Course Notes

Course Notes – Immanuel Kant, Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals

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by Daniel A. Kaufman http://www.inp.uw.edu.pl/mdsie/Political_Thought/Kant%20-%20groundwork%20for%20the%20metaphysics%20of%20morals%20with%20essays.pdf I’ve just finished two rounds of teaching Kant’s moral philosophy – once for my introductory level Ethics and Contemporary Issues course and again, for my upper-division Theories of Ethics course – so it seemed like a good time to give our favorite deontologist his time in Course Notes.  (Actually, my favorite deontologist is W.D. Ross, […]

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Essay

Nationalism and Mythical Thinking

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by Mark English A lot of nonsense is talked about “destiny.” I’m referring here to the idea that individuals or groups can be seen to have some kind of pre-existing or pre-ordained path to fulfillment that they may discover and embrace. Certainly, given an individual, say, at a particular stage of life, there are choices he or she may make – […]

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Announcement

Please Welcome The Electric Agora’s Newest Contributor: Margaret Rowley

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Margaret Rowley is a PhD student in ethnomusicology at Boston University, where she works variously on music and gender, nationalism, and torture. Her academic influences come from a broadening array of disciplines, including anthropology, philosophy, and sociology; she is a passionate, if concerned, advocate for the humanities in higher education. Prior to her time at Boston University, she completed degrees […]

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Essay

What Should We Do When Values Clash? Moving Forward On Campus Debates

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By Daniel Tippens An abridged version of this essay originally appeared here on Quillette Magazine. In 2016, allegations of sexual harassment against Thomas Pogge, an internationally recognized professor of philosophy, came to public light. Accusations against him had been made by other students in the past, but the most widely publicized claims were brought by Fernanda Lopez Aguilar, who said […]

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Essay

Violence and Identity

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by E. John Winner “I wouldn’t have it any other way” The Wild Bunch is a 1969 film directed by Sam Peckinpah (written by Peckinpah and Walon Green) [1]. Nominally a Western, it tells the story of a gang of aging outlaws in the days leading up to their last gun battle. After a failed payroll robbery, in which more […]

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Essay

Trigger Locke

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by Dwayne Holmes A recent video discussion posted at The Electric Agora tried to pin down the history and definition of “classical liberalism.” [1] This largely agreed with my own understanding. However, at one point Dan and David addressed Social Contract theory, particularly as derived from John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government. There, Locke contrasted life in the state of […]

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Essay

Political Myth, Conspiracy and Foreign Policy

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by Mark English Apparently a number of highly-placed representatives of the intelligence community were recently taken in by a fanciful report concerning Donald Trump’s sexual activities during a visit to Moscow. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov branded the former MI6 officer who authored the report in question a “swindler” who trades in “absurdities.” The Russian President also weighed in, suggesting […]

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