Maverick Philosopher

Footnotes to Plato from the foothills of the Superstition Mountains

Category: Polemics

  • Use and Mention

    You should never use 'progressives' without sneer quotes because 'progressives' are destructive leftists who confuse change with progress. The offensive term is mentioned in the first independent clause, and then used in the second, albeit in an altered sense.  When I write that 'progressives' are destructive, mendacious, devoid of common sense, and so on, I…

  • A Defense of David Benatar Against a Scurrilous New Criterion Attack

    By a defense of Benatar, I do not mean a defense of his deeply pessimistic and anti-natalist views, views to which I do not subscribe. I mean a defense of the courageous practice of unrestrained philosophical inquiry, inquiry that follows the arguments where they lead, even if they issue in conclusions that make people extremely…

  • Seven Signs of Tyranny

    Very interesting on several levels. I'll leave it to you to decide whether Trump is a tyrant. But here are a couple questions you might want to think about. By implying that Trump is a tyrant, is Robert Reich inciting violence?  Is he contributing to a civil 'conversation that will 'bring us together'? 

  • Which Side Are You On?

    It is an appropriate question to ask in politics, though not in philosophy. Politics is warfare. If you call yourself conservative and don't support Trump, then you are helping the enemy. Which side are you on? In philosophy we strive for objectivity. We take our time; we consider all points of view. We show respect…

  • The Left’s Biggest Challenge at the Moment . . .

    . . . is to figure out a way to politicize Hurricane Harvey and blame Trump for it.  Either him or the deplorable racist bigots who support him. I'm sure the race-baiting, totalitarian bastards will come up with something. Maybe they can take a leaf from that great black leader Louis Farrakhan on Katrina:  In…

  • George Neumayr

    From his latest (emphasis added): One of the arguments against Trump last year from critics ostensibly worried about the “integrity of conservatism” was that he would revert to Manhattanite liberalism. He hasn’t. But they have. They can be heard whining about his ban on cross-dressers and transsexuals in the military, his insufficient enthusiasm for Islamic…

  • Liberals are So Stupid A Cartoon Suffices to Refute Them

    The Political Burden of Proof As contemporary 'liberals' become ever more extreme, they increasingly assume what I call the political burden of proof.  The onus is now on them to defeat the presumption that they are so  morally and intellectually obtuse as not to be worth talking to.

  • Arguments Don’t Have Testicles!

    Prepared lines come in handy in many of life's situations.  They are useful for getting points across in a memorable way and they  make for effective on-the-spot rebuttals.  A mind well-stocked with prepared lines is a mind less likely to suffer l'esprit d'escalier.  Suppose a feminist argues that men have no right to an opinion about…

  • Is There a Place for Polemics in Philosophy?

     Our friend Vlastimil writes,  I've just read you saying, "In philosophy it is very important that we be as civil and charitable as possible. There is no place for polemics in philosophy."  Intriguing. No place, really? Can't a philosophy be wicked or obtuse? Yes, a philosophy can be wicked or obtuse. But what I said…

  • Obama the Feckless

    Kurt Schlichter lays into him 'bigly': Obama treated our allies like dirt, and he didn’t just embolden our enemies. He paid them – literally – with pallet loads of cash. Of course our enemies stopped fearing us. To the extent Putin diddled with our election by exposing the depths of Democrat corruption, it’s because he…

  • Political Burden of Proof

    As contemporary 'liberals' become ever more extreme, they increasingly assume what I call the political burden of proof.  The onus is now on them to defeat the presumption that they are so  morally and intellectually obtuse as not to be worth talking to.

  • Disproportionate Impact

    Laws against the destruction of public and private property have a disproportionate impact on leftist thugs. Such laws are obviously discriminatory, discriminating as they do between leftist thugs and decent folk, and are therefore unfair. They should be repealed. We need to work together to build a society in which all are treated equally regardless…

  • Politics as War

    A reader sends this: A correspondent has just emailed me, completely out of the blue, to tell me that you're a “racist, islamophobe, bigot”. Thought you would like that. 😀 I like it very much except that he leaves out the remaining SIXHIRB epithets: sexist, intolerant, xenophobic, and homophobic.  But three out of seven ain't bad.…

  • The Republic Repeals Itself?

    And the Left continues to melt down over the election result. A curious exercise in hyperventilation from the pen of Andrew Sullivan.  Here are a couple of gasps: In the U.S., the [populist] movement — built on anti-political politics, economic disruption, and anti-immigration fears — had something else, far more lethal, in its bag of…

  • Catholics Must Support Trump

    It is astonishing that there are Catholics who vote Democrat, when the Dems are the abortion party, and lately and increasingly a threat to religious liberty to boot.  How then could any practicing Catholic vote for Hillary or support Hillary by voting for neither Hillary nor Trump? So here's my final appeal on Election Day.…