Jackson’s Blog
The Autistic Resistance
Cultural Federalism
In an earlier article, I argued for a world spirituality to be consolidated into large religious blocs: I have a similiar idea about subcultures, we should have a concert of the major subcultures. Leon Trotsky imagined the Soviet legislature to have representatives apportioned by industry. With a federal concert of subcultures, there should be summitsContinue reading “Cultural Federalism”
The Rawlsian Geist
A geist is a reality of the world, a paradigm of the collective psyche, in a particular era and place. I have written and shitted a lot about John Rawls. What is the geist of John Rawls? I focus on a lot psychology on this blog and the Rawlsian geist is one where psychology doesContinue reading “The Rawlsian Geist”
The Limits of Psychology: Balkanization and the Lack of Intersectionality in Psychological Science
L’Appel du Vide is a common symptom of anxiety disorders and one I experience and have experienced regularly throughout my life. In fact, as a child, it was one of the worst symptoms I had but at no point growing up could I discuss it with anyone safely. The fact is most of the psychologistsContinue reading “The Limits of Psychology: Balkanization and the Lack of Intersectionality in Psychological Science”
Morality in Art
Recently, I watched a video on The Take Youtube channel opining that the counterreaction to the Damsel in Distress trope went too far. It said that the original trope was, indeed, sexist and evil, but that the current overreaction has become evil. As a normative moral and ethical position, I consider neither trope to beContinue reading “Morality in Art”
Tactical Empathy: The First Rule in Diplomacy
John Oliver recently did a piece on the Law & Order franchise and how wrong it got everything. The biggest thing it got wrong was how you deal with humans when you need them to cooperate with an investigation. He showed many scenes of, especially on SVU, how the prosecutors and the police would righteouslyContinue reading “Tactical Empathy: The First Rule in Diplomacy”
Interrete Bennedictus: The Nobel for the Internet and Centralizing the Information Landscape
There needs to be an award for positive influencers on the internet. If social media is is the means by which the bulk of our culture has decided to be informed then we must have a system to put good information into it. The award I term the Interrete Bennedictus, Latin for “Good Internet” IContinue reading “Interrete Bennedictus: The Nobel for the Internet and Centralizing the Information Landscape”
The Rise of Melodrama: Worthy & Unworthy Victims in the Contemporary Discourse
The Ofxord dictonary’s 2018 word of the year was “toxic” and in an age where the term “red flag” is becoming almost as common as the word “the”, the question needs to be put to people the degree to which they’re version of whatever story it is is accurate and to what degree it isContinue reading “The Rise of Melodrama: Worthy & Unworthy Victims in the Contemporary Discourse”
On Contemporary Religious Art
I write lots of religious art, mostly in the form of poetry. As anti-modernist as my sentiments have been expressed on this blog as, it would not surprise one to surmise that I hold contemporary religious art in very low regard. Recently, there was something called the “Martyrs” exhibition at Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London.Continue reading “On Contemporary Religious Art”
Jerusalem Lost: The Movements and Revolutions of 2008-11
In history and in the news, there is an over-emphasis on the evil and the villians and even when there are heroes, the critics are resolved to point out every flaw and mistake they ever made to the point you would believe everyone is irredeemably evil. The number of people who have called Gandhi aContinue reading “Jerusalem Lost: The Movements and Revolutions of 2008-11”
Getting Kids off of their Phones
In France, they have criminalized the owning of smartphones by those under 15 in school but while I like the idea of them not having smartphones I tend to be against using the coercive force of the state for non-dangerous behavior. Plus, it is a solution devoid of finesse or sophistication and just uses bruteContinue reading “Getting Kids off of their Phones”
Vigilante Hazing: The Worst Form of Bullying
If there was a form of bullying that did more to break my amygdala and cause me severe PTSD, it was vigilante hazing. It was what in “A Few Good Men” was called a Code Red. It is punishment for minor social mistakes. Two of the three times I was urinated on, it was fromContinue reading “Vigilante Hazing: The Worst Form of Bullying”
Cosmopolitian, 4Chan, and the Doctrine of the Mean
4Chan is a metonym for the dredges of the internet, its natives are the descendants of the dark geeks of yesteryear who voted for Ross Perot, played D&D in basements, and descended into the grimy abodes of the alt-right. A poetic analogy to Erik from Phantom of the Opera. Losers who descend into bitterness andContinue reading “Cosmopolitian, 4Chan, and the Doctrine of the Mean”
