Ask yourself this question: which survived longer, China, or Rome? The conventional answer is China, of course. By why is that the conventional answer? Is that not just a story we tell ourselves? Why do we say that China is 2000 years old, but that the Roman Empire fell 1500 years ago? China was conquered … Continue reading On the Relative Longevity of Chinese and Roman Civilization
Electoral College Reform
Nevada is probably about to pass the National Popular Vote Compact, meaning that it will give its electoral votes to the winner of the nationwide popular vote for president. This reform is a necessary one for the benefit of democracy. A snide retort that I saw to this news is "Tyranny of the Majority...". This … Continue reading Electoral College Reform
Michael Sandel on East-West Philosophical Encounters
In the 2018 compendium "Encountering China", renowned philosopher Michael Sandel makes the following observation about learning from Chinese philosophy: Engaging with responses to my work by scholars of Chinese philosophy is for me a learning opportunity on several levels. It requires me to consider challenges to my views from unfamiliar directions, it brings to light … Continue reading Michael Sandel on East-West Philosophical Encounters
The Heterozygote Advantage and the Crisis of Western Authority
I. There is a concept in biology known as Heterozygote Advantage. If you're already familiar with this concept, feel free to skip to section II. As one may know, sexually reproducing organisms inherit two copies of each gene: one from the mother, one from the father. Sometimes having two identical copies doesn't mean much. Sometimes … Continue reading The Heterozygote Advantage and the Crisis of Western Authority
Vespertine Dreams
The Bible begins in the Garden of Eden, and from the story of the Fall issues the most influential sociophilosphical work in human history. Plato famously invented the continent of Atlantis to demonstrate his ideas. Thomas Moore had his Utopia. Philosophers throughout the ages have invented States of Nature, various Paradises, their fictional worlds in … Continue reading Vespertine Dreams
"The people in the world that considers culture the fourth branch of government weren’t confused. Bush forgot to nation-build an entire branch of government." - https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/12/19/refactoring-culture-as-branch-of-government/
My Thesis: Technocracy, Democracy, and Legitimacy in EU GMO Regulation
https://hdl.handle.net/11244/316309 As a result of several food and chemical-related public health scares as well as strong activism by environmental organization such as Greenpeace, longstanding majorities of European Union (EU) citizens support restrictions on the authorization and use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) for human and animal consumption in the EU. Given the EU’s ongoing Democratic … Continue reading My Thesis: Technocracy, Democracy, and Legitimacy in EU GMO Regulation
