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283Notes tow Ard a formal conversation theoryGrazer Philosophische Studien 10 (1): 119-140. 1980.Dialectic, as commonly approached, is not an analytic study, as the notion is defined in the paper. Where it is analytically approached (as, for example, by Grice and Hamblin), the result is pragmatic in nature, as well as syntactic and semantic. This paper lays the foundations of a purely formal (nonpragmatic) analysis of conversations. This study is accordingly called "Conversation Theory". The key notions of "conversation", "dialogue", "conversation game", "rules of response", "epistemic comm…Read more
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2Disturbing Thoughts: Unorthodox Writing on Timely IssuesCreateSpace. 2015.Philosophy lecturer and essayist Gary Jason tackles timely issues from education reform to the Arab Spring in his new anthology Disturbing Thoughts: Unorthodox Writings on Timely Issues. Disturbing Thoughts collects more than 160 political and social commentary essays published between 2010 and 2012. Among the many topics addressed are environmentalism, public employee pensions, education, and political reform. Today's headlines are filled with discussion on the growing dysfunction of unfunded p…Read more
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194Book review of: A. Brooks, Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth of Compassionate Conservatism (review)Liberty (March): 43-46. 2009.
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1922Portraits of Egoism in Classic Cinema I: Sympathetic PortrayalsReason Papers 36 (1). 2014.In this essay, I look at more or less sympathetic portrayals of egoists in film. I start by explaining some basic concepts: psychological egoism; ethical egoism; default egoism; rational egoism; egotism; cynicism; narcissism; and psychopathy. I then review in-depth two excellent WWII films, Stalag 17 and The Bridge on the River Kwai. I note that the key protagonist in both pictures is the same type of character—both played by the same fine actor, William Holden. The main protagonist in both is a…Read more
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1122The History of Cinema and America’s Role in It: Review Essay of D. Gomery and C. Pafort-Overduin’s Movie History: A Survey (review)Reason Papers 35 (1): 170-186. 2013.Cinema
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433Movie review of: The Man Who Knew InfinityLiberty 6. 2016.This is a review of the biopic of the great mathematician Ramanujan, 'The Man Who Knew Infinity'(2016).
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206Is there a case for ad hominem arguments?Australasian Journal of Philosophy 62 (2). 1984.This Article does not have an abstract
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225Conflicts of Loyalty in War MoviesLiberty (September): 1-8. 2011.In this essay, I use four war movies to explore conflicts of loyalty and how they are resolved, all to illustrate W.D. Ross’ multiple rule deontologism. The films are all fine WWII movies: The Enemy Below; Decision Before Dawn; John Rabe; and The Bridge on the River Kwai. In my analysis of each, I show how the protagonists face conflicts of their loyalty to themselves, their countrymen, their friends, and humanity in general, and resolve them in the face of changing factual backgrounds.
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334Book Review of: G. Brock and M. Blake, Debating Brain Drain: May Governments Restrict Emigration? (review)Dialogue (June 2016): 1-2. 2016.
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197The Rest of the Best: Ten Great Actors Snubbed by OscarLiberty (August): 41-46. 2010.In this essay, I look at some extraordinary actors who never got their due—actors who had distinguished careers, but never won an Academy Award for acting. I review the work of: Joseph Cotten; Orson Welles; Edward G. Robinson; Cary Grant; James Mason; Richard Burton; Claude Rains; Alan Ladd: Robert Mitchum; and Fred MacMurray. In each case, I explore the actor’s best work, what made his acting outstanding, and offer possible explanations why he was not so honored.
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1619Review essay: A. Gini and A. Marcoux, The Ethics of Business: A Concise IntroductionReason Papers 36 (1). 2014.This essay is my critical review of Al Gini and Alexei Marcoux’s fine text, The Ethics of Business. Unlike most business ethics texts, Gini/Marcoux recognize that most businesses are small, and that business is not inherently immoral and always in need of reform. And they put their focus on using ethical theory to find action-guiding principles to help guide business behavior. Moreover, they adopt the Schumpeterian view that business is an entrepreneurial activity—one that not merely executes tr…Read more
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251Book review of: M. Skousen, The Big Three in Economics (review)Liberty (July): 43-44. 2009.This essay is my review of economist Mark Skousen’s book, The Big Three in Economics. In it, he discusses the economic work of Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes. He gives even-handed treatments of the major contributions of each, for example, Smith’s reputation refutation of mercantilist policies and Smith’s crucial insight into the role that division of labor plays in economic growth. My only complaint is that Skousen doesn’t adequately explain his choice of Marx as a great economi…Read more
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132Movie review of Cool ItLiberty 11. 2010.This essay is my review of Bjorn Lomborg’s delightful documentary film Cool It. Lomborg believes that there is indeed anthropogenic global warming, but that it doesn’t constitute the grave and imminent threat to humanity that people such as Al Gore think it does. The focus of the documentary is the refutation of Al Gore’s award-winning film (An Inconvenient Truth). But Lomborg also puts the focus on how best to use scarce resources to help humanity.
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193Book review of: R. Marlin, Propaganda and the Ethics of Persuasion (review)Dialogue 55 (3): 545-547. 2016.This essay is my review of Randal Marlin’s fine book, Propaganda and the Ethics of Persuasion (2nd Ed.). Marlin’s book examines the concept of propaganda, rightly noting that the term has a neutral meaning of just promulgating a point of view and a pejorative meaning of using deceit to push a point of view. Marlin gives a concise history of propaganda techniques, and propaganda theory—from ancient Greece through WWII—and has a good discussion of the ethical issues involved in propaganda.
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140Erotetic Logic as a Specification Language for Database QueriesDissertation, Kansas State University. 1987.
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411Book review of: R. T. Carroll, The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, & Dangerous Delusions (review)Liberty (April): 49-52. 2006.