Disability & Metaphorical Asexuality
I refer not to literal asexuality in the sense of being an asexual and I don’t refer to not having sex in the literal sense. I have written about incels before on this blog and their etiology is not the lack of sex but their being adults in an adult culture with an adolscent-style leagueContinue reading “Disability & Metaphorical Asexuality”
Scottish Seccession & The End of History
The Scottish seccession movement is attempt at progress of a people who don’t know what the next paradigm of history should be. Their arguments for seccession are not terribly well founded since they could apply to any region with political and cultural differences of any country. They do vote largely center-left and have their ownContinue reading “Scottish Seccession & The End of History”
Prison Abolition & White Collar Crime
As a member of Black Lives Matter, I have been near the conversation about prison abolition. The biggest problem, ulimtately, in abolishing prisons and the police is that not all crimes are the result of good people with bad problems or the injustices of the system. The mistakes borne of PTSD, bipolar, drug addiction, economicContinue reading “Prison Abolition & White Collar Crime”
Rawls, Ghosting, and Honor
It used to be that breaking up by text message was considered a new low in social norms. Today, breaking up by text message is bordering on chivalrous in light of the popularity of ghosting. The ultimate defense of ghosting is Rawlsian. Its only defense is that it does not violate the negative liberties ofContinue reading “Rawls, Ghosting, and Honor”
Is Late-Stage Capitalism a Thing? (Part Two)
https://jacksonhamiltonivs.org/2022/09/18/is-late-stage-capitalism-a-thing-part-one/ The great shift between Regionalist-Institutional Liberalism and Rawlsian-Consumerist Liberalism was largely a revolution without revolutionaries. It was organic, more than anything else. To be fair, social movements played a major role but those movements were not trying to establish the system that ended up happening. Rawls did not invent Rawlsianism as much as heContinue reading “Is Late-Stage Capitalism a Thing? (Part Two)”
Is Late-Stage Capitalism a Thing? (Part One)
In recent years, the term late-stage capitalism has been used to refer to our current era and, perhaps, delinaite it from qualitatively different sub-eras within the history of capitalism. I disagree with the term for a few reasons. First, it says nothing about what makes this capitalism different from other variants of capitalism. Second, itContinue reading “Is Late-Stage Capitalism a Thing? (Part One)”
Personality Disorders & Politics
The worst problem in politics is not external corruption but internal corruption. Working in local politics, the person I have worked the most for is a man I have zero respect for, see as evil to his core, and see as breathtakingly stupid. He doesn’t belong in a state legislature, he belongs in a mentalContinue reading “Personality Disorders & Politics”
The Philosophy to End All Philosophy
That does not refer to a philosophy so comprehensive that it is the final evolution in human progress but a philosophy that would make philosophical evolution impossible. I, as I have many times before, am bashing Rawls. This time with his approach to education and being educated. The world of smart people is a strangeContinue reading “The Philosophy to End All Philosophy”
Religion & Romance
In the imaginations of many, religion is the enemy of romance since the climax of romance is literal climaxing for most of them. For those who have religion, religion is not a constituent in the emotions of their affections. Yet, romance, to me, is impossible in the positivist, materialist, and secular universe. Religion is manyContinue reading “Religion & Romance”
Sonnets, Dick Pics, and the State of Contemporary Poetry
The art form I do more than any other is poetry. When I write poetry, my first rule is to make my poems poemy. My poems invariably rhyme and I try to make them outwardly pretentious and vintage. As elitist as they initially sound, I consider it the opposite of elitist. When people want aContinue reading “Sonnets, Dick Pics, and the State of Contemporary Poetry”
Utopias of Cultural Pancide
In an earlier article, I wrote about Star Trek being a vision of cultural pancide. It is a world where late 20th century secular humanism, Western culture, and liberalism have vanquished all other cultures. It is Bertrand Russell dismissing religion so arrogantly. That from mandalas to Madonnas, that most fruitful of cultural pillars is devoidContinue reading “Utopias of Cultural Pancide”
The Never-Ending War: Will Gender Dynamics Ever Harmonize?
Will the questions around third-wave feminism regarding creepiness ever be resolved? If these traits are inherrent to a large portion of men then is there an end to the #metoo movement? Are there social changes that would satisfy it so that it would disband? Well, no. This is not to say there are no socialContinue reading “The Never-Ending War: Will Gender Dynamics Ever Harmonize?”
