The Character Model for the American University
The collapse of confidence in American higher education highlights two public concerns about its value: the cost no longer outweighs its economic benefits and colleges and universities…
A Political Philosophy of Conservatism
A Political Philosophy of Conservatism: Prudence, Moderation and Tradition. Ferenc Hörcher. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2020. A Political Philosophy of Conservatism focuses on the fourth cardinal…
Finding Unity in the Diversity: Aristotle’s Theory of Civil Harmony
The notion of civil harmony has often featured prominently in works of political philosophy, but its significance has not always been appreciated. To the ancient Greeks, peace…
Aristotle for Planners
Please listen to Lee Trepanier talk about “Aristotle for Planners” on former student Zach Vega’s podcast, "Welcome To."
What is Phronêsis? Voegelin and Aristotle
The virtue that Aristotle calls phronêsis . . . is an existential virtue; it is the movement of being, in which the divine order of the cosmos…
Nomos, Nature, and Modernity in Brague’s The Law of God
By looking at the historical paths of Greece, Israel, Christianity, and Islam, Brague’s The Law of God compares each civilization’s conceptions of law and divinity. For the…
Lost in Thought: The Value of Aristotle’s Contemplative Life
Upon settling down to take in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics it takes little more than a cursory glance to discover a noticeable point of contradiction between the earlier…
Advice for Tyrants and the Possibility of the Good Life in Aristotle’s Politics
A close reading of Aristotle’s The Politics presents the political theorist or student of political theory with a range of issues for contemplation and analysis, and consequently…
Freedom from Reality. The Diabolical Character of Modern Liberty
Freedom from Reality. The Diabolical Character of Modern Liberty. D.C. Schindler. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2017. This book examines the philosophical roots…
On Debate and Existence
In our capacity as political scientists, historians, or philosophers we all have had occasion at one time or another to engage in debate with ideologists — whether…
Hegel’s Philosophy – Insights and Illusions. Bold Attempt of a Critical Assessment at the Occasion of Hegel’s 250th Birthday
Along with Marx, Hegel was the main opponent of some of the most influential traditions of philosophy in 20th century. Most of the philosophers of these traditions,…
In Pursuit of the Sublime Pleasure: A Consideration of Citizenship and Philosophy in Aristotle’s The Politics
The Politics of Aristotle includes considerable discussion concerning the several categories of inhabitants of the various types of states existent at the time of Aristotle’s writing, as…
Aristotle and Ethics
Ethics and Metaphysics Aristotle’s conception of ethics is consistent with Plato, his teacher’s notion that moral virtue is essential to human happiness and offers some useful and…
The Tory Touch: True North and Old South
Introduction It seems a very propitious moment to think about Canadian and Southern history in conjunction given the recent and more or less concurrent bicentennial of the…
The Legacy of the Pre-Socratics
In the history of philosophy, what is the permanent achievement of the Pre-Socratics? Did they attain anything in thought that we can rightly credit to them? Or…