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Tag Archives: authority
Why was Socrates Put to Death?
At Slate, David Auerbach summarizes philosopher Rebecca Goldstein’s take on why Socrates died: Goldstein [in her new book, Plato at the Googleplex] argues that Socrates was ultimately executed because he deferred to no one’s authority and tore down Athens’ idealized … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged authority, Dostoevsky, mystification, philosophy, Socrates
5 Comments
Father Knows Best: Charles Sanders Peirce on Using Authority to Fix Belief
In 1877 the great scientist and logician, Charles Sanders Peirce, wrote a mercifully short, but not simplistic, essay for Popular Science Monthly titled, “The Fixation of Belief.” It’s a stunner. I stumbled across it in a 1964 anthology of philosophy essays, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged apologetics, atheism, authoritarianism, authority, charles sanders peirce, doubt, faith, quran, reason, the Bible, the pope
2 Comments
Knowing When to Be Quiet is a Part of Growing Up
Translation: Get with the program, shut up, conform, and obey. In my whisper voice, can I recite the First Amendment?
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged authority, first amendment, free speech, freedom, meditation, obedience, protest, question authority, quiet, school, Zen
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Demystify Me? Demystify You!
Demystify this! And this: Be ye Ayatollah or Maharishi, Pope or Protestant clergy, should you pronounce from behind your guru gown, prepare to meet the skeptic’s frown:
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged apologetics, argument from authority, authority, ayatollah, Buddha, guru, Jesus, Michael Shermer, miracle, mystery, skeptic
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Prometheus Unbound 