The Self-Driving Trolley Problem
By: Alex Wall Imagine you are the driver of a runaway train. The brakes on your train have failed, but you still have the ability to steer the train from the main track to a single alternate track. You...
View ArticleOn Martyrs, Part One
By: Harold E. Clitus “I saw her wince, I saw her cry, I saw the the glory in her eye. Myself I long for love and light, But must it come so cruel, and must it be so very bright?” – Joan of Arc, Leonard...
View ArticleBullsh*tting the Bullsh*tter
By: Lucian Gordon Pennycook, a PhD candidate at the University of Waterloo, wants us to take bullshit seriously. Pennycook’s charming research apparently owes much to the academic philosopher, Harry...
View ArticlePhilosophy Wanders But Is It Lost?
Howl of the Day: Feb 9, 2016 In an impressive article in the New York Times, Robert Frogeman and Adam Briggle call for a re-examination of the place of philosophy in society. Articles like this one are...
View ArticleSocrates Made Tiny and Cute
Howl of the Day: Feb 16, 2016 The Second Letter attributed to the philosopher, Plato, contains the famous suggestion that his dialogues present a Socrates made “young and beautiful”. Some people, it...
View ArticleIntuition Unintuited
Howl of the Day: Feb 17, 2016 Moral intuition is a strange thing. When faced with a moral dilemma we often have a gut feeling that something is right or wrong. This feeling of certainty often...
View ArticleMedieval Heart, Postmodern Mind – Umberto Eco (1932-2016)
There is a riddle at the center of Eco's existence: In his theoretical work, he usually had the look of a post-modern man. And yet, in his art, he could look almost medieval.
View ArticleTrigger Warning: You Are Not Triggered!
A conversation between the Editors of Political Animal and a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology about the misuse of the term “triggered”, its cultural context, and implications. The term...
View ArticleDiscussion is Coming!
Over the next few months, we are going to examine the political insights of A Song of Ice and Fire through a series of character studies. Join us! Every couple weeks or so, we will pick a different...
View ArticleA Politics of Ice and Fire
By: Lewis Slawsky There are many reasons that G.R.R. Martin’s fantasy epic, A Song of Ice and Fire, has been such a tremendous popular and critical success. Here is just one reason, but a major one – A...
View ArticleThe Argument and the Action
We have divided our study of the political theory of G.R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire into a series of discussions, each one focusing on a single character. Why this character by character...
View ArticleVarys – A Machiavellian Beast
"The storms come and go, the waves crash overhead, the big fish eat the little fish, and I keep on paddling." Politically astute and self-aware, Varys embodies Machiavelli's view that a wise prince...
View ArticleVarys – A Eunuch
One fact we learn early on about Varys, and are reminded of frequently, is that he is a eunuch. His castration is one of the central features of his character and lies at the heart of his political...
View ArticleSanders at Dearborn: A Socialist Love-Story
The idea that Bernie Sanders' support among Arabs and Muslims suggests there is little anti-Semitism in America is as absurd as the idea that there is no more racism in America, since it has elected a...
View ArticleBuddha’s Political Philosophy
By: Stefan Schindler Nagarjuna’s suggestion – combining wisdom and wit – exhibits the essence of Buddha’s political philosophy: simplicity, humility, compassion. To open a vista onto Buddha’s vision of...
View ArticleSullivan, Trump, and Tyranny in America
Howl of the Day: May 3, 2016 Veteran political commentator and online media all-star, Andrew Sullivan, emerged from semi-retirement yesterday, firing broadsides. In an article for New York Magazine,...
View ArticleSilence as Speech: Reading Sor Juana’s Primero Sueño in the Light of her...
By: Rich Frontjes Speakers and Listeners in Public Discourse American public discourse is theoretically founded on the freedom of speech. This freedom to speak, however, in no way guarantees entry...
View ArticleJudge Posner on Meta-Ethics and Rational vs. Nonrational Argumentation
Moral theory is like a system of mathematics that has never gotten beyond addition.” — R. POSNER
View ArticleWhat Fascism Is Not, What It Is, and Why It Matters
Howl of the Day: May 31, 2016 Fascism, as a term, has become almost synonymous with injustice. And this common view of fascism is a good place to begin understanding the phenomenon. Once the term is...
View ArticleWas Nietzsche an aristocratic elitist?
By: Ippolit Belinski An earlier version of this article appeared on Paradox of the Day. Nietzsche is often portrayed as an aristocratic elitist, whose main concern was with higher morals and who...
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