Mission Statement: The Solid Quarry of Relatively Sober Reason takes its name and mission from Abraham Lincoln’s 1838 Lyceum Speech. The Founders were pillars of the temple of liberty; and now that … Continue Reading →
#CaseStudy Status Anxiety and the Question “What Do You Do?”
When you meet someone at a party, you should think twice before asking “what do you do?”–at least that is the message of a short video Alain de Botton did … Continue Reading →
Socrates: the Ironic Midwife
I hear about the Socratic method quite often. Doncha know? You have a discussion based on asking questions to explore a topic more deeply than you could if you were … Continue Reading →
#CaseStudy Vox’s ‘The rise of American Authoritarianism’
Donald Trump: the man who’s rise is, for many, the first interesting development in American politics in their lifetime—in their opinion for better or for worse. Trump has the world’s … Continue Reading →
Is Having Public Services Socialism?
Are public services such as police and fire departments, and public libraries examples of socialism? Was the public influence in the development of the interstate highway system and the invention … Continue Reading →
#CaseStudy Ted Talk: What Explains the Rise of Humans?
Yuval Noah Harari gave a TED Talk, What explains the rise of humans?, and wrote a more concise version of his talk as a writing for Ted.com, Why humans run … Continue Reading →
One Person, One Vote, considered
There is a somewhat famous Thomas Jefferson quote from a letter to his nephew, “question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must … Continue Reading →
#CaseStudy Mandy Patinkin doesn’t get ‘The Princess Bride’
Of course, we have to acknowledge the possibility that Mandy Patinkin merely wanted to distance himself from his admirer Ted Cruz by saying something snotty about him. But, for the … Continue Reading →
Supposing children should be ruled by their parents, what then?
Supposing children should be ruled by their parents, what then? Can there be any genuine knowledge about how people should live their lives? Or, are we limited to having, just, … Continue Reading →
To #NeverTrump, or not to #NeverTrump
Let’s do this. I’ve always thought that I’d wait to consider #NeverTrump until that decision was upon us. Now that it is reasonably inevitable that he will be the nominee, … Continue Reading →
Why Do You Think People Have Rights, Bro?
I’m just curious: Why do you think that people have rights, bro? Where do you think rights come from? You speak about them all the time, but it doesn’t really … Continue Reading →