You and I allow each other to freely be in each other’s presence on condition that we won’t misbehave. Were this not so we’d all still be cowering in our caves, “and the life of man solitary, poor, nasty, brutish,… Read More ›
Social and Political Philosophy
NECESSITATED HYPOCRISY
There are a few things that I get that other people don’t. If this weren’t so I wouldn’t be of much use to them, now would I? So no, since it’s not hubris, no apology warranted, so none forthcoming. And… Read More ›
IN DEFENCE … NO, MAKE THAT IN PRAISE, OF OMAR KHADR
Here’s a newsflash for all those American servicemen serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. And for their wives. When you enlist in a nation’s armed forces, there’s an understanding that at some point you may be asked to go off somewhere… Read More ›
WHAT’S WRONG WITH THOSE TRUTHERS?
The nineteen martyrs of 9/11 were never charged let alone convicted of a crime. This is because – so as not to squander precious prosecutorial resources – we tend not to indict dead people. But now let’s suppose the Truthers… Read More ›
SOME CONFIDENTIALITY DILEMMAS
Most people have their smart phone in their pocket at all times. Most smart phones are also recording devises. If there’s any chance it’ll be a “he said, she said”, stick your hand in your pocket and press the record… Read More ›
CHALLENGE versus RIDICULE
Much as I’d sometimes like to be, I’m not a knee-jerk civil libertarian. I understand that the maintenance – and before that the promotion – of a civil society sometimes requires limits to freedom of movement, of association, of expression,… Read More ›
TWO LECTURES YOU WON’T GET AT LAW SCHOOL
LESSON 1: NATURAL LAW AND POSITIVE LAW There are, among the Great Unwashed – that’s everybody except me, by the way – some pretty serious misconceptions about law. Some people, including some philosophers, think there’s something called natural law, by… Read More ›
THE TRUTH-ABOUT-SNEEZING MOVEMENT
Consider the following two claims: 1) Sneezing could provoke an attack from Mars. 2) Anthropogenic climate change may have contributed to the civil war in Syria. Both of these statements are undoubtedly true, since all they mean is 1) There’s… Read More ›
FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE SOCIALISTS
Martin Niemoller (1892-1984) spoke these words in 1946. In an interview many years later he confessed with regret that he hadn’t thought to write it down. So it’s not surprising that versions of it have since proliferated. Nevertheless, as good… Read More ›
SLAVERY
Because I’m now two-thirds of a century old I’m allowed to be a curmudgeon. I don’t say things like, “Why can’t they mow their lawn?!”, but I do ask, “Why can’t my students write in proper English sentences?!” But what… Read More ›
