Tag Archives: Justice

A Pop Quiz About Government

Posted on October 14, 2020 by N.S. Palmer

We’ve got a pop quiz today, kids. But don’t worry: There’s only one question, and it’s multiple-guess. The authors of the U.S. Constitution were greatly influenced by a book called The Spirit of the Laws. It said there were three … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Science, Psychology | Tagged Courage, COVID-19, Democracy, Fear, Freedom, Justice, Politics, Propaganda, Psychology, Rule of law, SARS-CoV-2, Social harmony, Virtue | Leave a comment

Why People Are Not Things

Posted on June 17, 2020 by N.S. Palmer

Is it ever justified to treat people unequally? Before you try to answer, notice something about the question: It’s not a factual question. It doesn’t ask what is, but what ought to be. We might include facts in our answer, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Relations, Life, Philosophy, Political Science, Society | Tagged Crime control, Difference in degree, Difference in kind, Human Dignity, Human Rights, Humanity, Justice, Moral persons, Personhood | 2 Comments

What Is Humanity?

Posted on July 1, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

Back in the 1960s, the great rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote Who Is Man? based on lectures he gave at Stanford University. But to ask “who is man?” assumes that we’ve’ previously answered the question “what is man?” If humans are … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Life | Tagged Fukayama, Heschel, Human Dignity, Human life, Human Rights, Human worth, Identity, Justice, Materialism, Morality, Scientism, The other, What is man | Leave a comment

History Bends Toward Chaos

Posted on June 9, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

Many people say that “the arc of history bends toward justice.” Pardon my French, but ce n’est pas vrai: It’s not true. It’s the opposite of the truth. If there is going to be justice in our world, we have … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Political Science, Society | Tagged American Revolution, Arc of history, Chaos, Disorder, Entropy, French Revolution, Justice, Order, Order versus chaos, Russian Revolution, Utopian, Utopianism | 3 Comments

What You Don’t Know

Posted on February 16, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

“Every person you meet knows something that you don’t know.” That was one of my grandfather’s favorite adages. He died when I was quite young, so I don’t remember him well. I remember his appearance, his book-lined study, his beloved … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Relations, Life, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Society | Tagged Adages, Ancient Athens, Ancient Greece, Antigone, Brain Trust, Courage, FDR, Justice, Law, Moral Law, Open-minded, Sophocles, Wisdom | Leave a comment

The Way to Go

Posted on November 2, 2018 by N.S. Palmer

“To every man there openeth A Way, and Ways, and a Way. And the High Soul climbs the High way, And the Low Soul gropes the Low, And in between, on the misty flats, The rest drift to and fro. … Continue reading →