Fred Guerin
Why do we Punish?
If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed. [Albert Einstein] No...
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Fred Guerin
Jun 3, 20207 min read
Why Philosophize?
“If we ought to philosophize we ought to philosophize, and if we ought not to philosophize we ought to philosophize; in either case,...
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Fred Guerin
Jun 3, 20203 min read
On Possible Paths to the Future
What’s needed now is neither fatalism nor utopianism, but a suite of practical pathways for families and communities that lead to a real...
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Fred Guerin
Jun 3, 20205 min read
What is Wisdom?
By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second by imitation, which is easiest; and third by...
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Fred Guerin
Jun 3, 20203 min read
What is a ‘Person’?
To be a person, a being must be self-conscious, aware of its identity and its continued existence over time [Derek Parfit] Persons are...
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Fred Guerin
Jun 3, 20203 min read
Should There be a Universal Basic Income?
“In a world of true abundance, you shouldn't have to work to justify your life.” Sam Harris Universal basic income (UBI)—the proposition...
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Fred Guerin
Jun 3, 20203 min read
On the Ethical Implications of a Quantum Universe
Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control…we all dance to a mysterious tune,...
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Fred Guerin
May 31, 20203 min read
What is ‘Critical’ About Critical Thinking?
“Dare to think for yourself”. (Immanuel Kant) “What you think is less important than how you think”. (Christopher Hitchens) “Critical...
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Fred Guerin
May 31, 20203 min read
The Dehumanizing Cult of Behaviourism
If you really want to talk 'cult' then you need go no further than the pseudo-science of behaviourism. The latter theory has had a...
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Fred Guerin
May 31, 20202 min read
How Free Should Freedom of Speech Be?
Philosopher's Café “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” [George Orwell]...
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Fred Guerin
May 26, 20202 min read
Is Privacy Important?
Philosopher’s Café “Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than...
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Fred Guerin
May 25, 20203 min read
Does God Matter?
“I am afraid we are not rid of God because we still have faith in grammar”. [Friedrich Nietzsche Twilight of the Idols] “We are each free...
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Fred Guerin
May 25, 20205 min read
Retribution or Restoration?
In a retributive punishment oriented legal system it is claimed that when justice is done, and seen to be done, it provides a catharsis...
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Fred Guerin
May 24, 20202 min read
On Philosophy, Politics and Climate Change
What to do about climate change is not simply a question for activists, scientists, politicians and economists—it’s a question for...
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Fred Guerin
May 24, 20201 min read
Stephen v. Albert
Here’s the difference between an idiot who happens to be a physicist, and a person of wisdom who happens to be the physicist without whom...
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Fred Guerin
May 24, 20203 min read
Politics and Ethics
In the present world we have gone to great lengths to separate the political from the ethical. The political we say is about acquiring...
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Fred Guerin
May 24, 20201 min read
Hannah Arendt
"The conviction that everything that happens on earth must be comprehensible to man can lead to interpreting history by commonplaces....
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Fred Guerin
May 24, 20203 min read
Ecosocialism
It is fairly clear now that mainstream political parties have either been bought off by the power elite or they are just too timid to put...
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Fred Guerin
May 24, 20203 min read
Žižek v Peterson
It happened a year ago and I put it on a list of things I wanted to watch so I'm just now getting to it today. Jordan Peterson v Slavoj...
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Fred Guerin
Jun 30, 20192 min read
Know Thyself!
It seems this little bit of ancient advice is simple enough. Many philosophers have claimed that the way we come to know ourself is...
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