On the Italian island of Pianosa during the second half of World War II, a young pilot of Assyrian descent named Yossarian and his comrades are stationed together as an air force unit. The loosely connected stories and anecdotes that are told from Yossarian’s perspective reflect his point of view: he addresses no abstract concepts […]
Summary and Analysis of Joseph Heller’s Catch 22 Read More »
In a period of multi-million dollar cases and class-action suits, the public’s attention is not entirely stolen by the drama of these high-profile exchanges. The media still gives thought to the problems of the common man against the common man, which legally manifests itself through an early 20th-century creation: the small-claims court. Small-claims, in most
An Investigation of Small Claims Court Proceedings and Practices Read More »
Each year, the deaths of billions of animals occur by the doings of one other particular animal species; by an array of means, the fish, insects, rodents, cattle, and all other creatures that crawl, slither, and swim upon the Earth are subject to wholesale slaughter to serve the ends of humanity. Still, despite the gruesome
Animal Rights and a Critique of Singer’s Speciesism Read More »
Gambling has long been a part of human history. For the past two thousand years, and likely even longer, societies have wagered their properties in games of chance. The earliest evidence of gaming for money coincides with the invention of the coin in 700 B.C.[i] In the present, gambling is still a popular past-time: in
In Politics Aristotle argues that to lead a flourishing life, it is imperative that all free men embrace their responsibility in the political system. Consistent with this theory is the notion, as described by our political philosopher, that inherent human nature holds men to the conviction that they should participate in governmental proceedings, as he
Aristotle on the Flourishing Life in Politics and Nichomachean Ethics Read More »
A look at recent records for the Republic of Lebanon reveals a myriad of problems: economic inequality marked by weak social spending, world-ranked public debt, poor infrastructure, and corruption among officials from the highest and lowest echelons of government. Though these problems seem characteristic of a backwards third-world nation, Lebanon has a unique economic and
How the Lebanese Civil War Upended the “Paris of the Middle East” Read More »
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were relative contemporaries in philosophy, so it is no surprise that their comparison has become something of a cliché (hence this article?). While both philosophers use language couched in the tradition of natural law, they both advocate radically different views on human nature and ideal governance, as will be seen.
Locke vs. Hobbes on the Social Contract, Nature, and Civil Society Read More »
In the United States today, the public debates about healthcare, Social Security, and the standard of living have reached a new level of prominence. While some of these dialogues pertain to already-existing, but purportedly failing institutions like Social Security and the minimum wage, more than ever the climate of public opinion states, “government ought to
Rawls vs. Nozick: Rawls’ Theory of Justice and Some Objections Read More »