Insert Philosophy Here

Today, we assume and demand that government by at the consent of the governed. It was not always so. 17th century philosopher John Locke established the concept of government as a convenience, as a service we can hire and fire if it does not serve our interests.

The dominant paradigm in astrophysics is that the universe began in a “big bang,” probably from a singularity, and that the universe, the very fabric of space itself, has been expanding ever since. But does that paradigm of the expanding universe hold up in the face of evidence?

Do you remember Pet Rocks? You need to be older to remember them, but here’s a good history of them. The Pet Rock was the ultimate triumph of marketing over substance. Seeing the recent increase in the number of books and articles about Stoicism reminds me of Pet Rocks. I explain why in this episode.

In recent years, there has been concern about the role of the digital world in movements and forces that could be considered to be anti-democracy. But what, if anything, has the online world changed in the public sphere and democracy that could potentially contribute to anti-democratic behavior? To address this broad question, I bring together several current threads in social philosophy. #Democracy #Populism #SocialMedia

This week marks the one-year anniversary of this podcast, but more importantly, it is the one-year anniversary of Putin's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. In this week's episode, I focus on two questions: why do some people who claim to be anti-war refuse to be against Putin's war, and what factors led them to hold such a hypocritical position.

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What are UFOs? It is a surprisingly emotional subject. A large percentage of people who come across this article will read very little of it, having already assumed their preferred conclusion, and not take seriously the argument I am presenting. I hope that does not include you, dear reader. I wrote this to try to have a discussion about the issues rather than the current non-discussion of entrenched ideologies and people talking past each other. UFOs are real phenomena that we should be exploring, but we aren’t. I am exploring why that might be.

I've moved to a new podcast: https://dgilesphd.substack.com/podcast

Much of the defense of capitalism takes the positives of free enterprise and incorrectly attributes them to capitalism and much of the condemnation of capitalism incorrectly includes free enterprise in that condemnation. To have a fruitful, honest discussion, we need to get past errors and propaganda.

The words “woke” and “wokeness” have recently entered the political lexicon. These words puzzle me as to what they mean and why people use them. “Woke” and “wokeness” are used mostly, if not exclusively, as an insult. They are used mostly, if not exclusively, by the Right. In our current memeocene epoch, the “woke” insult is often attached to an attack meme, whining about an alleged “wokeness.” What is this "wokeness?"

To “go vegan” is a legitimate dietary choice, but I am about to become a heretic in the vegan evangelists’ eyes, because I will dare to question the vegan dogma. There are multiple fallacies in the vegan ideology but for brevity, in this article, I will concentrate on the “veganism will save the planet” claim. It’s about the climate crisis. Veganism demands the wrong solution by attacking the wrong culprits.

Dr, Taber's Twitter Thread: https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1006363772838170629

How We Are and How We Got Here: A Practical History of Western Philosophy

ISBN: 978-1-7358808-8-4.e-book: https://amzn.to/3I42f1S. Paperback: https://amzn.to/3Wz78V9.

A fresh and original presentation that is easy for students, instructors, and general readers to use. This well-written, insightful history of philosophy is basic enough to be understood by those with no prior experience with philosophy but sophisticated enough to inform further those with some knowledge of philosophy.