Once upon a time, especially in the ancient world, philosophers thought a lot about the nature of wisdom. In fact, that was true almost by definition. The two Greek words ‘philo’ and ‘sophia’ from which our word ‘philosophy’ is derived literally mean love of wisdom. I think it would be fair to say that for many Greek philosophers, the pursuit of wisdom was the be all and end all of philosophy
In honor of the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 and in lasting solidarity with all…
Getting into the college or university of your choice – especially if it’s highly selective one — has become more daunting and more stress-inducing than ever before. The odds are stacked against students from the start. Consider Stanford. This year we had just over thirty two thousand applications to fill about sixteen hundred freshmen slots. So we accepted just seven percent of those who applied. Those are astounding numbers.
Schizophrenia affects about one out of two hundred people. It’s a serious mental disorder that…
I think when people say healthcare is a right, or ought to be a right, they don’t always have the same thing in mind. I think everyone would agree that you shouldn’t be denied healthcare on account of race or religion or ethnic origin, or sexual orientation. Well, maybe everyone wouldn’t agree, but it’s not what people usually dispute about. The question is whether you can get healthcare if you don’t have money to pay for it.
Quantum mechanics developed in the last century to deal with the tiniest parts of nature. …
People sometimes worry that modern-day philosophers don’t have the same impact on the public that philosophers have traditionally had, and continue to have in some other countries. That is what our experience suggests. Lots of public radio stations and their program directors are startled to hear about a show on philosophy. They’re very skeptical that their listening public would be interested. In fact, one of our motives in doing the program is to make philosophy more a part of public life.
Sunday’s guest is Robert Rowland Smith, author if Breakfast with Socrates and Driving with Plato….
‘Ilunga’ means a person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first…
An atheist is someone who not only doesn’t believe in God, but believes, with…
Lincoln is revered as our greatest President; he is virtually an American Saint. The Second Inaugural Address — the one that’s carved on the wall of the Lincoln Memorial — is really quite chilling. Especially if you think it really represents the philosophy of someone who has just pursued a path that led to the death of half a million people.
By the language of responsibility, we mean the way we report events for which someone…
Our society, taken as a whole, can’t make up its mind about Gays and Lesbians. On the one hand, many studies have documented increasing tolerance of homosexuality, especially among younger, more educated, more affluent, and more liberal Americans. On the other hand, a substantial number of Americans still don’t think gays should be allowed to marry, serve in the military, adopt or even teach children.
Each year Ken and I together with our listeners, previous guests, and special guests, come…
America imprisons more of her citizens, for more crimes, and for longer periods than any other nation in the world. At the beginning of 2008, nearly two and a half million people were in prison in the US. That’s one in every one hundred adults. China, with a population about four times ours, had a prison population of about one and a half million during that same period. Does this mass incarceration really serve the interest of justice? Or is it an inefficient, dysfunctional way of addressing social ills that would be better handled in other ways?
Throughout history, cities have been major centers of commerce, creativity, and culture. They have been places where classes and races mingle and mix, places where the young go to make their dream and expand their horizons. But beginning apparently as early as the 1920’s, but certainly accelerating to a feverish pace during the social turmoil of the 60’s, many once great American cities began to empty out, as the middle class, especially, fled for the comfort and security of the sprawling suburbs.