Author: Paul Fairfield
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Why freedom?
PODCAST: TRANSCRIPT: With the publication of Essays: The Philosophy Crush Podcast, my intention in releasing this book was to bring this podcast project to a conclusion. The book contains all the podcast episodes with several additional ones toward the end for your reading pleasure. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working on this podcast over the last few years,…
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The philosophy Crush book is out on amazon
We are proud to announce Essays: The Philosophy Crush Podcast book is now available on Amazon. The book is available in paperback for a great price. Purchase the book on Amazon. This book comprises the complete essays from the Philosophy Crush podcast, a miscellany of reflections and intellectual venturings that hold some relevance for our…
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Where are we going?
PODCAST: TRANSCRIPT: Imagine being on board a train that is racing through the countryside at breakneck speed toward a destination that no one on board or anywhere else knows. This is not a bad metaphor for where our society presently finds itself. It’s common knowledge that much in our culture has changed over the last…
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REBELLION
PODCAST: TRANSCRIPT: Whenever any kind of rebellion or protest occurs, it’s always pertinent to ask what the individuals in question are rebelling against, what do they want, and why do they want it. Rebellion without a cause is an exercise in futility. The great teacher of this was the French existentialist Albert Camus, whose life…
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Belief and temperament
PODCAST: TRANSCRIPT: Over a century ago, the American philosopher and psychologist William James argued in his book Pragmatism that what he called “the present dilemma in philosophy” is that philosophers may not be as objective as they have long claimed to be. The ideal of rational inquiry has long been, particularly since the enlightenment, that we must…
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Deschooling?
PODCAST: TRANSCRIPT: Half a century ago, Austrian philosopher Ivan Illich published a little book called Deschooling Society. Illich’s principal aim in that book was to critique existing educational institutions from the elementary school to the university. His aim was clearly indicated in the title: he wants to “deschool” society—to get rid of them, and to…
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What kills a democracy?
PODCAST: TRANSCRIPT: We make a very large mistake when we imagine that western-style democracy is destined to remain ascendant forever. Authoritarianism is the proverbial wolf at the door in every democratic society, and its constant tendency is to change forms from time to time and from place to place. It has been correctly said by…
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The banality of evil
PODCAST: TRANSCRIPT: The second chapter of Leo Tolstoy’s short story “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” begins with the following sentence: “Ivan Ilyich’s life had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible.” I first read this story as a teenager and I can remember being more than a little struck by it; what…
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Judging historical figures
PODCAST: TRANSCRIPT: In the city where I live, a statue of John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, has been removed from its pedestal in a public park and placed in an undisclosed location for an undetermined period of time, its future unknown. The latest target of cancel culture, he has also had his name…
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How do you become a philosopher?
PODCAST: TRANSCRIPT: It’s customary for people in my profession to answer this question in the following way: you become a philosopher by earning usually three degrees in philosophy from the best universities you can get into and for which you can afford the tuition; when you complete your Ph.D., you’re a philosopher and you have a license to “do” philosophy. This answer is a…
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