News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 48

 Although “May you live in interesting times” is probably not an ancient Chinese curse (although it should be), events this week are both interesting and a bit cursed, if that isn’t tangling syntax a bit too much.  In any event, the solution to many of the issues and problems we note this week is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act:

Can It Happen Here? Part I: The Problem

 Recently, a Faithful Reader sent us a copy of “Disappeared to a Foreign Prison” by Sarah Stillman, from the November 24, 2025, issue of The New Yorker.  No, this is not a commentary on the New Yorker article, but on a few thoughts that bubbled up as we read the article.

JTW Podcast: Epistemology Part 1: Quine, Sellars, Gettier, and Putnam

 Today, we present Part 1 of Professor Dave’s talk on Epistemology.  As Professor Dave says, “Having gotten a sense of the continental and analytic traditions in contemporary philosophy, we are ready to examine advancements in the field of epistemology that occurred around that time. Let's see how Willard Quine, Wilfrid Sellars, Edmund Gettier, and Hilary Putnam contributed to this progress.”:

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 47

 One of these days we hope to have some good news to report, but until someone among the powers-that-be wise up and push for the adoption of the Economic Democracy Act:, we have a sneaking suspicion we won’t be reporting too much good news:

The Meaning and Purpose of Life, IV: The Maker’s Answer

In the first and third parts of this article we — or rather our guest blogger Guy Stevenson — asked questions.  In Part I the question was, “Why do I exist?”  In Part III, the question was, “What is social justice?”  Today Guy gives Fulton Sheen’s version of “The Maker’s Answer.”

JTW Podcast: Analytic Philosophy Part 3: Language and Meaning

 Today, we present Part 3 of Professor Dave’s talk on analytic philosophy.  As Professor Dave says, “Continuing with analytic philosophy, after the Vienna Circle had its influence, the tradition continued and grew into several new areas, inspired largely from Wittgenstein and other prominent figures. John L. Austin developed his theory of meaning through speech acts. Noam Chomsky developed his concept of universal grammar. Let's learn about this and more!”:

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 46

 This week’s news items seem strangely familiar yet at the same time surreal.  Still, the constant theme is how much better most people’s lives could very well be if we would adopt the Economic Democracy Act:

The Meaning and Purpose of Life, III: What is Social Justice?

 Last week we looked at the question of “justice as love.”  This week we look at the question of “social justice”.  This will baffle many people today, because they think they have already answered the question, and the answer they have is that something called “social justice” replaces and transcends both justice and charity as traditionally understood.

JTW Podcast: Continental Philosophy Part 2: The Frankfurt School

 Today, we return to a sequential order and present the second part of Professor Dave’s talk on continental philosophy.  As Professor Dave says, “Pivoting back to continental philosophy, we must discuss a very important movement in this tradition, and that is the Frankfurt School. This group utilized the ideas of Marx and Freud to advance the field, led by figures like Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno. Let's see what they were all about!”:

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 45

 They always say it’s always darkest before the dawn, although who this “they” are can be a trifle vague at times.  In any event, it is easy to see in many of the news items reported this week how the Economic Democracy Act would be of immense benefit:

The Meaning and Purpose of Life, II: Justice as Love

In Part I of this article, we looked at the question, “Why do I exist?” as answered by the legendary Fulton Sheen.  Admittedly, Sheen’s answer was framed within a specific philosophy and religious faith, but that takes nothing away from its universality.  To summarize, the meaning and purpose of life is to become more fully human by conforming yourself to human nature.

JTW Podcast: Analytic Philosophy Part I: Dewey, Russell, and Whitehead

Today, we present the first part of Professor Dave’s talk on analytic philosophy.  This breaks the sequence a bit, but we think there must be a reason Professor Dave presented the lectures in this particular order.  In any event, as Professor Dave says, “Pivoting from the continental tradition, let's introduce the analytic tradition that also emerged at the beginning of contemporary philosophy. This involved figures such as John Dewey, Bertrand Russell, and Alfred Whitehead. What were they all about, and how did they differ from the continental philosophers?”: