Stephan R. C. Hicks

EP #31 | Hazony Attacks the Enlightenment

January 16, 2020 admin Open College with Dr. Stephen Hicks Comments Off on EP #31 | Hazony Attacks the Enlightenment

On December 30th 2019, the YouTube channel Prager University released a video narrated by bible scholar and political theorist Yoram Hazony discussing the Enlightenment. Hazony makes eight major claims about the Enlightenment and while there are some thoughtful arguments against the Enlightenment, Hazony has not made them. In this episode of Open College, Dr. Hicks points out the flaws in Hazony’s augments and shows why this video is an example of special-pleading history.

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#29 War on Socialism

November 5, 2019 admin Open College with Dr. Stephen Hicks Comments Off on #29 War on Socialism

William James was a leading American philosopher who lived at the turn of the 20th century. In his essay the Moral Equivalent of War, James describes himself as a socialist and pacifist and is very disgusted with the human history of war and is looking for a solution. This essay, while thoughtful and well argued is to my mind, highly objectionable. Here is why.

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EP #28 | Keynes Blame

October 22, 2019 admin Open College with Dr. Stephen Hicks Comments Off on EP #28 | Keynes Blame

Is Keynes to blame for everything? John Maynard Keynes was the most influential economist of the 20th century. In the 21st century his theories are institutionalized. But how close is current Keyesnian practice to original Keynesian theory?

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#26 Manifest Destiny Wasn’t

September 24, 2019 admin Open College with Dr. Stephen Hicks Comments Off on #26 Manifest Destiny Wasn’t
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#25 Thales’ Revolution

September 10, 2019 admin Open College with Dr. Stephen Hicks Comments Off on #25 Thales’ Revolution

The standard claim is that philosophy begins with Thales. Why did philosophy come into being in a clusters of cities on the coasts of Asia minor? Ascribed to Thales by Aristotle: “The first principle and basic nature of all things is water, ”and “All things are full of gods.” Why do historians of philosophy get worked up over these lines?
To see their significance, let’s set a context by going back to the worldview of the awesomely great Homer. So brush up on The Iliad, which I want to use as our pre-philosophy-worldview contrast object.

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#24 Does Power Corrupt?

August 26, 2019 admin Open College with Dr. Stephen Hicks Comments Off on #24 Does Power Corrupt?

Lord Acton said, “absolute power corrupts absolutely” but is this accurate? Abuses of social and political power are the ones we worry about the most. Social science data does seem too, on the surface, bare out Lord Acton’s claims. However, if you correlate the degrees of corruption with degrees of centralization the data suggests things are not quite so simple.

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EP #23 – Is Postmodernism Neo-Marxist? Yes, No & Sort Of.

July 30, 2019 admin Open College with Dr. Stephen Hicks Comments Off on EP #23 – Is Postmodernism Neo-Marxist? Yes, No & Sort Of.

Professor Jordan B. Peterson is perhaps most famous for the neo-Marxist label “Postmodern Neo-Marxism.” Although Dr. Peterson recommends Explaining Postmodernism by Dr. Hicks, their analysis on this issue differs in some important ways.

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EP #22 | Did Coffee Give Us The Enlightenment

July 9, 2019 admin Open College with Dr. Stephen Hicks Comments Off on EP #22 | Did Coffee Give Us The Enlightenment

As a contributing factor, coffee (and tea) certainly gets credit on physiological grounds. Also contributing was the development of European coffee house culture, the coffee houses bringing businessmen, artists, and scientists together for drinking and socializing.

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EP #20 | Sex Dolls: Why Not?

June 16, 2019 admin Open College with Dr. Stephen Hicks Comments Off on EP #20 | Sex Dolls: Why Not?

Sex Dolls, Artificial Intelligence, and the Real Thing. Newly-engineered materials and robotics have made the physical experiences closer to the real thing, and artificial intelligence has enabled robots to respond verbally and non-verbally more realistically. let’s set aside the politics and focus on the ethics: Is sex with robots a good thing? a bad thing?

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EP 18 | A Conversation with Dr. Jordan Peterson [Excerpt]

May 6, 2019 admin Open College with Dr. Stephen Hicks Comments Off on EP 18 | A Conversation with Dr. Jordan Peterson [Excerpt]

This is an excerpt from a conversation between Dr. Hicks and Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, recorded on March 27, 2019 on the Jordan B. Peterson podcast. Dr. Peterson is a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, a clinical psychologist and the author of the multi-million copy bestseller 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos. In this episode, the professors discuss the origins of Explaining Post Modernism, its acceptance and increased awareness amongst the philosophers and the origins of criticisms. The professors agree to continue the discussion further as the seeds of a new enlightenments may be upon us.

To listen to the full interview visit the Jordan B. Peterson podcast RSS feed at www.JordanBPeterson.com

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