Electric Agora (archive)

Tag: Cultural Criticism

  • Reason and the Post-Human

    by Daniel A. Kaufman In “Excessive Reason,” an essay I published in these pages last year, I argued that mainline philosophy is characterized by a pervasive and systematic rationalism, the main characteristics of which I summarized as follows: The acceptability of a belief, activity, practice, institution, etc., rests entirely on whether or not it can…

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

    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…

  • Why Rational People End Up In Echo Chambers

    By Daniel Tippens In the wake of Donald Trump’s election, many have been searching for explanations for his victory.  Some anti-Trumpers cite sexism or nation-wide xenophobia, a distaste for the establishment, and so on.  Some Trumpers point to a distaste for politically correct culture, dissatisfaction with the Obama administration’s economic policies, and Clinton’s email scandal.…

  • Facebook, Siri, and the World of Illusory Experience

    By Dan Tippens In Roger William’s The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect, a quantum super computer, Prime Intellect, operating on an essentially utilitarian calculus, decides that it would be best for mankind if he were to upload everyone to cyberspace, so that he could protect them from every manner of harm, give them as many possessions and…

  • New York Diary Part II

    Read The New York Diary Part I here. Being the experiences and adventures of a young, single, appallingly poor, surprisingly clean, twenty-something magazine proprietor and philosopher in Gotham. By Daniel Tippens In Manhattan, renting an apartment involves three actors: the customer, the broker, and the landlord. Brokers have access to two types of properties: Exclusive…

  • A New Liberalism

    By David Ottlinger Nathan Heller of the New Yorker recently made a substantial contribution to the contemporary debate over campus life. [1] Most of the article consisted of a report on the university and politics, and as someone who has been watching recent events at America’s college campuses, I appreciated all the new information. In…

  • Goldsteinism in San Francisco

    By David Ottlinger On a bright, cold day in April (actually it was late March), undergraduate Cory Goldstein was on his San Francisco State University campus. [1] He was confronted by two fellow students, both African American, who stood in his path. Goldstein is white. The first, a young woman, looked up to the second…

  • What Ails our Discourse?

    By David Ottlinger Only recently, I was on a long drive through the Midwest visiting family over the holidays. Driving through the Midwest, of course, means driving through hundreds of miles of cornfields until the grinding sameness wears you down. Then you have to stop at a fast food chain or, if you are lucky,…

  • Derivative Plots, Sequels and Reboots: Defending The Force Awakens

      By David Kyle Johnson It seems odd to have to defend one of the highest grossing movies of all time [1], but criticisms of JJ Abrams Star Wars reboot “The Force Awakens” can be found everywhere: Vox [2], Sacred Matters [3], The Atlantic [4], Entertainment Weekly [ ]… I could go on and on. But they all seem to…