politics

On Puppies, Trees and Fetuses… or, What I DON’T Mean By “Weak Humanism”

June 9, 2024 Dr. J Philosophy, Politics, Weak Humanism 10 Comments

I’ve gotten some interesting feedback from my “Digital Dialogues” interview with Chris Long on weak humanism, including several questions about my work (and its implications) that I had not anticipated. So, I thought I’d take an opportunity here to try and clear up some things. I may need to split my response to the concerns…

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District 9 and Science (Non)Fiction

June 9, 2024 Dr. J Film, Film Reviews, Politics, Pop Culture/Film/Literature, Weak Humanism 5 Comments

I went with a friend to see the new sci-fi film District 9 last night, despite the fact that, as a rule, I’m not a huge fan of science fiction. It was a great film. It was produced by Peter Jackson (of Lord of the Rings fame), and South African writer/director, Niell Blomkamp, makes his…

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De jure is de facto’s slave…

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Human Rights, Politics, Torture 3 Comments

I was pleased to discover recently that Ethan Coen, of the famed Coen Brothers (screenwriters for some of the very best in contemporary film, like Fargo, O Brother! Where Art Thou?, No Country for Old Men, The Big Lebowski and Miller’s Crossing) has also published a book of poetry. One of the poems in that…

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Ahmadinejad and the U.N.

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Politics 1 Comment

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad prompted a ruckus (and a mass walk-out) this week at the Durban II Conference, the followup to the U.N.’s first anti-racism conference, the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenohobia and Related Intolerance, which was held in South Africa in 2001. Most of the protestors left before Ahmadinejad got started on…

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Torture 101

June 9, 2024 Dr. J Dr. J's Lists, Human Rights, Philosophy, Politics, Teaching, Torture, Weak Humanism 2 Comments

A friend and colleague of mine invited me to come speak to his class about torture last week. The class was a writing seminar, organized around the theme of “citizenship,” and my colleague was feeling (understandably) frustrated because– in his words– he “just didn’t feel like [he] had the tools or the knowledge to counter…

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Redactional Fatigue

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Human Rights, Philosophy, Politics, Torture Comments Off on Redactional Fatigue

Lest you think that the “author” is really “dead,” here’s a term I stumbled across recently that you might find interesting: redactional fatigue. Our friends at Wikipedia define it thus: When making changes to a large text, a redactor may occasionally overlook a piece of text that conflicts with the redactional goals. Since many important…

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Cheating and Swine Flu

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Philosophy, Politics, Pop Culture/Film/Literature, Teaching Comments Off on Cheating and Swine Flu

Did I mention that I don’t care about cheating? Check. Did that already. Of course, if you read the earlier post, you know it’s not so much that I don’t care about cheating as it is that I don’t care about policing cheaters. (Read linked blog-post for my amazing argument in support of said apathy.)…

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President Jokes-A-Lot

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Obama, Politics 1 Comment

Hey, did you hear our President is FUNNY? Here is the video from his gig at the annual White House Correspondent’s Dinner. Targets of Obama’s barbs: Dick Cheney, Larry Summers, FOXNews, Arlen Specter, Hillary Clinton, swine flu, Somali pirates, Joe Biden, the First Dog (Bo), and of course, himself, himself, himself. What a nice change…

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Out of Sight, Out of Mind

June 9, 2024 Dr. J Human Rights, Obama, Politics, Torture, Weak Humanism Comments Off on Out of Sight, Out of Mind

As you no doubt have heard by now, President Obama announced last week his decision to block the release of photos depicting the use of “harsh interrogation techniques” (read: “torture”) on detainees in Afghanistan and Iraq. This decision marks a strange reversal of the Pentagon’s previous decision to release the photos (after the ACLU prevailed…

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On Being (And Not Being) A “Philosopher”

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Philosophy, Politics, Women and Gender Issues 3 Comments

There’s a debate ensuing over on The Leiter Report (which, for all intents and purposes, serves as the internet bulletin board and agora for professional philosophers) over whether or not the pensive-looking woman to your left, Hannah Arendt, is a “philosopher.” The question that started the debate, posed by Jason Stanley, is articulated in his…

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