In 1919, a total eclipse of the sun provided a rare opportunity to test Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Arthur Eddington, a British astronomer and admirer of Einstein who had resisted the nationalist hatreds of the First World War, sent two teams to the mid-Atlantic to observe Mercury during the eclipse, and test the German scientist’s theory. To the astonishment of Continue Reading …
The Incoherence of Michael Sandel’s Critique of Liberalism
Subscribe to more of my writing at https://www.wesalwan.com Follow me on Twitter Introduction Michael Sandel is one of America’s best-known political philosophers, and helped establish his reputation with a widely respected and widely taught book, Liberalism and the Limits of Justice. He was also kind enough to make an appearance on The Partially Examined Life. Continue Reading …
Stories We Tell: A Review of Michael Sandel’s Democracy’s Discontent
The stories we tell ourselves are important to who we are. Moreover, the identities we come to have are in large measure shaped by our social ties. We can agree with Michael Sandel that “we cannot regard ourselves as independent ... without great cost to those loyalties and convictions whose moral force consists partly in the fact that living by them is Continue Reading …
Episode 97: Michael Sandel on Social Justice and the Self
On his book Liberalism and the Limits of Justice (1982), mostly ch. 1 & 4. Classical liberalism from Locke to Rawls focuses on rights as primary: a good government is one that protects people from violations of their rights, and that's what social justice amounts to, though of course, there's some disagreement about what counts as a "right." Sandel thinks that there's Continue Reading …
Topics for #97-100: Sandel, Symposium, and What We’ve Learned
You've likely all heard about our big ep. 100 recording, and should surely start reading Plato's Symposium right now prep for that. To help you get all the various speakers involved in that work straight in your head, you might want to listen to the "In Our Time" episode on this from last January. The dialogue is about love, and a number of participants of this ancient Continue Reading …
Why Identity Politics is Illiberal (Belly Dancing, Ctd)
Subscribe to more of my writing at https://www.wesalwan.com Follow me on Twitter In my post on the identity politics of belly dancing, in which I argued that Randa Jarrar’s recent tirade against white belly dancers must imply the moral inferiority of white women, I bypassed – because I thought it particularly weak – the notion that white belly dancing unwittingly Continue Reading …