Is Wokeness Killing Art? Part One: Ideology
A Philosopher's Blog
by Michael LaBossiere
4d ago
  In America’s ongoing culture war, the right has largely embraced the idea that wokeness is a grave danger. While wokeness is seen as a general threat, there is a special focus on the damage that it is supposed to be doing to artistic media, such as movies and video games. While The Barbie Movie did not fit the “go woke, go broke” narrative, Ben Shapiro claims to have “destroyed” the movie in a 43-minute review.  Given that the movie was a remarkable financial success that seems to have been sincerely enjoyed by millions of people, it is unclear what this destruction amounts to ..read more
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EVs, Renewable Energy & the False Concern Argument
A Philosopher's Blog
by Michael LaBossiere
1w ago
  Back when the Prius and other hybrids went on the market, some anti-environmentalists expressed their opinion by rolling coal (humorously dubbed “Prius repellent”).  The animosity against hybrids seemed to fade somewhat but the arrival of commercially viable electronic vehicles has sparked a new current of anger.   I first noticed this on Facebook in the form of cartoons and memes posted about EVs. The cartoon usually showed an EV with an extension cord connected to a smoke-belching powerplant and the memes made a similar point. This struck me as odd since I knew the peop ..read more
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Republicans and the Constitution
A Philosopher's Blog
by Michael LaBossiere
1w ago
  In a recent episode of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart called “BS on Trump and the GOP’s Performative Patriotism.”  In the usual Daily Show style, he made his case using an argument by example. His first set of video examples provided evidence that members of the GOP purport to love the Constitution. The second set of video examples show Trump explicitly rejecting Constitutional rights (such as the First Amendment) and accepted American principles. As Stewart provides the videos in context and there is an abundance of additional evidence available (one can simply go to Fox New’s w ..read more
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A Philosopher's Blog
by aphilosopher_1jzk68
7M ago
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Hello world!
A Philosopher's Blog
by aphilosopher_y62sjo
7M ago
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing ..read more
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TERFs & MEWFs II: MEWFs
A Philosopher's Blog
by Michael LaBossiere
8M ago
A MEWF is a Minority Excluding White Feminist. While a TERF (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist) excludes trans-women because they claim they are not women, a MEWF does not claim that minority women are not women. As such, their exclusion from concern is based on some other factor. One factor is ignorance. The United States is deeply segregated by race and economic class. For those who might doubt the evidence, it is easy to acquire what is admittedly anecdotal evidence: walk around your neighborhood and consider the diversity (or lack thereof) of your friends. While you might be an interesti ..read more
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TERFs & MEWFs I: TERFs
A Philosopher's Blog
by Michael LaBossiere
11M ago
In revising my Modern Philosophy class, I added the philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft. Based on recent revelations about philosophers such as George Berkeley (he owned slaves), I did some digging into the backgrounds of the other philosophers. While I reside in my adopted state of Florida, I believe that the past should be presented in an honest and accurate manner. I was surprised to learn that Wollstonecraft, long praised as a Modern era feminist, has been accused of being an upper class white feminist who appropriated slavery in her writings. While my experience with philosophical feminism is ..read more
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Tax Cuts = Handouts
A Philosopher's Blog
by Michael LaBossiere
11M ago
In general, the American right praises tax cuts while condemning what they call “handouts.” Thanks to a well-established narrative, this seems to be a consistent and sensible position. People generally see taxes as a negative and taxes take money away from people as a cost. Hence, a tax cut can be presented as being positive since it results in taking less from people. And who would not want their taxes reduced? In contrast, while people might like money for nothing, handouts have been presented in a negative light. The narrative is that while a tax is wrongfully taking away from a person who ..read more
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Trumpian Conception of Justice
A Philosopher's Blog
by Michael LaBossiere
1y ago
Even before Trump was indicted, he and his defenders claimed that the Democrats had “weaponized our sacred system of justice” against him. The general narrative is that the indictment is the result of the Democrats’ hatred of Trump, their desire to harm him and their intention to interfere in the 2024 election. While their defense condemns the weaponization of the legal system and they profess a love of the “sacred system of justice”, there is the matter of whether their profession of justice matches their conception of justice. Trying to attribute a conception of justice to politicians and pu ..read more
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If They Can Come for Trump…
A Philosopher's Blog
by Michael LaBossiere
1y ago
Donald Trump just made history as the only former President to be indicted. Given his long history of avoiding consequences for his misdeeds, this probably came as a shock to him. While it is hoped that Trump’s lawyers will provide the competent legal defense that all accused citizens are supposed to receive, he and his defenders have been focused on mobilizing and grifting his base. Trump has hit upon two clever rhetorical approaches with a common root. The first is a reboot of his “in reality, they’re not after me, they’re after you. I’m just in the way.” The second is the assertion that if ..read more
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