Physical Attractiveness & Liberal Democracy
As anti-aging science becomes more real and less pseudo while the older generations are ever more adolscent in their thinking, pretty people are a serious philosophical issue. Celebrities have more political power than they ever have had before. So, who is hot and who is not is an increasingly major variable in decisions which affectContinue reading “Physical Attractiveness & Liberal Democracy”
Religion & The School of Resentment
It is often said that people should not be reduced to the worst thing they have ever done. With regards to religion, this is often done. From Rembrant to Avicenna, the secular left tends to ignore the cultural achievements of religion and emphasize and hyperbolize everything bad religion has ever done. It is a RorsachContinue reading “Religion & The School of Resentment”
Fighting a Dead War: The Fights Over the Won 20th Century Battles
Something very significant happened at the end of history. Now, Fukuyama’s end of history was not the actual end of history but the end of the Cold War and the universilazation of liberal principles in the late 20th century were about as big of a historical shift as one could get. Fukuyama’s end of historyContinue reading “Fighting a Dead War: The Fights Over the Won 20th Century Battles”
Agape & Nihilism: More Life and Times in Charleston, South Carolina
Radical, universal, unconditional love so intense that pedophiles and serial killers would be excitedly embraced. I remember a few years ago, in church, how we (the congregation) read from the paper folder which churches usually give their congregants and we collectively repented for the “sins of our youth”. This was curious as my youth hadContinue reading “Agape & Nihilism: More Life and Times in Charleston, South Carolina”
Cheap Gaslighting
There is gaslighting and then there is cheap gaslighting which is, in some ways less bad and in some ways more bad. One of my employers in politics, a politician I worked as an aide for, was utterly shameless in his cheap gaslighting. He lied in ways that were obviously lies. You see, he knewContinue reading “Cheap Gaslighting”
On the Professor Uju Tweet
The response to the Prof Usu tweet wishing for a painful death upon the late Queen Elizabeth II has resulted in backlash but not nearly the right kind. The heat of her rancor is concerning but what is most concerning is the utter lack of syllogism. The tweet was bat-shit stupid. Jeff Bezos responded toContinue reading “On the Professor Uju Tweet”
Reporting Fees: An Idea for Police Reform
As a member of Black Lives Matter, one of the greatest problems faced are nonviolent, nonsexual, incidents being handled by the police. While I ultimately support replacing the institution of the police with a form of social work, that is far off. Let it be granted that nonviolent and nonsexual incidents should often be reportedContinue reading “Reporting Fees: An Idea for Police Reform”
Communicating Complexity and Nuance to the Less Educated
I work in political communications and the most difficult part of the job is the title of this piece. What makes it worse is when one’s boss, the politician, is, themselves, very stupid. I will freely admit the politician I ghostwrite for is a brainless male bimbo who didn’t know global warming caused hurricanes, didn’tContinue reading “Communicating Complexity and Nuance to the Less Educated”
The Morals and Ethics of The Rerecordings
What is, according to ethical and moral philosophy, the right position in Taylor Swift’s rerecording of her albums? Firstly, I don’t believe in capitalism nearly enough to believe property rights are that fundamental. I could google the superstar’s net worth but I can comfortably say that it is way more than I believe a humanContinue reading “The Morals and Ethics of The Rerecordings”
Safety Versus Eudemonia in Third-Wave Feminism
Third-wave feminism is plagued by the Marxist belief in the false consciousness. That is that the proletariat would agree with the socialist intellectuals if only the elites had not brainwashed them. Therefore, it is the charge of the “vangaurd”, the socialist elites to unveil that brainwashing. The idea of the false consciousness has sometimes hadContinue reading “Safety Versus Eudemonia in Third-Wave Feminism”
Nickleback and the Neurochemistry of Irrational Hatred
It has often been said that people hate Nickleback because the internet hates Nickleback. By religious commandment, I must love everyone and hate nobody therefore I have been unable to indulge in this felicity. I, therefore, love Nickleback. With agape, of course. Certainly, not with eros and the band members are complete strangers to meContinue reading “Nickleback and the Neurochemistry of Irrational Hatred”
The Mainstream, The Fringe, and Liberal Pluralism
One of the most glaringly obvious failings of Rawls was to have a liberalism so pluralistic that to stop conspiracy theorists, nationalists, pseudoscientists, and the rest, we have to wait until they have gained more than enough of a following to do real damage. Eventually, the followers may do something violent after which our RawlsianContinue reading “The Mainstream, The Fringe, and Liberal Pluralism”
Darkness & Philosophy in Art
When many artists try to be deep and philosophical, they aim to be creepy and/or dark. I don’t mean “creepy” in the most contemproary usage of the term which has become deployed so liberally it has lost most of its meaning or even use in describing red flags in men or anything else. It justContinue reading “Darkness & Philosophy in Art”
Britney Spears’ New Atheism
As a religious polemicist, I felt I could contribute something here. Now, my views on Britney Spears, like most of Hollywood, aren’t terribly great since they bend to market pressures and sell whatever unhealthy intellectual junk food the public so desires. Britney’s reasons for conversion to atheism were a bit, philosophically, weak and betrayed anContinue reading “Britney Spears’ New Atheism”
The Nausbaumian Intermission: The Brief Attempt at Liberal Eudemonia
While Nausbaum, in her opposition to Rawls, has mostly lost, her program did have a short success and its ultimate failure is the chronology of liberalism’s decline. Nausbaum’s program is for what one Captain Jean-Luc Picard would see as the apotheosis of liberalism. A world of florishing arts, high culture, and the development of humanContinue reading “The Nausbaumian Intermission: The Brief Attempt at Liberal Eudemonia”
Asexuality & Innocence
Perhaps, unsurprisingly, the chief characteristic of asexuals is innocence. I think to the vintage sex ed videos from the 1950s and 60s where a mature narrator starts talking about “changes” during puberty and it is there where the great divorce happens because the difference between an asexual and sexual worldview is one of philosophical, ideological,Continue reading “Asexuality & Innocence”
The New Left, The Mainstream Left, and The Far Left
I am a member of the left and I write about the left on this blog very much but the left is hardly a monolith. The part of the left to which I belong is The New Left; the tradition of the SDS, the Yippies, and the political hippies. The New Left was not allContinue reading “The New Left, The Mainstream Left, and The Far Left”
The Dylann Roof Burger & Utilitarian Ethics
In 2015, when Dylann Roof was arrested, he was controversially given a Burger King burger to eat when he complained about his hunger. I saw nothing wrong with this, it seemed asinine and even slightly cruel. Burger King is not Chick-fil-a or Starbucks, it royally sucks. Yet, the world erupted in indignation. The question, however,Continue reading “The Dylann Roof Burger & Utilitarian Ethics”
Mental Illness and Reputation
The worst long-term effect of a mental illness, after recovery, is the lost reputation owing to stupid and embarassing shit you did while lacking lucidity. I have a long litany of these things. Not just from mental illness but my neurological condition, too. Asperger’s social mistakes, panic attacks, anxiety attacks, depressive episodes, and more. IContinue reading “Mental Illness and Reputation”
The Right to Humanity
Is it a tragedy if someone with a disability is denied, by social convention, the fruits of human life? I am not referring mostly to sex and romance but that is an easy example to use. The left has a contradictory relationship with sex and romance being constituent in a full life. Like with otherContinue reading “The Right to Humanity”
Euthanasia & The Left
Legally, I support euthansia. I don’t, generally, believe the coercive force of the state should be used to stop consenting adults doing things and, mostly, I despise, loathe, and hold in the most abysmal circles of contempt the coercive force of the state when used on private citizens. I don’t view what should be legalContinue reading “Euthanasia & The Left”
Maximum Positivity & Ethical Intuitionism
When determining what positions I hold, one question I ask myself is whether I look like the bad guy in history and whether my position aligns with the direction of human progress. Barack Obama supports capital punishment and I do not for many reasons but it is curious for a man as rounded as himselfContinue reading “Maximum Positivity & Ethical Intuitionism”
How Should Social Media be Reformed
While there are minor reforms that I could discuss such as forcing feeds to be integrated like happened with email in the 1990s, before which Compuserve, Prodigy, Interland, the like had seperate services and one could not recieve an email from another email service. My birth was blogged by my father on Prodigy but itContinue reading “How Should Social Media be Reformed”
Pseudocreepiness Versus Creepiness
The term “creep” has major issues. Foremost among them, a word that subjective can’t be as lethal as it is. The same adjective applied to an awkward teenager should not be used for a child molester. Many women do not consider the character of Christian Grey to be creepy but a guy talking to themContinue reading “Pseudocreepiness Versus Creepiness”
Shrek: A Retrospective
Is Shrek a good character? Well, I would not consider him to be that, principally, since he is literally a NIMBY. While fairy tales are not about fuedalism, as I have written, including in-universe politics does behoove a story and add to its moral. I have serious problems with Cinderella but not ones feminists tendContinue reading “Shrek: A Retrospective”
Identity Politics & Human Dignity
Identity politics tends to be shallow and myopic. They are far from concerned with a post-Rawlsian or pre-Rawlsian idea of human dignity and eudemonia. They tend to be overwhelmingly single-issue and also don’t give much thought to collateral effects. When I was in the Gay-Straight Alliance of my high school, for example, I was theContinue reading “Identity Politics & Human Dignity”
Corporal Punishment & Liberalism
Recently, Cassville, Missouri reinstated the paddling of students. Now, I am against this for myriad reasons, obviously. First, the overwhelming consensus of developmental and child psychologists are against it at the same level virologists are supportive of vaccines and climate scientists believe in global warming. It isn’t a question. It has been settled since theContinue reading “Corporal Punishment & Liberalism”
Bureaucratic Catastrophe
My alma mater, the College of Charleston, was the site of an utter disaster. It had a homelessness crisis, a substance abuse crisis, a mental health crisis, a food insecurity crisis, and the administrators were feckless. I did, publicly, call for the Dean of Students to be fired once and I stand by that. SheContinue reading “Bureaucratic Catastrophe”
The Price of Universal Deceit
It would be impossible to live by Kant’s strict code of honesty. Lying, according to him, sets a precedent that everyone would potentially follow and if everybody lied then no one could trust each other. To say nothing about the lack of psychological science backing that up, it would lead to mass metaphorical crucifixions. Likely,Continue reading “The Price of Universal Deceit”
How Woke is Hollywood?
