Western Philosophy
Lessons in Leadership From John Kelly's Favorite Book
The Friday Cover<p>The Friday Cover is POLITICO Magazine's email of the week's best, delivered to your inbox every Friday morning.<p>How a novel from the 1930s can help the White House chief of staff navigate the Trump administration.<p>When powerful people cite books as their lodestars, they often favor …
Ralph Waldo EmersonThe Friendship That Created Behavioral Economics
A conversation with Michael Lewis about his new book on the research of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky<p>The term “the economic man,” or homo economicus, is attributed to John Stuart Mill. It represents one way economists have studied people for decades—as rational, self-interested actors whose …
British PhilosophyThe ethics of restricting speech on social media
There are good reasons for tech companies to prohibit hate speech on their platforms. But their status as private organizations is not one of them.<p>As …
British PhilosophyGeorge Berkeley and the power of words
According to a picture of language that has enjoyed wide popularity throughout the history of Western philosophy, language is a tool for making our …
British PhilosophyBuilding a Campus Antifascist Network
Antifa protesters link arms as they demonstrate at a rally on June 4, 2017, in Portland, Oregon. (Photo: Natalie Behring / Getty Images)<p>Given that …
British PhilosophyTechnology could make us immortal. But there will be consequences.
Immortality has gone secular. Unhooked from the realm of gods and angels, it's now the subject of serious investment — both intellectual and …
British PhilosophyTrendy Celebrity Baby Names That Are on the Rise
We all love raising our eyebrows at “crazy” celebrity baby names, but for every one-of-a-kind star-baby name (looking at you, Rumi and Sir), there are dozens of mainstream ones that sit quietly in the background (hello, Ella and Alexander).<p>Lately, several celebrities have picked girls’ names that …
Ralph Waldo Emerson‘Antifa’ Protesters United by Extreme Protest Tactics
It's pronounced AN-ti-fa — short for anti-fascists — and it is arguably either a violent far-left militia or a group of human rights activists so …
Cornel WestIs Giving People a Choice Always a Good Idea?
Giving people a choice might sound like it’s always a good thing to do, but giving a choice between two forms of moral failure is cruel.<p>It is not …
Morality20 Philosophical Quotes on the Nature of Friendship
What is friendship? How many types of friendship can we recognize and in what degree shall we seek each of them? Several of the greatest philosophers …
Henry David ThoreauThe Atlantic Civil War Reader
A look back at how the magazine covered the conflict as it unfolded.<p>In 1857, after decades of legislative compromises, slave rebellions, and sectional squabbles, the United States stood poised on a knife’s edge. That year, the Supreme Court ruled in the notorious <i>Dred Scott</i> case that black people …
Ralph Waldo EmersonAre We Different Writers When We Move From Longhand to a Screen?
“Writing,” as Voltaire’s famous maxim goes, “is the painting of the voice.” But it’s never been quite as simple as that. It’s easy to look back with …
Martin HeideggerThe alt-right loves Nietzsche, but Nietzsche would not love them
No expression of far-right idiocy is complete without a macho misreading of Nietzsche. So frequently miscast as the godfather of everything from the …
Friedrich NietzscheThe Best Places to Source Mid-Century Homewares in Paris
If you’re on the lookout for the best of last century’s interior decor, bookmark these Parisian Instagram feeds immédiatement<p>There is arguably no …
Martin HeideggerThe Confederacy Was About Slavery, Not Progressivism
“Modern-day progressivism is one of the Confederacy’s most enduring legacies in America today. Whether they realize it or not, progressives …
Ralph Waldo EmersonTweeting @ Thoreau
Aug 18, 2017<p>20 Min read time<p><i>Walden</i> is often championed as an anti-technology manifesto. But this misses the value Thoreau found in conversations …
Henry David ThoreauRebuilding the Public Square after Charlottesville
We must chart out an alternative approach to politics.<p>The riots and violence in Charlottesville accentuate, like the tired chorus of a far-too-long …
Henry David ThoreauWhite Cultural Heritage Doesn't Exist. The West Is Open To All
The Nazi LARPers and Confederate cosplayers at Charlottesville, along with their alt-right supporters, frequently justify themselves by claiming to …
Greek PhilosophyTrump after Charlottesville
From ProPublica, here are the hate incidents against mosques and Islamic centers since 2013. Military commanders’ rebuke of Trump after …
British Philosophyfor centuries
Not feeling the love from the sun and moon, Philadelphia, with only a partial solar eclipse on tap Monday? You don’t know the half of it.<p>Read more …
American PhilosophyThe 2 Hour Rule: The Genius of Einstein, Darwin, and Nietzsche Applied
This curated column is authored by Zat Rana<p>Albert Einstein was 16 years old when he first flirted with the idea of special relativity.<p>He was a …
Friedrich NietzscheThe alt-right is drunk on bad readings of Nietzsche. The Nazis were too.
The alt-right is obsessed with the 19th-century German philosopher. They don’t understand him.<p>“You could say I was red-pilled by Nietzsche.”<p>That’s how white nationalist leader Richard Spencer described his intellectual awakening to the Atlantic’s Graeme Wood in June. “Red-pilled” is a common …
Friedrich NietzscheThe Human Carnage From Billionaires Trying to Carve Up the Planet to Build Their Empires Is Astounding
Raoul Peck, the Haitian filmmaker, opens his new film – Der Junge Karl Marx (2017) – in the forests of Prussia. Peasants gather fallen wood. They …
Karl MarxPeople Demanding Removal of Confederate Statues Mock the Reason They Were Erected in the First Place
In the wake of a tragic weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia, many have renewed the call to remove certain statues from public display — namely those …
American PhilosophyHere's What Trump Is Talking About When He Refers To Antifa As The "Alt-Left"
When President Donald Trump insisted that there should be blame placed upon the “Alt-Left” for the violence that erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia …
Cornel WestTo fix algorithmic bias, we first need to fix ourselves
In 2014, two 18-year-old girls found an unlocked kid’s bicycle and a Razor scooter in a residential area of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Sade Jones and Brisha Borden decided to ride them a couple of blocks, laughing at how big they felt on the tiny frames. Hours later, they were thrown in jail and …
Fort LauderdaleHow ancient cultures explained eclipses
On August 21, a total solar eclipse will be visible across parts of the United States.<p>As the Earth and moon sweep through space in their annual journey around the sun, the three bodies align in such a way that the Earth passes into the shadow of the moon. Observers then witness a sun that is …
Greek PhilosophyCloud sets the table, software eats the world: A conversation with Fugue CEO Josh Stella
There are two definitions of fugue. One refers to music (contrapuntal composition), and the other involves psychiatry (awareness of one’s identity). …
American PhilosophyCornel West on Charlottesville Protests: 'This Is a Massive Awakening' - Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists
It's been over five days since white supremacists paraded through Charlottesville, Va., wielding torches and chanting Nazi phrases. Those who turned …
Cornel WestViolent Tribalism on Display in Charlottesville
Posted: Aug 17, 2017 12:01 AM<p>When it comes to political violence such as we witnessed in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend, there are no …
Ayn Rand