The Psychology of Partisan Politics
Mar 10, 2013Are you a tax-raising, soy latte-drinking, Prius-driving, New York Times-reading, Daily Show-watching, corporation-hating liberal?
From The New Yorker, this delightful long-form piece, "A Celebrity Philosopher Explains the Populist Insurgency," discusses Peter Sloterdijk, one of Germany's most famous and celebrated living philosophers.
In narrative form, the article tells of Sloterdijk's penchant for irreverence, explains how Sloterdijk has come under fire for his antipathy toward Syrian refugees, and illustrates how Sloterdijk rose to prominence as German philosopher Jürgen Habermas's foil. A philosopher who is unapologetic and outspoken, Sloterdijk infuses cheekiness and perspicacity into his work. This article provides nuggets of insight about German culture and its citizens' proclivity for reading and following philosophers, too.
Read (or listen to) the article here:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/02/26/a-celebrity-philosopher-ex...
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Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is without doubt one of the most influential philosophers of all time.
Humanism as a movement arose with the Renaissance. It took powerful expression with the Enlightenment, and deeply influenced the founding of the United States.
Best known for his work Being and Time, Martin Heidegger has been hailed by many as the greatest philosopher of the twentieth century.
Jürgen Habermas is regarded as one of the last great public intellectuals of Europe and a major contributor to the philosophy of democracy.
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What's your favorite movie? Did you watch that season finale last night? No spoilers! Popular cultures pervades modern life.
Why do some people have a strange desire to do weird things for no (good) reason? There's something fascinating about kids who eat laundry soap as part of a “challenge,” or people who deliberately... Read more
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In her time—the 4th century CE—Hypatia was one of the most famous philosophers in Alexandria, and indeed in the ancient world. She studied and taught mathematics,... Read more
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"The World According to Proust."
... Read more
This week we’re thinking about how to create a world in which our leaders are not just effective legislators, but also good people.
Some might think there are not enough leaders like that... Read more
This week we're thinking about the British Liberal tradition and its relationship to colonialism and self-government. Classical Liberal thinkers, like John Locke and John Stuart Mill, held that... Read more
This week we’re thinking about Collective Action and Climate Change. With floods and fires getting more frequent and intense, and with the summer just ended shattering heat records around the... Read more
This week we’re thinking about cultural appropriation and asking who owns culture—which may be a weird way of thinking about it. It's easy to see how somebody can own the rights to a song they... Read more
This week we’re questioning Effective Altruism. That’s Peter Singer’s idea that you should do the most good you can, and you should figure out what that is by doing your homework and choosing the... Read more
This week we're asking what Political Inequality is. Sounds easy to define, right? That’s when some people don’t get an equal voice in society, because they’re not represented in government, or... Read more
This week we're asking whether it's rational to be optimistic—which seems like bit of a crazy question if you've been reading the news lately. After all, what could possibly justify the belief... Read more
This week we're thinking about the Changing Face of Antisemitism—a program recorded last month at the Stanford Humanities Center for our first live, in-person event in 2-1/2 years.
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Comments (1)
Harold G. Neuman
Monday, April 2, 2018 -- 10:07 AM
Sounds like a man after mySounds like a man after my own heart. Tried to read the linked piece-but the site was down. The German people (whom I have known, including my lovely, mule-headed wife) are a no-nonsense lot. My Dutch/English/Native American heritage sometimes clashes with German friends and loved-ones. I must read him. And, I shall.