It has been said that there is more bullshit now than ever before. This essay will explore the reasons for this increase, as well as some of the consequences. What is Bullshit? In order to critically engage with the topic at hand, it is important to first establish what we mean by “bullshit.” For the … Read more
In his landmark essay “Manufacturing Consent,” Noam Chomsky introduced a simple but elegant model for understanding how propaganda and censorship work in mass media. This model, known as the “propaganda model,” posits that the content of news is driven not by what is newsworthy, but by what is profitable. The propaganda model has five main … Read more
: “To live without hope is to cease to live. Men have been subdued and conquered only because they have allowed themselves to be. But if they had only resisted a little while longer … Why, man’s grandfather was an ape!” This famous quote by Fyodor Dostoevsky has been much debated since its inception. What … Read more
With the deteriorating situation in Russia and Ukraine, many people are wonder how likely it is that nuclear war could break out. While the risk may be small, the consequences would be catastrophic, making it important to understand the likelihood of nuclear war given recent events. The specter of nuclear war has loomed large in … Read more
One of the most important physicists who ever lived, Isaac Newton, told us, that “Truth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.” After him, Albert Einstein wrote, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.” Physics is a very complicated subject. Newton and Einstein are … Read more
The idea of the superorganism by Howard Bloom, answers the question posed at the end of this article: Do nations embody the same psychological characteristics as individual human beings do? According to Bloom, every nation is a superorganism, a cluster of billions of cells, that attempts to gain power, whenever an opportunity presents itself. And … Read more
What is the root of conflict? For background, see: Girard’s Mimetic Theory: The Origin of Conflict Hegel’s The First Man and The Battle for Pure Prestige. Sigmund Freud thought that all human goals are manifestations of two opposing drives: Eros and Thanatos. He did not think these drives had a progressive character that tended to … Read more
Man is a social animal, directed by others, but his sociability does not lead him into a peaceful civil society, because at the root of sociability is conflict. In trying to unmask the root of conflict and desire, I have drawn from the ideas of Rene Girard, Hegel, and Fukuyama. See “Mimetic Theory: The Origin … Read more
The 48 Laws of Power is a great book that contains tremendous insight into cunning, deception, self-deception, and power. Greene weaves short historical anecdotes to support his arguments in each chapter. And each chapter is a proverb or recommendation. There is something unfashionable and intrinsically distasteful about blanket statements that tell you how to live … Read more
Yuval Noah Harari has written three books that are unlikely to lose their appeal any time soon. In accessible language, Harari takes his readers on a journey into the past, the present, and the future. Harari’s central argument across these works, is that we must update the language with which we discuss political and philosophical problems … Read more