Hollywood is, of course, liberal but is it good at being liberal? No. The entertainment industry has a selection bias, an obvious one. Their education is, mostly, in theater and the arts. Their literary godfather from the interwar years would be Picasso while mine would be Steinbeck. For them, the paragons of the left areContinue reading “How Woke is Hollywood?”
True Crime and Teleology
A while back, in 2018, I was in a philosophical debate with someone basically about Rawls versus Aristotle regarding the hypothetical of a gamer, high functioning heroin addict, with no daylight or culture and whether society should, in the normative, encourage the person to have a fuller life. I said yes and the other personContinue reading “True Crime and Teleology”
Truth & Reconciliation
We live in a very vindictive culture and the peace process of clearing the air in interpersonal relationships is mostly never attempted. In my experience, late millennials and Gen Z, especially, but people generally, are incapable of forgiveness, clearing the air, or any type of kinship or fraternity with people with whom they have hadContinue reading “Truth & Reconciliation”
Trying to Making Rawls Work
They lost community and cleaned up the mess with mass incerceration. If the late 20th century proved anything, it was that the decline in community and character led to social decay. This decay was not, as Pat Buchannan or Ronald Reagan would put it, the fault of the New Left and the hippies. At least,Continue reading “Trying to Making Rawls Work”
Robert Moses’ Promised Land: Morals, Ethics, and Empathy in the Geography of Nowhere
I was born in Charleston but was raised, mostly, in its affluent suburb of Mount Pleasant. It was a libertarian dystopia of rich Republicans living an overt life of family-oriented suburbanites and covertly a hypocritical Las Vegas of “what Baptists do when Jesus is too drunk to notice” It was not a place where oneContinue reading “Robert Moses’ Promised Land: Morals, Ethics, and Empathy in the Geography of Nowhere”
Kindness & Politics
Does kindness require politics? I have known many people, especially religious people, who are personally kind but politically the opposite. They will do charity work and help the less fortunate but ulitmately support policies that screw them over. Earlier, I wrote about how people would offer me friendship in my more desperate times but wouldn’tContinue reading “Kindness & Politics”
How I Write Fiction: Creativity on the Spectrum
The front page of this website has a frame from Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” but it does something with the song that Taylor Swift would never have done. That is because unlike Taylor Swift, my interpretation of Romeo & Juliet focusses more on the ugliness of the secarian conflict as opposed to the romance ofContinue reading “How I Write Fiction: Creativity on the Spectrum”
Prosecuting Justice for Mistreatment of the Disabled
Firstly, let us talk about the aim of “prosecuting” mistreatment of the disabled. It is not to exact revenge on the “bullies” and if that were the aim a lot less justice would be done for the reason they need to cooperate with the process as opposed to fighting it. It is impossible to resolveContinue reading “Prosecuting Justice for Mistreatment of the Disabled”
Martyrdom, Love, and Fear
In my recent article “Flirting on the Spectrum”, I write about how awkwardness can lead to false red flags and how the world being at DEFCON ONE prevents romance. I have never had that type of fear and it isn’t just because I’m male but because I am not that afraid of death or harmContinue reading “Martyrdom, Love, and Fear”
Purveying Morality in the Public Sphere
How does the public sphere purvey a moral system? The government funds art and it could grant subsidies to artists with positive messages. The obvious, and stupid, Rawlsian retort would be “who chooses what is moral?” Traditional virtues of love, kindness, honesty, humility, grace, mercy, love, education, etc… are not controversial between the major religionsContinue reading “Purveying Morality in the Public Sphere”
