Phlexible Philosophy

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a huge philosophy geek. I love grappling with the questions and seeing what other people think about the questions. Some of it is really literary. It can be a thrilling read. But I also think of philosophy as a practical endeavor. I think it’s important to know why…

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Capacities, Rights, and Essences: Part 4 – Bringing It All Together

There are three common bases for moral reasoning that drive me crazy: capacities, rights, and essences. They bug me because they don’t, and can’t, work even though they dominate the popular discourse. They are different in most ways, but I believe their appeal is what they have in common. I will look at each one…

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Capacities, Rights, and Essences: Part 1 – Capacities

There are three common bases for moral reasoning that drive me crazy: capacities, rights, and essences. They bug me because they don’t, and can’t, work even though they dominate the popular discourse. They are different in most ways, but I believe their appeal is what they have in common. I will look at each one…

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Libertarianism and Strawmen

Libertarianism has had a prominent position in America for my whole life. It goes by many names: free-market capitalism, classical liberalism, neoliberalism, monetarism, freedom, limited government, supply-side economics, and on and on. People who use these labels may protest that they are not all the same thing (I’ll address that in a little bit), but…

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