Depending on when you start counting – and depending on who’s doing the counting – Jews and Arabs have been at war in Palestine since the first implementation of the Balfour Declaration in the early 1920’s, or since the Naqba… Read More ›
Social and Political Philosophy
RIGHTEOUS KILLING
Most of us draw the distinction – and thankfully the law does too – between celebrating an illegal act and advocating one, and then between advocating one and inciting one. For example, I’ve made no secret that I thought 9/11… Read More ›
OF BIGOTRY AND CONSERVATISM
Some people think there are too many people in the world. Others think they’re just not properly distributed. That is, too much food is where the locals don’t need it, and too little of it is where the locals do…. Read More ›
THE TOWER OF BABEL
Worrying about exactly how many Israelis were killed on October 7, or exactly how many Palestinians have been killed since, is a bit like debating whether the Holocaust killed six million, seven, or only five. Let’s just say that ’39… Read More ›
TRUTH AND CODDLING
For the past decade or so, there’s been a movement among woke faculty and administrators to do away with the pursuit of truth full stop as the raison d’être of the academy, and to do so under the guise of… Read More ›
INSTITUTIONAL NEUTRALITY
There was a time … But was there? Was there ever a time when universities were ideology-neutral, save for that minimal set of commitments required for universities to perform their function? Thinking there was is a bit like Trump wanting… Read More ›
SUPREMACY
I’ve always had trouble with the concept of supremacy. I think I understand it when it’s used aspirationally. I’m hoping that the Chiefs best the 49-ers in the upcoming Superbowl. Or predictively. I’m betting that the Chiefs best the 49-ers…. Read More ›
ATROCITY VS HISTORY
When it happened a long time ago it’s called history. When it happened a shorter time ago, or it’s happening today, it’s called an atrocity. Think about what it was like to be an Amalekite. Fast forward to the Viking… Read More ›
KILLING AND LETTING DIE
Is there a moral distinction between killing and letting die? There would have to be, since otherwise we’d be culpably responsible for the millions of people who die every year because we didn’t feed them. And that’s a burden too… Read More ›
THE RELEVANCE OF SOME CONCEPTS OF LAW TO CONTEMPORARY CANCEL CULTURE
We can worry about the ontology of law, moral or legal, when we’re more at our leisure. But whether moral or legal, it’s an axiom of law that all is permitted save what is prohibited. This is because listing permissions… Read More ›
Paulosophical Vimplications 