Flirting on the Spectrum
My approach to flirting is… I don’t, I just talk to people near me about whatever I think will interest them enough to talk to me. The world of romance, sex, and dating is something adults who adult do and getting anywhere close to it in conversation elicits a nervousness in me that the otherContinue reading “Flirting on the Spectrum”
The World According to True Crime
A while back, I believe 2015, I was at a town council meeting and the town council was voting on whether to approve the construction of a new playground. In what should have been a resounding approval, a NIMBY rose her voice. Now, her reasons for not wanting the playground likely had to do withContinue reading “The World According to True Crime”
The World According to True Crime
A while back, I believe 2015, I was at a town council meeting and the town council was voting on whether to approve the construction of a new playground. In what should have been a resounding approval, a NIMBY rose her voice. Now, her reasons for not wanting the playground likely had to do withContinue reading “The World According to True Crime”
God & The Hegelian Dialectic
Unlike most of the major enlightenment philosophers, Hegel was a deeply Christian man. His theory on the progression of society through ideas which is the dominant and I, believe, true description of social progress. The presence of God in history is a topic I would deign not cover as it ventures out of the realmContinue reading “God & The Hegelian Dialectic”
Judging Historical Figures
As an author of historical fiction and historian, the question of how to juxtapose historical figures against my ethics is common. Now, the first way I judge historical figures is by their own standards. That is whether and to what degree they were hypocrites. The next way I judge figures is whether or not theirContinue reading “Judging Historical Figures”
The Philosophy of History
I majored in history and one question that comes up in intro history classes is “What is history?” My answer to what history is derived from Hegel and Parfit. It is the process by which paradigms evolve. It is normal becoming strange and a new normal replacing it. It is the unthinkable becoming unthinkable toContinue reading “The Philosophy of History”
Charity versus Justice in Disability Advocacy
First, let’s define both terms. Justice is the rectifying of and atonement for wrongs which does not equate to punitive measures. In the context of disability advocacy, charity is being someone’s friend while justice is standing up to bullies, mediating an apology, and enacting policies or creating social mores which on a broad level changeContinue reading “Charity versus Justice in Disability Advocacy”
Are Fashion Rules a System of Normative Ethics?
Being on the spectrum, there is one form of hatred that trumps all others for my people: shaming. Minor social mistakes lead to major moral panics. Every time a publication like Cosmo or something like it invents rules that establish normative good for the culture or one or more subcultures it places truly good peopleContinue reading “Are Fashion Rules a System of Normative Ethics?”
Bernie Sanders is not a Hippie
I worked on the Bernie Sanders campaign but I have major issues with the Bernie movement. They are the same issues I have with much of the left. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez is not a hero of mine but she would be one if she dressed up like Victorian heriess, speaking with a fake posh southern EnglishContinue reading “Bernie Sanders is not a Hippie”
What is a Realistic Post-Rawlsian Society?
Rawls’ thin-good may be my go-to philosophical punching bag, I am not nearly the first person to critque him. He was lacerted by the communitarians of the 1970s and philosophers like Nausaum, today, have their way with him for similiar reasons. The idea that we should abolish all virtue ethics and most utilitarian ethics andContinue reading “What is a Realistic Post-Rawlsian Society?”
