Category Archives: Theory and Theorists

Ubermensch-Wagons at the Burger King: How Rick Roderick Democratized My Notion of Philosophy

I first came across Rick Roderick’s lecture series, Self Under Siege—Philosophy in the 20th Century, at the end of a long, disillusioning study session in graduate school. YouTube’s thumbnail image of the bearded, drably attired man crouching over a rigid dais suggested a mild tedium wildly incommensurate with the actual experience of watching the video. Rather than the lucid, studied intensity and sublime hilarity Roderick enacted in his talk, I expected something dryly informative that might compensate for the unwarranted neglect of proper book-learning I had assumed…

What is an Economic Crisis?

goes undisputed – from newsrooms to academia to the world’s living rooms – that there has recently been a major global economic crisis. In fact, according to some, the economic crisis is not even finished; for others we are suffering from its after-effects; among still others – with startling Panglossian assurance – the whole thing has been one great opportunity. Despite the apparent consensus, however, it remains difficult to pin down what exactly an economic crisis is.

What Makes a Good Book? Kafka’s Letters to a Friend

Reading letters of long-dead thinkers is always a fascinating journey. The literary prowess employed in private conversations with friends may uncomfortably remind many that the last text conversation with their significant other contained 13 emoticons and 3 insincere cases of “lol.” On the other hand, you’d probably quickly tire of unsolicited existential musings via text message.