The realist school: An emerging paradigm

First published on 14 June 2022. Sometimes, intellectual thought undergoes a rupture that cannot be stopped. It does not matter how much you resist the conceptual tsunami, or how far you run. It will tear down what you know, and force any remaining ideas to cluster around the victorious Noah’s ark of the God-given intellectual … Continue reading The realist school: An emerging paradigm →

The uniqueness of genius

I’ve been thinking about genius. It is often said that genius is unique. But what does this mean? On the origins of genius: Plato and Aristotle in Raphael’s School of Athens. The uniqueness of a genius lies precisely, I argue, in their ability to see past their own uniqueness. While everyone else looks at the … Continue reading The uniqueness of genius →

Time of Miracles: The Shadow and the Sun

I feel like a broken record these days. It is said that one position or another is correct, when it seems obvious to me all stated positions are, taken as they appear to us, incorrect. That being said, I cannot help but take a side, or forfeit my own role in the political economy of … Continue reading Time of Miracles: The Shadow and the Sun →

The end of time: The Heidegger-Cassirer debate and the passage from trade to war

First published in August 2022. Philosopher Immanuel Kant is often referred to as the god of modern philosophy. A recent work of intellectual history by Professor Michael Rosen, entitled The Shadow of God: Kant, Hegel, and the passage from heaven to history, considers the end of Christendom and the replacement of its accompanying hegemony of … Continue reading The end of time: The Heidegger-Cassirer debate and the passage from trade to war →

The foundational contradictions of liberalism

First published in May 2020. Liberalism is an ideology—a system of thought. It has a centrepiece: the individual, defined by liberalism as a free-floating unit, separate from other units. It has two basic contradictions: The politico-moral contradiction; and The public-private contradiction. Meet Immanuel Kant: A founding liberal. These contradictions arise from two factors. Liberalism: Accepts … Continue reading The foundational contradictions of liberalism →

Staying alive: What role does consent play in Hobbes’ Leviathan?

Submitted as a university essay in spring 2020. ‘Consent’ in Hobbes’ Leviathan plays the role of legitimating the state, primarily for the sake of securing survival. Hobbes uses consent as a legitimation story to preserve and pursue (1) the survival of the citizen, sovereign, and Commonwealth, (2) the honour of the citizen, sovereign, and Commonwealth, (3) natural and theological justice, … Continue reading Staying alive: What role does consent play in Hobbes’ Leviathan? →

After utopia: Do Plato’s political recommendations satisfy the requirements of human psychology as identified in Republic?

From an essay written under time constraints in June 2020 (highest mark in cohort). Plato’s recommendations satisfy the requirements of human psychology as identified in the Republic so long as human psychology is constituted as Plato takes it to be, and so long as the extra-psychological (social and ecological) conditions for the political satisfaction of these … Continue reading After utopia: Do Plato’s political recommendations satisfy the requirements of human psychology as identified in Republic? →

On history and morality: The two theories

An undergraduate essay, which I recently revisited at the conclusion of my first postgraduate degree. If we are to formulate a theory of everything, the theory may come in (at least) two parts. The first theory addresses what is, and the second considers what ought to be. The first is the theory of history, and … Continue reading On history and morality: The two theories →

The part and the whole: Can Plato’s city satisfy everyone?

A university essay submitted in autumn 2019, after reading Plato's Republic over the preceding summer. While Plato’s city can partially satisfy at least one part of the soul for everyone, it cannot fully satisfy every part of the soul each person can satisfy. Even if we take Plato’s premises for granted, his city can fully … Continue reading The part and the whole: Can Plato’s city satisfy everyone? →

Trying my patience: The distinction between philosophy and sophistry

I have recently been confronted with the idea of sophistry, and the weaponisation of this term to attack philosophy. But I do not think this is philosophical. Indeed, to use sophistry to attack philosophy is itself sophistical. Let me explain how sophistry and philosophy differ, by contrasting two ancient Greek individuals: Isocrates, and Socrates. Ludwig … Continue reading Trying my patience: The distinction between philosophy and sophistry →