John Valentine, Savannah College of Art and Design I One of the most enigmatic characters in modern literature is Meursault of Camus’s The Stranger. Is he an absurd hero or a dangerous psychological type? There are clearly two personifications in the novel: the Meursault of Part One, an embodiment of sensualism and carpe diem, a […]

Kant contra Herder: Almost against Nature Martin A. Bertman, Helsinki University In Rousseau, Immanuel Kant found a congenial emphasis on (1) morality as the most important aspect of human dignity: its quality being freedom, (2) the perfectibility of humankind, and (3) the need to provide concrete, circumstantial proposals for moral progress in politics, particularly, in […]

Erich Freiberger, Jacksonville University Disposition to perversions of every kind is a fundamental human characteristic. Three Essays on Sexuality (Freud, 1905: 191) Introduction Perversion. What could it possibly have to do with philosophy and the pursuit of truth? But what if we were to call it by one of its ancient names—tyranny? Or even sophistry? […]

Peter Olen, University of South Florida I. Introduction Tensions between religious and secular groups in America and abroad are nothing new. Yet, at present, various cultures around the world are involved in internal clashes between competing beliefs that engage the attention of the public more often than not. Though a myriad of different issues, ranging […]

Arne Grøn, University of Copenhagen In-visibility I am not going to give a power point presentation. Thus I will not have the power to point to what I will be presenting. That is, I will not have the power to point to what you should see, to pictures that should come to your mind while […]

(Reprinted with the permission of the author from The Chronicle of Higher Education Review, Volume 53, Issue 15, Page B14.) Gary Pavela, University of Maryland I often ask audience members at higher-education conferences how many of them come from campuses with “hate speech” codes. A substantial minority raise their hands, confirming research that about a […]

(Reprinted with the permission of the author from The Chronicle of Higher Education Review, Volume 51, Issue 38, Page B8.) Gary Pavela, University of Maryland In recent years, the actual or perceived abuse of professors’ authority has spawned claims of classroom indoctrination and a political movement to create a nationwide “academic bill of rights” to […]

Tim Mosteller, California Baptist University Introduction Is there heresy or blasphemy anymore? Heresy is understood to be an act committed by subject S just in case S, a member of a religious (or other) belief system R, believes h where h is a chosen rejection of a widely accepted belief p within and central to […]

Daniel Murphy, Saint Peter’s College Introduction Over the past several years, the intelligent design/evolutionism debate (the “ID” issue) and a collective national reckoning with Islam as both a religious confession and a political force (the “Islamophobia” issue) have both become significant issues in public discourse in the United States. Strong, hostile rhetoric and also more […]

Matt Hettche, Auburn University Introduction Christian Wolff is often identified by historians of philosophy as a minor figure who links the philosophical systems of Leibniz and Kant. He is typically recognized for systematizing the views of Leibniz from scattered papers and letters and for transforming metaphysics in Germany into a formal academic discipline. His theoretical […]