Nobody seems to know a lot about a person named Kurt Gödel – a 20th century mathematician and philosopher – but in certain circles, he’s regarded just as high as Einstein for his invaluable contributions to logic in general, …
Category: philosophy
Tough times call for the strongman
History does repeat itself. If especially economic times are tough, a non-irrelevant portion of people does not react rationally, and choose the right person, the right movement, the right party – one, which would best address their needs, one which would help their situation, one they would actually profit from. No – people get locked…
Radicalism and Authoritarianism on the rise
All over the world, we can see tendencies towards authoritarianism, illiberal movements, the rise of strongmen and the subversion of democratic institutions within democratic countries. But why would citizens blessed with freedom and prosperity be willing give up these hard-won accomplishments? Why is right-wing populism on the rise in virtually all western civilized countries? Why…
A philosophical analysis of economic/political competition
Let me start bluntly, wading into deepest water directly: we pride ourselves to have emancipated from war in our western civilizations – from waging war, killing each other. But take a good hard look at how our economy, that is, capitalism works: by competition. We compete for resources, objects, money. That in turn means –…
Germany vs USA: two educational and cultural philosophies
Philosophy at the university: the bureaucratic fiction I was studying philosophy and physics, when the new German system of higher education was first rolled out; when we moved away from diplomas, towards the international standard of Bachelor and Master. In fact, the transition fell right in the middle of my studies. In typical German fashion,…
History never stops
In 1999, Francis Fukuyama famously proclaimed “the end of history”: through a synergy of peace, democracy and capitalism, a strong sociological fabric was created, that mankind had never experienced before. An explosion of a global middle class, with constantly rising quality of life, followed in the decades after World War II. Many thought that this…