The Sense of the Past

The present period in history is distinctive precisely in virtue of its awareness of being a period in history.

Newsletter: March 2024

In the Nuu-chah-nulth tradition, and in many others of the northwest coast, the “bear people,” the “salmon people,” the “deer people,” and others are regarded as sovereign nations that the “human people” must negotiate with according to strictly defined protocols.

Animal Ethics and Environmental Ethics: What’s the Difference?

In some respects, animal ethics has more in common with anthropocentric ethics than it does with environmental ethics.

Newsletter: February 2024

It’s not so much that we live in a world that’s lost faith in metaphysics. It’s rather that we live in a world that’s lost interest.

Saints and Prophets

Heidegger aspired to be a prophet and Wittgenstein aspired to be a saint. Prophets want to improve the world and saints want to perfect themselves.

Newsletter: January 2024

What is to be gained from contemplating one’s mortality? And are you missing out on anything if you don’t?

Existentialism in Twentieth-Century Culture

Existentialism captures the popular imagination partly because it’s so much more than just philosophy.

Newsletter: December 2023

Gift exchange at its best is a playful form of status exchange. It acknowledges that relationships always involve imbalances of power, but shows that both parties to the relationship are comfortable enough with one another that they can switch between the roles of creditor and debtor with ease and grace.

On “Bourgeois” Philosophy

Especially on matters of value, it often seems settled from the outset that our minds or our hearts aren’t actually supposed to be changed in the process of reading or writing philosophy.

Newsletter: November 2023

Autumn, as a season of changes, is a fine time to reflect on impermanence, its sadness, and its beauty.