On the surface, what links Critical Voter (the book that uses the election as an educational tool to teach critical thinking skills—free on Amazon July 12 and the 19th) and Degree of Freedom (which tried to see how far one could push massive open online courses) is the belief that as new modes of technology-driven learning come to the fore, those who can take advantage of them Continue Reading …
Fixing Our Beliefs
When I turned that Critical Voter curriculum mentioned last time into a book [which PEL readers can get free from Amazon every Tuesday between now and July 19], the goal was to use election politics as a case study to teach critical thinking skills without playing favorites or picking winners. Even so, it’s hard to make logical arguments using real-world political examples that Continue Reading …
Critical Voter
During the last Presidential election, I noticed a trend in philosophy columns, like one I was enjoying in the New York Times, where philosophical concepts and arguments were brought to bear on political opinions that seemed already set in Stone (sorry about that). For instance, when the President fumbled during the first debate in 2012 (which shocked many, given Obama’s Continue Reading …
PEL’s Presidential Endorsement: Naked Political Partisanship
Every once in a while, a listener of The Partially Examined Life complains that that our liberal political proclivities -- and occasional outright partisanship -- are not consistent with our being philosophical, which should make us more neutral about such matters. I disagree. I do agree – after listening recently to the first few PEL episodes – that in the wrong context, Continue Reading …
PREVIEW-Episode 65: The Federalist Papers
This is a short preview of the full episode. Buy Now Purchase this episode for $2.99. Or become a PEL Citizen for $5 a month, and get access to this and all other paywalled episodes, including 68 back catalogue episodes; exclusive Part 2's for episodes published after September, 2020; and our after-show Nightcap, where the guys respond to listener email and chat more Continue Reading …
Topic for #65: Federalist Papers
The Federalist Papers (originally published as just The Federalist) are a collection of essays published in newspapers in 1787-1788 arguing for the ratification of the American Constitution. Each was published under the pseudonym "Publius" though most were written by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. (There are a few written by John Jay.) They were collected and published Continue Reading …