Foucault and Asexuality
I thoroughly dislike Foucault but there are elements of his philosophy that I do subscribe to. This article is going to focus on his ideas on the social construction of sexual orientation. Now, sexual orientation is not socially constructed. The categories of hetero, homo, an a sexual are social constructs but not the orientations, themselves.Continue reading “Foucault and Asexuality”
The Christianity After Liberalism
Many believed that Christianity (and religion) would die in the West but that is not happening. That said, the Christianity that is emerging is not the same Christianity that came into liberalism or even the most recent stages of liberalism. Neither version of Christianity had much to do with the message or tradition founded inContinue reading “The Christianity After Liberalism”
A Look Back at Twilight, Philosophically
During the criticism of the Twilight Saga over a decade ago, one criticism was remarkably absent. The critics focussed on literary quallity but that’s purely subjective and I am against trashing the honest effort of a writer who invested energy and pride into their work. Stephanie Meyer did not earn my cynicism for her low-qualityContinue reading “A Look Back at Twilight, Philosophically”
Rawls, Blending Goldfish, and the Avant Garde’s Thin-Good
As a member of the left, I can attest that it has had a conflicted morality for a long time. They will love Reniassiance Art, Opera, and the other trappings of European high culture and then talk about how much they hate Western culture. Maybe syllogism would forbid claiming operas and hunter-gatherers are both betterContinue reading “Rawls, Blending Goldfish, and the Avant Garde’s Thin-Good”
The Double Standard of Law & Social Regress (Part II)
One of the insane arguments made against the protesters mentioned in part one of this piece was that civil disobedience threatens liberal democracy. Based on the idea that it undermines the precedent of the rule of law. Dictatorships and fuedal monarchies have the rule of law, too. What is special about the rule of lawContinue reading “The Double Standard of Law & Social Regress (Part II)”
The Double Standard of Law & Social Regress
In watching the center-left’s opposition to Extinction Rebellion in the UK, I am dumbfounded and livid because their reasoning seems to be a general argument against civil disobedience that goes like: “If they break the law then they set a precedent for anyone breaking any law. Now, of course, we mean street law, not whiteContinue reading “The Double Standard of Law & Social Regress”
Are Viruses Alive?
It is a question that has plagued scientists for almost a century but it is mostly a matter of semantics since we know exactly what a virus is and how we define it has no bearing on how we relate to them. Linnean taxonomy is arbitrary, drawing lines for human convienience that don’t exist inContinue reading “Are Viruses Alive?”
Rawls & The Teleology of the Individual
What does liberal society wish for its members? For the most part, it only wishes for the individual to respect the negative liberties of others and have their negative liberties respected and nothing more. In Rawls’ system, there is no desire for happiness or a lack of suffering like in Bentham and Mill’s utilitarianism. AnContinue reading “Rawls & The Teleology of the Individual”
The Right to Hatred (Part III)
A while back, I wrote a piece on this blog entitled “The Demon-Haunted World” with the banner photo being of Nancy Grace. The principal psychological issue with True Crime is that it is rage porn. It stereotypes a class of people, criminals, as serial killers and pedophiles and leads to increased support for capital punishmentContinue reading “The Right to Hatred (Part III)”
Local Political Corruption, Part II
The public is a poor judge of character and it isn’t difficult for a sociopath to pass as a saint. Working in local politics, I can attest that it is fairly easy to make people think you’re a good person. First, being handsome helps a lot. The public is pretty stupid, like that. They trustContinue reading “Local Political Corruption, Part II”
Is the Democratic Party as Strategically Bad as Stereotyped?
The Democratic Party is lacerated on the left as being feckless and ineffectual. This is, doubtless, true. The basic two reasons are this, their approach to politics is frozen in the 1990s and their infighting. The main divide in American politics is urban/rural while they still imagine it as regional but an urban Southerner isContinue reading “Is the Democratic Party as Strategically Bad as Stereotyped?”
Boundaries in a Wasteland
People with disabilities often don’t live in the metaphhorical troposphere. That is the world of dating, drama, gossip, parties, substance use, and, generally, the sweaty, dark, and blackllit world adults are stereotyped as living in. For many, it is a world of long periods of silence broken by the occasional oasis of a platonic coffeeContinue reading “Boundaries in a Wasteland”
Nobody Deserves Anything: The Menu of Punishment or Atonement
The very concept of punishment is primitive and stupid. When I was in my high school gay-straight alliance, there was a general push for anti-bullying policies and, despite my being the victim of worse bullying than most of them, I would never have wanted to press charges in the school conduct system, much less, legally.Continue reading “Nobody Deserves Anything: The Menu of Punishment or Atonement”
Philosophical Pragmatism
I have many labels for my philosophies, deontogological, utilitarian, virtue ethicist, ethical intuitionist, and so forth. Those are all true and more than those are true. Yet, the etiology of my philosophies is, in large part, pragmatic. Pragmatism was once the great American philosophy. Now, I’m very much against moral relativism but everything that servesContinue reading “Philosophical Pragmatism”
