One of the most significant political and legal events of the year was The Supreme Court case in February, United States v. Alvarez. The Supreme Court consented to hear this case regarding the validity of the Stolen Valor Act of 2005. It was as if Socrates himself was there in the court. The dialectical method used by the judges was evident as they utilized questions to obtain the judgments required by this case. [More]

Sam Harris says were not free and its time to face that fact. Popular author and religious antagonist, Harris tackles another sacred cow of the religiously-inclined: free will. In this article, I analyze his argument and give a common rejoinder to it's core idea. [More]

There is a modern day slave trade and an estimated 27-30 million people are enslaved worldwide. At the heart of today’s slave trade are the many forms of enslavement such as debt bondage, forced labor, forced child labor, child soldiers, sex slaves, and child sex slaves. The mission of human rights oranizations are built upon the philosophical foundations of what it means to be human, particularly the meaning and function of human rights. [More]

Two philosophers out of Denmark have developed a proof that demonstrates that philosophy doesn't exist. They have the support of some politicians but many in the philosophical community are enraged. [More]

One in five teens will experiment with philosophy. Only you can help. [More]

How do you help those in need? What is your responsibility? Peter Singer argues that the well-to-do should give a fair percentage of their income away and that failure to do so makes you a bad person. But things aren't always that simple. [More]

Who killed JFK? Was it a conspiracy executed by top government officials or the lone act of a single man? Epistemology is an especially valuable discipline to utilize when examining conspiracy theories. Some may think it is an epistemic duty to dismiss conspiracy theories. However, if a cursory examination of the evidence suggests that a given theory is plausible, then intuition seems to dictate that we have an epistemic duty to examine the theory. [More]

The Arab Spring raises numerous issues in political philosophy such as the justification of the state, the nature of the state, and the role of the state, liberty, and property. All of these concepts are evident in these monumental series of events. Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean Jacques-Rousseau are believed to be the foremost political philosophers of Western Civilization. However, the 17th century British philosopher, John Locke, holds a special place in American political thought. [More]

The world demands a conversation. Enjoying life, even (maybe particularly) as a philosopher, requires give and take, a yielding of some control, an ability to let go and follow instead of lead. [More]

Philosophers have been been trying to better understand how knowledge works for centuries. Progress has been slow and comes in fits and starts but it does come. Every so often new philosophical innovations shed light on intractable problems and things move forward. Dr. Jason Baehr is a philosopher who may be at the cusp of one of those innovations working in the field of virtue epistemology that attempts to focus on the role and attitudes of the knower in the knowledge game. [More]