Philosophy
John McCain said,
Instead, we can just look at the idea that the train wreck on the ground in Iraq has no history, there's no cause and effect, after all no one actually made judgments in that case, right, judgments that might say something meaningful about one's ability to make good judgments about topics like, say, I don't know, foreign policy.
This, of course, is not to say that there are not important markers concerning one's capabilities of deciding on important issues concerning foreign affairs. It just turns out that they have nothing to do with actual foreign policy decisions. The place to look for such crucial indicators is, of course, a matter of flag pins.
Stupid has become institutionalized.
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From Hanno: The latest flap over John Kerry is solid bullshit and it amazes me how the Republican party can take absolutely nothing, turn it into a political issue, and have the press run with it. Kerry said "You know, education -- if you make the most...
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Philosophy
Through the Looking Glass
John McCain said,
"We can look back at the past and argue about whether we should have gone to war or not, whether we should have invaded or not, and that?s a good academic argument."Let's set aside the idea that anything academic is trivial because, you know, people who are trained to understand things like history, ethics, and political science to the highest degree possible certainly wouldn't have anything meaningful to contribute to conversations about policy.
Instead, we can just look at the idea that the train wreck on the ground in Iraq has no history, there's no cause and effect, after all no one actually made judgments in that case, right, judgments that might say something meaningful about one's ability to make good judgments about topics like, say, I don't know, foreign policy.
This, of course, is not to say that there are not important markers concerning one's capabilities of deciding on important issues concerning foreign affairs. It just turns out that they have nothing to do with actual foreign policy decisions. The place to look for such crucial indicators is, of course, a matter of flag pins.
Stupid has become institutionalized.
- Drill Here, Drill Now: Return Of Cage And Frame
As if we didn't know it would return. The rhetorical trick called "cage and frame" is used when a politician has an entire subject he wants to keep from discussing, hiding it safely out of view in a rhetorical cage. Candidates usually take their...
- What Are The Most Pressing Moral Issues Today?
Regular readers know I've been working on a book called Was It Morally Good for You, Too?: A How-To Guide to Ethics in Sex, Politics, and Other Dirty Words. The idea is to present a readable, funny, but robust framework in which to meaningfully discuss...
- Hanno On Kerry
From Hanno: The latest flap over John Kerry is solid bullshit and it amazes me how the Republican party can take absolutely nothing, turn it into a political issue, and have the press run with it. Kerry said "You know, education -- if you make the most...
- Sins Of The Left: The Moral Poverty Of Ethical Subjectivism
When I teach ethics, the most common view in the room is Ethical Subjectivism, that moral judgments are purely a matter of personal decision. Everyone has his or her own ethical system and the fact that you consider an act morally right means that, for...
- The Importance Of Recognition
I'm in full dissertation mode. It has been hard to post regularly or even think about non-dissertation-related topics. So, I've decided to write about what I've been thinking about in relation to the dissertation. In the past few months,...