Is Barbie Woke (Part II)
Is Barbie Woke (Part I): https://jacksonhamiltonivs.org/2022/06/11/is-barbie-woke/ The Meth of Liberalism Recently, I was watching a micro-documentary about the kids’ shows I grew up on and those shortly after my time. One thing I often highlight about them is that I was in Special Ed and there was no Special Ed in any of those shows.Continue reading “Is Barbie Woke (Part II)”
They Want to be Lied To: The Impluasibility of Political Honesty
I work in local politics and there are many reasons politicians are dishonest, some of which I have covered on this blog. However, one is unavoidable. The public wants to be lied to. I work in political communications and can honestly say that consituents do not want an honest politician representing them, for the mostContinue reading “They Want to be Lied To: The Impluasibility of Political Honesty”
The Apollonian & Dionysian: Abbie Hoffman versus James Dean
The two ultimate American rebels represent the Apollonian and Dionysian. Both men were into sex, drugs, and rock and roll yet that difference is superficial. Ultimately, Abbie Hoffman advocated a life of altruism and self-denial while James Dean represented hedonistic rednecks who held no such belliefs. The ideologies to which Abbie Hoffman subscribed were thoseContinue reading “The Apollonian & Dionysian: Abbie Hoffman versus James Dean”
The Right to Hatred (Part II)
The Right to Hatred (Part I): Liberalism died not only in terms of the classical liberalism of Locke, Rawls, civil liberties, individualism, and democracy but also in the diplomatic sense. In international politics, the two primary paradigms through which diplomacy is conducted are liberalism and realism. The former believes cooperation and agreed upon rules workContinue reading “The Right to Hatred (Part II)”
The Right to Hatred
In a liberal society people have the right to hate one another but if this right is exercised too much then liberal society becomes impossible. I’m not speaking about just ethnic, religious, or sectarian hatred but interpersonal hatred, as well. I’m a Swiftie (albeit not a hardcore one), as said in earlier blogs, and theContinue reading “The Right to Hatred”
Is Barbie Woke?
Greenwashing Toxic Fantasies in the Media At one of the war fronts of third-wave feminism is Barbie Roberts, a woman who did not have a surname until well into this century and if that surname is an indication of her ethnic heritage, she’s a Scot like myself. Canonically, she has been many things but MattelContinue reading “Is Barbie Woke?”
The Banal Stupidity of Small-Time Political Corruption
When corruption is imagined, it is imagined as something romantic and sophisticated. Having worked in local politics, the most common form of corruption is anything but. It isn’t Richard Nixon or Frank Underwood or ties to the mafia. In short, corruption in local politics is much dumber and, more or less, in the open. TheyContinue reading “The Banal Stupidity of Small-Time Political Corruption”
The Death of Style
If social progress over the past many decades has done anything to aesthetic culture, it has eroded it from something romantic into something utilitarian, and not in the Millsian sense. It used to be that hedonism meant Lord Byron or what Meatloaf lamented in the song “Bless my soul” in The Rocky Horror Picture ShowContinue reading “The Death of Style”
Rawls & Disability
John Rawls’ principal aim was to design a perfect liberalism. In doing so, he undermined liberalism in many ways, and in one particular area he failed to even protect interest groups directly with his philosophy. The prejudice experienced by people with disabilities is like high school prejudice well into adulthood. The average adult would neverContinue reading “Rawls & Disability”
Intllectual Hedonism
The story of the end of liberal democracy is one of the decline of shame and honor. Liberal democracy requires the graceful and chivalrous accepting of defeat. We live in an age where people increasingly end relationships through ghosting and over ever smaller causes. The filibuster and abandonment have existed for a long time butContinue reading “Intllectual Hedonism”
Philosophical Stampede Trail: The Moral Relationship of the Apollonian and Dyonisian
Philosophical Stampede Trail is a great place to be because it is the easiest answer to every question. One need not ponder much business ethics or relationship boundaries because capitalism and dating are far beneath you. It is the reason Christianity is a harder religion than Buddhism. Eternal existence as a Heavenly society is aContinue reading “Philosophical Stampede Trail: The Moral Relationship of the Apollonian and Dyonisian”
Dogwhistles and Karens: A Kinder, Gentler, Sadism
When talking about prejudice, for the most part, one must have explicit and gory stories or evidence of maltreatment for people to take it seriously. Luckily, I have that. Yet, it doesn’t cover the overwhelming majority of the inhumanity I have endured. Most of the overt bullying was “circus monkey” bullying for which my bulliesContinue reading “Dogwhistles and Karens: A Kinder, Gentler, Sadism”
PTSD from Social Situations
My last article detailed some of the horrors of being autistic but how people usually respond is less than ideal. They believe that the best recourse is punitive. However, punishment and revenge are not only inner-demons I’d rather stay dormant but have no therapeutic effect on me. My greatest issues after are not aContinue reading “PTSD from Social Situations”
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