Happily, the inconsistency and incoherence of the postmodernist perspective is increasingly being challenged by a new generation of thinkers from across the political spectrum. For example Ken Wilber in his Trump and a Post-Truth World notes how postmodernism has played itself out and in attempting to create a new basis for determining truth has ultimately undermined it.
Category: Philosophy
The Just Society: Equality or Freedom?
In A Theory of Justice John Rawls conducted a famous thought experiment. He asked, if we were to imagine, behind a ‘veil of ignorance’, being born into a world in a position somewhere on the scale of unalloyed privilege and crushing poverty, what would be the type of social system we would advocate. Rawls assumed… Continue reading The Just Society: Equality or Freedom?
Lexicon for the Moral Maze
Do you find yourself confused or bewildered by what passes for moral debate in the social milieu these days? Asking yourself why so many people seem to be so hot under the collar about things that would have passed as normal behaviour only a few years ago? Don’t worry. It’s a common problem people have… Continue reading Lexicon for the Moral Maze
Respect, rights and freedoms in an era of identity activism
The British actor Ben Kingsley, probably most famous for his eponymous role in the film Ghandi, has, since being knighted in the 2001 honours list, apparently insisted on being referred to as ‘Sir Ben Kingsley’. This is his right and he is, from all accounts, quite offended if the honorific is overlooked. Not all recipients… Continue reading Respect, rights and freedoms in an era of identity activism
The Unintended Consequences of Law
It is a fact little known that the origins of the title of John Steinbeck’s famous novel “Of Mice and Men” was an ode “To a Mouse” by Scots poet Robert Burns a century and a half earlier. The reference is specifically to the following passage from the end of the penultimate stanza: The best laid… Continue reading The Unintended Consequences of Law
The coming struggle: individualism versus the bureaucratic state
Introduction Modernity has been characterised not only by the great benefits brought by the increase in scientific knowledge and the technologies that have flowed from it, such as increasing wealth and convenience, improvements in health and well-being, and access to enormous amounts of information by ordinary citizens, but also by the increased possibilities for… Continue reading The coming struggle: individualism versus the bureaucratic state
Who Will Mind the Minders?
We often, particularly around this time each year, pride ourselves here in the UK on our having given birth to modern democracy in the context of the nation state and have even earned the epithet “Mother of Parliaments.” But that does not mean that our parliamentary system has not on occasions been rocked by scandals… Continue reading Who Will Mind the Minders?
Legality and Morality: Can Man Serve Two Masters?
It is often suggested that obedience to the law is a virtue and by implication that respect for the law is a requirement of morality. But is this necessarily the case? Although this might at first might appear obvious, I would suggest the issue turns out on closer inspection not to be so at all.… Continue reading Legality and Morality: Can Man Serve Two Masters?
Is It Inhumane to Oppose Freedom of Movement?
There are many moral issues relating to the plight of refugees and migrants in our world today we could usefully give attention to. But there is no compulsion to support or advocate freedom of movement as part of a moral response. Ultimately the degree to which freedom of movement is allowed between nations is a political decision with moral arguments capable of being made on both sides.
The Morality of Markets?
Following the forced resignation of Travis Kalanick as CEO of Uber last month amidst allegations of rampant sexism, harassment, and misogyny in the workplace, the morality (or lack thereof) of the fat cats that sit atop the economic pyramid that is global capitalism is well and truly back in the spotlight. Perhaps it is a welcome change from… Continue reading The Morality of Markets?