Excursions Into Libertarian Thought

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George Smith discusses Kant’s attempt to justify objective moral principles and his views on when the use of coercion is morally proper.Originally published in essay form on April 15, 2016 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

George Smith explains some fundamental features of Immanuel Kant’s moral and political theory.Originally published in essay form on April 8, 2016 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

George Smith discusses some good and bad influences that Ayn Rand’s ideas had on his own intellectual development.Originally published in essay form on April 1, 2016 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

George Smith examines some of Rand’s claims about the beneficial influence of Aristotle’s ideas on the course of Western civilization.Originally published in essay form on March 4, 2016 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

George Smith discusses the issue of whether we should hold a philosopher responsible for the beliefs of those followers who agree with him.Originally published in essay form on February 26, 2016. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

George Smith explains the views of Kant and Hegel on the history of philosophy, and explores whether moral judgments should be applied to the realm of ideas.Originally published in essay form on February 19, 2016 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Was Kant somehow responsible for the rise of Nazism? Smith explores two points of view on this issue.Originally published in essay form on February 5, 2016 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

George H. Smith discusses the mythological thinking that dominated Nazi ideology, as explained in Cassirer’s book The Myth of the State.Originally published in essay form on January 29, 2016. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

George Smith discusses whether we should hold a philosopher responsible for how other philosophers use his or her ideas.Originally published in essay form on February 12, 2016 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

George H. Smith explores Rand’s contention that America was sliding down a slippery slope to fascism.Originally published in essay form on January 8, 2016. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Smith examines and criticizes Richard Ashcraft’s arguments that Locke was significantly influenced by the Levellers.Originally published in essay form on December 18, 2015. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

George H. Smith explains an important controversy about when the Two Treatises was written, and the possible influence of the Levellers on Locke.Originally published in essay form on December 4, 2015. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

George H. Smith explains the significance, for Locke, of the increased productivity caused by labor, and the relationship between money and property.Originally published in essay form on November 20, 2015. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

George H. Smith explains how Locke dealt with some problems in the traditional Christian theory of private property.Originally published in essay form on November 6, 2015. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

George H. Smith discusses Robert Nozick’s criticisms of Locke’s property theory and the relationship between a natural-law justification of property and social conventions.Originally published in essay form on October 30, 2015. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

George H. Smith explains Locke’s ideas about how we should interpret a philosophic text, and the relationship between labor and private property.Originally published in essay form on October 23, 2015. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In his first essay in a new series on John Locke, Smith explains some essential features of Locke’s case for private property.Originally published in essay form on October 19, 2015 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

George Smith discusses Locke’s view of the original commons, before the institution of private property.Originally published in essay form on October 9, 2015. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

George Smith continues his discussion of how the theory of private property changed over the centuries.Originally published in essay form on October 2, 2015. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.