Stephen R.C. Hicks's Blog

Source. Related: A Student History of Philosophy, Being a Compilation of Student Research, Gently Edited by Stephen Hicks, Rockford University.

Reprising this recommendation of four books that focus on the postmodern challenge in specific intellectual areas: * Literature: John Ellis, Literature Lost: Social Agendas and the Corruption of the Humanities. * History: Keith Windschuttle, The Killing of History. * Science: Noretta Koertge, editor, A House Built on Sand: Exposing Postmodernist Myths About Science. * Law: […]

Reason is the “most stiff-necked adversary of thought”. Source: Heidegger, Martin. The Question Concerning Technology [1949]. Related: On the fuller context of Heidegger’s provocative question: Related: On Heidegger’s place in the historical course of philosophy: Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault (print or e-book), or audiobook:

Two good posts by Alex Nowrasteh & David Bier on “Politically Motivated Violence is Rare in the United States,” showing the death tolls for Left and Right killers. Here is their “Politically Motivated Terrorist Killers: Data, Sources, and Methodology” One summary chart: I have questions about the definitions, but this is a strong start to […]

Like most people, I’ve been sickened by the reaction of many, most of the intolerant Left, to the murder of Charlie Kirk. Murder is wrong, and any morally developed person knows it. There is no “But … ” — whether that “But” is followed by “he sometimes said things I believe to be wrong/hateful/” or […]

Marcuse: “What is proclaimed and practiced as tolerance today, is in many of its most effective manifestations serving the cause of oppression.“ About the Course In this eight-lecture course, Professor Stephen R.C. Hicks takes us on a journey through the evolution of modern political philosophies from the tensions of Cold War to the turbulent post-9/11 […]

From a 2020 interview: Jennifer Grossman  [47:15]:  What is your perspective, Professor Hicks, on reparations, a claim that current society must repay current racial minorities for wrongs done in the past? Stephen Hicks: My view is: Absolutely not. Reparations comes out of a kind of tradition of justice. Justice is absolutely important. If an individual wrongs […]

The influential Jean-Jacques Rousseau was anti-Enlightenment, advocating censorship, collectivism, and the death penalty for non-believers. For an elaboration, check out this 4-minute clip from my discussion with James Lindsay and Michael O’Fallon: The full 1.5-hour video is here: Related: Stephen R.C. Hicks, Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault (Expanded Edition).

"Stephen Hicks, a professor of philosophy at Rockford College, has produced a clearly written, concise book explaining just what postmodern philosophy is and how it arose, and he has done so in an admirable way."

Jensen Huang (Nvidia CEO) on why innovation first takes failure. “Unless you have a tolerance for failure, you will never experiment. If you don’t experiment you won’t innovate, and if you don’t innovate you won’t succeed.” So a key question for educators: How do we teach successful failing? Especially since kids often learn to fear […]