parental prerogative to raise children according to certain values and ideas in response to Han’s post on Tuesday
- On Thursday, Charles claimed that while targeted sanctions on some Iranian officials are morally unproblematic, larger economic sanctions against the whole of Iran could be as harmful as a war
In Others’ Words
- Jeff Sharlet wrote for Mother Jones on how the C Street Family has gone global
- Larry Arnhart at Darwinian Conservatism reviewed a book by John Hare on Aristotle’s Platonic Religion, and discussed whether morality can survive without religious belief
- A writer-member at The Seminal claimed that the Left-Right paradigm is over
- Patrick Deneen at Front Porch Republic discussed the difference between classical liberalism and conservatism in order to show that America is, actually, liberal
- Miles Unterreiner reviewed Craig Biddles’ talk on Objectivism for The Stanford Daily
- Andy Stern claimed at The Huffington Post that there is actually a progressive candidate in the Florida Senate race, and that you should vote for her
- Alexandre Erler, for Oxford’s Practical Ethics, asks if we should get rid of carnivores if we could
- The new National Research Council’s rankings of graduate programs have been a total disaster
- Dale Jamieson and Robert Elliot have come up with a new kind of consequentialism, called ‘progressive consequentialism’
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TPP Weekly Rewind
Sunday, September 19 – Friday, September 24
TPP Week-In-Review
- On Sunday, Jake pointed to a famous hypothetical situation in ethics, called ‘the trolley problem’, and some of the light it sheds on civilian deaths during wartime and military insubordination
- On Monday, Han compared American and Chinese efforts to create a ‘green’ economy in light of Thomas Friedman’s New York Times Op-Ed before exploring the differences between the two countries’ political systems that would affect those efforts, and Charles laid out some evocative ethical questions in the wake of the realization that demand for medical services will always outstrip the ability to meet that demand
- On Tuesday, Han agreed with Damon Linker’s suggestion that some religious beliefs can be inappropriate for a democratically-elected politician, and explained his position by reference to some of John Rawls’ thoughts on justice in liberal societies; Luke reflected on a New York Times article about the ethical implications of certain kinds of clinical trials for new drugs, and suggested a solution to an apparent problem with these trials; and Charles defended liberal democratic societies like our own in response to Han’s post on Monday, which highlighted some of the advantages of technocratic or authoritarian governments like that of China
- On Wednesday, Ethan was particularly critical of the three American hikers detained in Iran since 2009; Jake explained the theoretical significance of John Stewart’s and Stephen Colbert’s upcoming political rallies, as well as some concerns the rallies might raise; and John wondered whether Tea Party favorite Christine O’Donnell was wrong in refusing to give any more national interviews before offering some seething criticisms of the Tea Party, O’Donnell herself, and the national mood in general
- On Thursday, Han pointed us to a Time piece by Adam Cohen disparaging Supreme Court Justice Scalia for his ‘originalist’ interpretation of the Constitution; Charles looked at the Supreme Court’s refusal to overturn the death sentence of a borderline mentally-disabled Virginia woman, and argued that the death penalty might not be justified by pointing to its effectiveness as a deterrent of future crimes; and Sam noted the amount of philosophical language in new Republican rhetoric, indicated that the party’s plan relies very much on the repeal of previous legislation, and asked “whether it’s right to govern by appeal”
In Others’ Words
- 411mania explored Tea Party Senate Candidate Christine O’Donnell’s views on sexuality and religion, especially masturbation
- For The Atlantic, Gabriella Coleman took an anthropological look at hackers, and provided some interesting information on the politics of hacking
- The Philosophers’ Magazine shared another part of its Ideas of the Century series
- The Harvard Crimson reported that some ethics courses are making a big splash on campus
- A politics.co.uk piece defended an recent and apparently anti-capitalist statement by Vince Cable, a British Member of Parliament
- Joe Carter for First Thoughts criticized governmental attempts to undermine some conspiracy theories
- A News Tribune piece called New Gingrich ‘factually insane’ about President Obama
- Youtube user ThinkingMatters posted a debate between atheist philosopher Raymond Bradley and Christian philosopher/blogger Matt Flannagan on whether or not God is the source of morality
- IndyPosted reported on the stir created by President Obama’s omission of the words ‘their Creator’ when quoting the Founders during an address to the Congressional Hispanic Congress
- The Japan Times again reported on Harvard Professor Michael Sandel’s incredible popularity in Japan
- Fairer Globalization posted an interesting piece explaining and exploring the booming popularity of political philosophy in Japan
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TPP Weekly Rewind
Monday, September 13 – Friday, September 17
TPP Week-In-Review
- On Monday, Sam criticized Democratic politicians’ campaign strategy of hiding their party affiliation as dangerous to our democratic system, and Charles discussed the duty to defend something you believe to be morally wrong because it is the law of the land in light of a recent California ruling against Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
- On Tuesday, Charles examined the state of education in the US and entertained the suggestion that elitism is the largest roadblock to educational reform, and Luke defended General David Petraeus’ denouncement of a Florida church’s plan to burn copies of the Koran
