Michael Jordan or LeBron James? What the GOAT Debate can Teach Us By Victor Monnin Michael Jordan or LeBron James? Who is the greatest player of all time, the GOAT? I find myself addicted to the dispute over this apparently impossible question. Of course, as philosophical questions often do, the GOAT question, raises other questions:…
Never Die Cobra Kai and Albert Camus Edwardo Pérez In Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why, Hannah Baker finds thirteen reasons to kill herself – among them, she’s been raped, her friends embarrass and betray her, and her reputation is ruined when she’s labeled a slut. For anyone, these are difficult issues to deal with, and for…
Diabolical Revenge on The Boys Edwardo Pérez There’s something about revenge that most of us intuitively understand. It’s universal, isn’t it? When we’re wronged or when someone we love is wronged, especially in a significant way, it seems natural to want to get even, right? Isn’t that what the Code of Hammurabi was all about?…
When Ignorance Truly Isn’t Bliss Lessons from We Happy Few By Brandon Packard We’ve heard it a million times, “Ignorance is Bliss.” It’s a phrase that has echoed through time, but where did it start? The phrase dates back to 1742 and a poem in which Thomas Gray states, “Where ignorance is bliss, ‘tis…
The Happy Life of Bob’s Burgers By Richard B. Gibson According to many (myself included), philosophy aims to enable us to live well. The practical wisdom that philosophical study affords us should be employed to transform both our lives and the world for the better. What form this goal should take, however, has been a…
“Children of Men” Come True U.S. Immigration Crackdown is Straight out of Cuarón’s Science Fiction Dystopia By Dan Dinello As I began work on a monograph about Alfonso Cuarón’s 2006 film Children of Men — an adaptation of the P.D. James’ novel, its critique of racism, nationalism, and xenophobia echoed the rise of an…
Disc Golf and Philosophy Developing the Long Game By Strand Sheldahl-Thomason Every disc golfer has heard the slogan “grow the sport,” so it shouldn’t be a surprise that disc golf is, indeed, growing. In fact, it’s blowing up right now. The Professional Disc Golf Association has raced past 100,000 members to over 130,000 (I’m…
Black-ish Offers Antifragile Hope in Fragile Times By Myron Jackson These fragile times provide an opportune moment to learn from the TV series Black-ish. Following the tragic deaths of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery (an all too common occurrence), the recent passing away of civil rights icons C.T. Vivian and U.S. Congressman John Lewis, along…
Moral Philosophy in the World of Pokémon Elements, Energies, and Relationships By Lance H. Gracy When I was young, I told my classmates that the pokémon, Alakazam, exists and helps me with my homework. I also told them that a consortium of Gengars encamp in a forest along our bus route, where they like to…
How Prince Zuko Restored his Honor By Helen De Cruz *For those who have not seen Avatar: The Last Airbender, spoilers will follow.* Honor is very important to Zuko, the banished crown prince of the Fire Nation. The young prince seeks to restore his lost honor by capturing the Avatar (a mythical fighter who will…
The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series 