Philosophy

Human, All Too Human: A Poem

December 29, 2010 @ 12:26 am

I wrote this in a strong, rebellious Nietzsche phase in Nov. 1999: Human, All Too Human What beast is Man! Cruel and mean-spirited Conformity is the master plan Individuality has faded To be different is to be outcast Mindlessly follow the herd mentality The disease spreads fast Don’t deviate from the herd morality!

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Behind the Scenes of Atlas Shrugged

July 31, 2010 @ 11:04 pm

About a month and a half ago, in Atlas Shrugged movie finally filming?!, Jacob Huebert updated us on the Atlas Shrugged movie. Now, thanks to Reason Magazine and Reason.tv, we are privileged to see behind-the-scenes footage and interviews. I’ll admit I was leery of the current iteration of the project, but I am somewhat reassured [...]

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Summary: Korsgaard's Sources of Normativity

December 29, 2009 @ 1:17 pm

In an undergrad philosophy class on problems in ethical theory, taught by libertarian James Stacey Taylor (who introduced me to the IHS), we were required to write 300-words-or-less summaries of each chapter of the philosophy books we were reading. It’s not easy summarizing 10-30 pages of academic philosophy into 300 words or less, and such [...]

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Liberty, Virtue, and the Autobot Way

December 8, 2009 @ 6:02 pm

That was to be the subtitle for my chapter in Open Court‘s recent addition to their Popular Culture and Philosophy series, Transformers and Philosophy: More Than Meets the Mind. Alas, no subtitles made it into the book. I have received official permission to provide a pdf copy of my chapter, “Freedom Is the Right of [...]

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Aristotle's Prime Mover

December 4, 2009 @ 9:05 am

This is from a page of notes I put together in grad school for a presentation on Aristotle’s Prime Mover. Sources: De Anima III.5, Metaphysics XII (especially 7 & 9), Physics VIII (especially 8-10). PDF version. Characteristics of the Prime Mover (Divine Nous) First principle First mover (logically, not temporally); itself unmoved and unmovable/unalterable Substance [...]

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Teaching

October 10, 2009 @ 2:36 am

Curriculum Vitae | Current Projects | Teaching Experience | Syllabi | Teaching Philosophy Current Projects Teaching PSCN115: Introduction to Politics (Buena Vista University) Course Development Introduction to Political Philosophy (Mises Academy) Teaching Experience Adjunct Instructor, Buena Vista University — Graduate & Professional Studies, March 2009–Present Online Courses Taught: PSCN115: Introduction to Politics PSCN110: Introduction to American [...]

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Oughtism and Its Cure

May 29, 2009 @ 2:06 pm

I decided to rename my blog “Is-Ought GAP: The Cure for Oughtism,” simultaneously turning separate eristic jokes by Stephan Kinsella and another libertarian on their heads.1 The following are some excerpts from two sections of one chapter of Veatch’s For an Ontology of Morals: A Critique of Contemporary Ethical Theory. Veatch calls the mentality he [...]

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My dissertation is completed, approved and now online

January 21, 2009 @ 2:01 pm

Well, I finally finished my dissertation and now it’s available online for anyone to read. I actually defended it on December 2nd. My committee approved it under the condition that I make some revisions, which is not an unusual occurrence. They mainly wanted me to flesh out and clarify some things in chapters five and [...]

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