By its nature, politics is agonistic — a process of contention among people — but today it is an antagonistic process. — Agonistic versus Antagonistic Politics - Insert Philosophy Here This year has seen a number of important and contentious elections: Sweden, Italy, United States, Brazil, and Israel…pod.co Transcript of Episode 30 of the Insert Philosophy Here Podcast. I recently talked about the philosophy of democracy, and I am a philosopher; I’m not a political theorist; I’m not a political scientist. What that means is I look at what are the fundamental underlying issues related to political actions…

Transcript from my podcast in which I delve into these questions. — Welcome to the Insert Philosophy Here podcast. Inserting the principles of philosophy into real life. As I record this, it is less than three weeks from the United States Election Day. So on this week’s edition of the insert Philosophy Here Podcast, I want to talk about democracy, the concept…

About villains, henchmen, dictatorships, and patriotism. — Part of my series on Recognition. A Concept Little-Known Outside Academic Philosophy May Be The Key To Social Justice The UK recently observed the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote and the US will reach the century…medium.com Why Ukrainians but not Syrians? Text transcript of my recent podcast responding to Putin’s invasion of Ukrainemedium.com

How could people who claim to be anti-war and anti-imperialist end up supporting an imperialist war? A sure sign of intellectual and emotional maturity is the ability and willingness to think beyond simplistic binaries. Alas, it is something that political extremists are unable or unwilling to do. How could people…

How Progressives Can Fix the Progressive Income Tax — Join Medium with my referral link - Douglas Giles, PhD Read every article from Douglas Giles, PhD (and thousands of other writers on Medium). Your membership fee directly…dgilesphilosopher.medium.com Sam Pizzigati is an author who writes extensively about wealth, taxation, and the struggles of working people. Pizzigati addresses the growing call for a sharp rise in the top tax rate.

Understanding the political spectrum and what motivates political actions has never been so vital. — Original Philosophy A space on Medium for serious philosophers to post their research and thinking for a broader audience.medium.com My primary area of specialty is exploring the causes of injustice and the struggles for justice. Part of understanding those topics is clarifying the motivations and ideologies related to political movements and ideology. …

A Philosophical Look at Being American — What IS America? What Does It Mean to Be American? - Insert Philosophy Here The world needs more philosophy. More to the point, we all need to engage with the world with a more philosophical…pod.co What IS America? What does it mean to be American? I ask these questions on July Fourth, a day when the United States commemorates its independence. That date and commemoration in itself is significant in it not being entirely true. The United States did not become independent on July 4th…

As much as we would love to say that the Nazi Holocaust was unique, it is not entirely so. — N.B. — I had been thinking for awhile about posting this paper on Medium, and the recent Russian atrocities in Ukraine have forced the issue. I wrote this years ago for a post-graduate philosophy course. The professor, from Germany, didn’t appreciate my argument because he wanted to believe that the…

A response. — As a philosopher, I am aware of Libertarianism’s belief system, and having written about political philosophy online for years I am familiar with how Libertarians react to other beliefs. …

A brief look at the philosophy of just war theory. — Can War Ever Be Justified? - A Philosophical View on Current Events - Insert Philosophy Here The world needs more philosophy. More to the point, we all need to engage with the world with a more philosophical…pod.co Putin’s invasion of Ukraine brings up a vexing philosophical question: when is war morally defensible? A small but ancient part of political philosophy is known as “just war theory.” There are two aspects to just war theory. One explores the question of when it is just for a nation or…

Like COVID, Putin’s War on Ukraine has brought out the best and worst of people. — I will leave geopolitical analysis for the experts and apply what I know as a philosopher to people’s reactions to Putin’s War on Ukraine. The reactions I’m referring to are not ultimately about that war, because we saw these types of reactions many times before, most recently with the COVID…

War and one’s place in the world — I grew up in the United States late in the Cold War. I was one of the Americans continually told to beware of the Soviet evil empire, and a threat of nuclear war always simmered in the background. …

Social recognition among individuals and groups is what keeps together communities. Without it, struggles for justice and freedom are impossible. — All political movements include the struggle for the authority and power to claim recognition. Because recognition is a specific response to how a specific individual is, the question arises as to who has the authority to recognize another, and what is the authority that sets the standards for recognition norms? The temptation is to say that social institutions, perhaps the state, can and should…

Fighting nonsense with nonsense doesn’t work — There are people who every day put out the same basic article: ”Republicans bad.” Oh, they toss invective at different Republicans about different things, but the message is the same shallow, tinny echo: ”Republicans bad.” That Republicans are bad will get no argument from me, but that’s the point. The…

American conservatism has a distinctive character. Here’s why. — Join Medium with my referral link - Douglas Giles, PhD Read every article from Douglas Giles, PhD (and thousands of other writers on Medium). Your membership fee directly…dgilesphilosopher.medium.com Largely underestimated is the significant influence that John Calvin has had on culture in the United States. Perhaps only John Locke has had more philosophical influence on the American Zeitgeist than has Calvin. To understand America and its uniqueness, you need to understand Calvin’s unique ideology and how his Calvinism…

Technology has enhanced an age old habit — Siloization — ˈsī-lō-ə-ˈzā-shən : the process of isolating a group apart from others especially in ways that hinder communication and cooperation In business jargon, “silo teams” refer to situations in which teams or departments don’t communicate with each other and don’t know what each other are doing. Almost always, this…

This is a very interesting and profound question that speaks to morality and human nature. As with all good philosophical questions, answering it requires challenging our preconceptions. Did Hitler know that he was bad? Well, do we know he was bad? Do we know anyone is good or bad? Great…

Yes, Trump is a horrible human being. Yes, Trump’s policies are horrible. But as I’ve written previously, Trump isn’t the problem. There’s a problem worse than Trump, and the U.S. has just made that problem worse. “Feckless” is a good word, meaning weak, ineffective, and worthless. “Feckless” is the perfect…

People ask me “when have things in the US ever looked this bad?” I reply, “1968, to name just the most recent time,” but I do understand their consternation. Things do look bad in the US and we need to ask why. Some of you will say, “Trump is why…

…and the definition of “socialism.” It shouldn’t be a political debate, but somehow it is. What should we as a society do in response to the Coronavirus pandemic? Seems obvious to anyone with any humanity: save people’s lives. Strangely, some feel we shouldn’t spend efforts to save people’s lives — in particular, right-wingers from the…