More Analogies of Feminism and Marxism

Speculations on a Just Society

Truth, Falsity, and Fantasy

Is the Minaret Ban ‘democratic’?
Most readers will probably have by now that Switzerland has passed a referendum to ban the building of minarets anywhere in the country. This has prompted many musings, in particular on the relationship between democracy and liberty. This looks, after all, like an example of an illiberal but democratic measure. This prompts Chris to say “We have, therefore, a simple conflict of fundamental values, a vindication of Isaiah Berlin: …Some among the great goods cannot live togeth

The Philosophy of Cute
Poll: is this baby bat cute? I posted a few things a while back on analysing disgust philosophically. Some emotions have got plenty of attention like this from philosophers, especially love. But something that I’ve never seen discussed in the literature is cuteness – what is the content and the meaning of our perceiving things as cute? A google search brings up nothing but people naming their cats Socrates a

Some Stuff, which is Random
There’s stuff everywhere. Stuff that is a cruel joke: The 5th International! has been declared at long last by…Hugo Chavez. This will unite the forces of revolutionary socialism world-wide. In Chavez’s view, of course, the forces of revolutionary socialism include…Mugabe. And Ahmadinejad. And the Chinese Communist Party. And…wait, what? Thing is, I could sort of understand these sort of vile endorsements before – though I’m not too motivated to insist on a charitable reading o

What would a Vegan Society look like? Part 2: Species and Cultures
I sort of feel like the ‘what would a vegan world look like?‘ topic deserves a couple more posts, although this one continues to duck the central and thorny (and sticky – like a thornbush covered in treacle) questions, and instead deals with certain concerns that often come up in this sort of context. One recurrent question goes as follows: “If we all became vegatarian/vegan what would happen to all the existing domestic cows, sheep and pigs etc? Would a truly vegan society mean the extinction of domestic cattle a

What Would a Vegan Society Look Like? Preamble
Reader Mute Fox, from withwhatartthoudiscontented, said a while back: “I am merely curious to know how you envision a free human society…interacting on equal terms with other species, all the time. I am not saying it couldn’t be done…I just wonder what you think that would look like.” After a perhaps-unconscionable delay I figured I should try to say something about this. It’s hard to know where to start, especially because so much of the answer to this question is bound up with environmental questions about our relationship to the overall biosphere. The