- On Wednesday, Han condemned the news media’s obsession over Rev. Terry Jones, the Florida minister who planned to burn the Koran, as unfortunate and harmful ‘voyeurism’, and guest poster Ryan Berg analyzed arguments for the ‘childfree’ movement, which discourages parenting, before suggesting some valid criticisms
- On Thursday, Charles asked whether it is appropriate to appropriate for countries like France to use heavy-handed law to force secularization in the name of cultural assimilation, and suggested that such secularization attempts violate basic rights to religious expression
In Others’ Words
- Practical Ethics wondered whether the UK’s HPV vaccination program is unethical
- A Kentucky man sued Plato
- Gordon Marion at The New York Times’ The Stone connection boxing and philosophy
- Taiwan News reported on a Vietnam publisher’s struggles to publish some Western political classics
- Grateful To The Dead argued CS Lewis was “medieval in the very warp and woof of his thought“
- Power Line presented an interview with Harvard Professor Harvey Mansfield
- Sinistre and Destre’s Noumenal Realm offered three interesting reflections on Friedrich Nietzsche
- David Gordon at Lew Rockwell wrote on Harvard Professor Harvard Sandel’s discussion the three main competing views of justice
- Just Above Sunset criticized conservatism qua nostalgia
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TPP Weekly Rewind
Monday, September 6 – Friday, September 10
TPP Week-In-Review
- On Tuesday, Luke criticized Han’s post in defense of drone attacks in Pakistan from last Friday, and Charles differentiated between demand-side economics and supply-side economics before suggesting an alternative, middle-ground position
- On Wednesday, Han reviewed a piece in The National Review by Pascal Bruckner diagnosing Europe of a sort of ‘self-hatred’, and suggested national guilt might be a very good thing
- On Thursday, Charles evaluated the moral issues to be struggled with before deciding for or against the legalization of prostitution, and discussed arguments in a debate at the Economist on that subject, and Jake shared arguments for a number of interesting but ‘dangerous’ ideas like abolishing primary elections, infant euthanasia, moral eugenics, fat tax, and feminist polygamy
In Others’ Words
- Rust Belt Philosophy had another installment of its ‘Good idea, bad idea’ post series – this time on sexual ethics
- Monterey Bay Forum claimed ‘Islam is a political philosophy’ which unduly makes non-Muslims second-class citizens
- Janet Daley wrote for the Telegraph that the Labour Party has been corrupted, and called for some fresh thinking
- The Glenn Beck Review discussed the eponymous talk show host’s admission that he does not know much about President Obama’s faith
- William Barth at Al Gore Videos argued that the Republican party is in danger of marginalization, and gave the party some advice
- Edgar at Florida Student Philosophy Blog argued that libertarians should endorse social minimum policies, or welfare programs
- Jeff Riggenbach wrote for Prison Planet on Stanley Milgram’s obedience to authority experiments in the 70’s in response to an old question: why do people obey the commands of the government?
- Philosophy In A Time Of Error commented on Stuart Elden’s all-time ranking of philosophers
- Michael Cohen at Democracy Arsenal lambasted General David Petraeus for being ‘out of line’ on the recent Koran-burning issue
- Liberarian Tibor Machan discussed the validity of believing we have a distinct human nature and set of natural rights for Right Side News
- An article at AntiWar tried to explain an alleged renewal in conservative attacks against Islam in the US
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TPP Weekly Rewind
Monday, August 30-Friday, September 3
TPP Week-In-Review
- On Monday, Sam explored a change in a race-based policy at an elementary school in Mississippi and explained its larger meaning, and Charles pointed to an interesting Project Syndicate series on free trade before discussing criticisms and benefits of a free trade approach
- On Tuesday, Luke evaluated Glenn Beck’s recent criticism of President Obama’s religious beliefs; Charles suggested, in light of some news about Mexican federal police, that criminal punishment might not be enough to end corruption; and Ethan differentiated between and discussed different environmental protection philosophies in response to a New York Times op-ed on wilderness areas
- On Wednesday, Han traced the possible moral connections between the destruction of human embryos and the use of stem cells in research, and John argued against the Governor of Arizona’s response to the State Department on the issue of immigration law
- On Thursday, Charles disparaged the suggestion, from people like the recent hostage taker at the Discovery Channel headquarters, that human civilization needs to dismantle in the name of the environment; Luke continued his investigation of CEO salaries and lauded politicians’ recent decision to require companies to release the pay ratio between CEOs and normal employees; and Jake expanded on his piece in today’s Christian Science Monitor by considering America’s moral responsibility for the Mexican drug war
In Others’ Words
- Philosophy In A Time Of Error criticized Larval Subjects for forgetting Michel Foucault in a recent discussion of Martha Nussbaum and ethical thought
- Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair wrote a piece on a couple of the most recent US presidents and the American Character for Time
- Larry Arhart at Darwinian Conservatism wrote of Aristotle as a biologist, and connected the philosopher to Charles Darwin
- Some folks at xkcd are having an interesting conversation about free will
- Gene Kinsey at Living The Grand Life wrote in opposition to perceived Islamophobia
- According to BBC News, one course at Oxford University dominates all of Britain
- Practical Ethics, arguably Oxford’s version of TPP, posted about equality and rules in sports about illegal enhancements
- Philosophy, et cetera wrote about the morals behind bad voting and abstaining from voting
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