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, 2020
- 7 min
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, 2020
- 3 min
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, 2020
- 5 min
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, 2020
- 3 min
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, 2020
- 3 min
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, 2020
- 3 min
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, 2020
- 3 min
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, 2020
- 3 min
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, 2020
- 2 min
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, 2020
- 2 min
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, 2020
- 3 min
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, 2020
- 5 min
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, 2020
- 2 min
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, 2020
- 1 min
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, 2020
- 3 min
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, 2020
- 1 min
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, 2020
- 3 min
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, 2020
- 3 min
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, 2019
- 2 min
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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