ፍትህ ለሁሉም / Justice for All
John Locke (1632-1704), the pioneer enlightenment thinker, developed contractual theory to justify the public – government relationship. The theory is based on Thomas Hobbes’ (1588-1679) preference for government to state of nature expounded in his 1651 book (Leviathan). Locke’s contractual theory is based on the presumption that man relinquishes his freedom for mutual preservation. Watch …
A useful panel making occasional webcasting on international issues. It invites professionals from different disciplines to talk about burning issues. Good one to follow. Watch the video
I enjoy listening to Harari and agree with in most cases he shares. However, after listening to what he says about tribalism and nationalism in this video, I am compelled to question the wisdom of his arguments more stringently than I used to. He obviously still clings to metaphysical thinking so he did not appreciate …
Economist Jeffrey Sachs exposes the systematic suppression of poor countries especially Africa by the so-called developed nations. Watch the video
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is talking to Edward Luce of Financial Times (FT) about the new Foreign policy of the United States, especially regarding the US relationship with Russia and China. He commented that the United States should be conscious of differences with both Russia and China in formulating specific policies but should …
Yuval Noah Harari and Timothy Snyder talk at StandforUkraine.com about the war in Ukraine and its implications for the future of the world. Both speakers are on Ukraine’s side unconditionally, that is without questioning the contribution of the NATO in triggering the war. Harari is not a politician but Snyder is a respected political commentator …
In this video, Yuval Noah Harari, a noted historian and futurist, addresses issues related to the War in Ukraine. He responds to questions on TEDs. Harari is not a politician and he characterizes himself as such. But unfortunately, he would not go beyond declaring that he is not a politician and stop talking about politics. …
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of the most influential thinkers during the Enlightenment in eighteenth century Europe. His first major philosophical work, A Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, was the winning response to an essay contest conducted by the Academy of Dijon in 1750. In this work, Rousseau argues that the progression of the sciences and …
Machiavelli was a 16th-century Florentine philosopher known primarily for his political ideas. His two most famous philosophical books, The Prince and the Discourses on Livy, were published after his death. His philosophical legacy remains enigmatic, but that result should not be surprising for a thinker who understood the necessity to work sometimes from the shadows. There is still …
Thomas Hobbes (April 5, 1588–December 4, 1679) was an English philosopher, whose famous 1651 book Leviathan set the agenda for much of subsequent Western political philosophy. Michael Oakeshott famously described it as ‘the greatest, perhaps the sole, masterpiece of political philosophy written in the English language.[1] Hobbes also contributed to a diverse array of fields, including history, geometry, ethics, law, psychology general philosophy and what …