Friday Philosophy

Mainstream economics is obsessed with “maximizing” so-called utility functions and discovering the ubiquitous “social utility curve.” In this week’s Friday Philosophy, Dr. David Gordon takes apart this “utility” fixation.

When John Rawls published A Theory of Justice in 1971, he realized there were some loopholes that he tried to cover 22 years later with Political Liberalism. In this week’s Friday Philosophy, Dr. David Gordon exposes the intellectual futility of Rawls' tricks.

A sympathetic case for the America First Committee and their opposition to America’s entry into World War II comes from a surprising source.

This week, Dr. Gordon examines the work of the late Jonathan Lear and some thoughts he expressed about Lincoln and the treatment of the Confederate dead following Gettysburg.

This week, Dr. David Gordon reviews Ivan Eland's A Balance of Titans. While admiring Eland’s call for less intervention, Dr. Gordon asks why the US needs to intervene militarily overseas at all.

In this week’s Friday Philosophy, Dr. David Gordon reviews Steven Pinker’s new book, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows. As Dr. Gordon aptly points out, Pinker knows a lot less than he thinks he does.

In this week's Friday Philosophy, Dr. David Gordon examines John Tomasi's thesis of Free Market Fairness that the collectivism espoused by John Rawls is compatible with classical liberalism. Not surprisingly, Dr. Gordon has another viewpoint.

Dr. David Gordon, in this week’s Friday Philosophy, takes on the Fourteenth Amendment, looking at David Benner’s critical study of this post-Civil War legal move by the Radical Republicans.

Dr. Gordon dissects Kenneth R. Minogue’s The Liberal Mind. While Minogue has some interesting arguments, his view of rights conflicts with the views of Murray Rothbard.

Philosopher Elizabeth Anscombe questioned the legitimacy of the state, but left open a possible justification for its existence. Dr. David Gordon examines Anscombe’s argument and finds it interesting but wanting.