ፍትህ ለሁሉም / Justice for All
Interacting with the divine is outside of the realm of normal human experience. The supernatural is, by definition, outside the limits of what can be quantified, measured, examined scientifically, or understood from coldly academic foundations. That does not make it any less real or vital to the human experience. Augustine points out “Thou awakest us …
What if I told you that there’s no such thing as an individual action? That every time you eat, walk up the stairs or read a book, you are not the sole agent behind what you are doing, but are engaged in a process of co-creation – as much acted-upon as acting? Read more
Deep in the south of Egypt, on the west bank of the Nile facing the historic capital Thebes, stand two 60-foot-tall statues of the pharaoh Amenhotep III (14th century BCE). By the time the Romans annexed Egypt in 30 BCE, these colossi were an ancient remnant of the grandeur of the pharaoh’s mortuary temple, doomed by the Nile’s floodwaters, that …
Cosmopolitanism is a broad-ranging term in sociopolitical and moral philosophy which has been the subject of debate in human geography and the social sciences. It is a highly contested term which has been conceptualized and defined in different ways. Cosmopolitanism is generally associated with the concept that all of humanity could (and should) belong to a single community. …
Early proponents of cosmopolitanism included the Cynic Diogenes and Stoics such as Cicero. Those thinkers rejected the idea that one should be importantly defined by one’s city of origin, as was typical of Greek males of the time. Rather, they insisted that they were “citizens of the world.” Read more
The word ‘cosmopolitan’, which derives from the Greek word kosmopolitēs (‘citizen of the world’), has been used to describe a wide variety of important views in moral and socio-political philosophy. The nebulous core shared by all cosmopolitan views is the idea that all human beings, regardless of their political affiliation, are (or can and should be) citizens …
A new edition of the highly acclaimed book Multiculturalism and “The Politics of Recognition,” this paperback brings together an even wider range of leading philosophers and social scientists to probe the political controversy surrounding multiculturalism. Charles Taylor’s initial inquiry, which considers whether the institutions of liberal democratic government make room — or should make room — for recognizing the worth of …
Two weeks ago—when the election of Donald Trump was still, to many people, an almost comedic idea—Charles Taylor, the Canadian philosopher, visited the Social Science Research Council, in Brooklyn, to talk about the fate of democracy with some graduate students. He had just won the Berggruen Prize, which is awarded, along with a million dollars, …
A lot of criticisms are leveled at modern Western individualism. Taylor acknowledges that it can seem narrow, shallow and too focused on instrumental self-interest. Still, he refuses simple negativity. The modern idea of self brought new richness and freedoms to human life. It not only built on foundations like St. Augustine’s articulation of a sense …
Does philosophy matter for real life and society? Isn’t it all about abstract ideas? Actually, philosophy is all about real issues! Philosophy aims to provide you with the big picture. It allows you to connect and evaluate the many details that you get from the news and from other sciences. Philosophers discuss topics from gene drives to gender. Read more