HIM: you better not be wearing Robes for Pythagoras when i get there MY SILLY ASS:

The morning so far

One argument I used to make to my students about why it was important to learn history (and historical thinking) is that someone was always going to be trying to tell you things were natural or had always been this way and that you needed to be able to see that as an exercise of power.

"The study also carries implications for democratic society. Political philosophers have long argued that citizens need strong critical thinking skills and intellectual humility to participate effectively in democratic governance." #PhilSky #PhilosophyMajor #CriticalThinking

Philosophy Majors Beat Every Other Major On Critical Thinking Tests

A study of half a million students shows philosophy education measurably boosts critical thinking skills beyond natural ability.

studyfinds.org

Truer words were never spoken.

Imagine calling yourself the master race and have to resort to erasing the achievements of minorities to make yourself feel better.

one thing i keep thinking about is how there is simply no way to design a constitutional system that can resist authoritarian incursion if participants in that system do not actually care that much

Pedro Pascal responding to transphobia on social media: “I can’t think of anything more vile and small and pathetic than terrorizing the smallest, most vulnerable community of people who want nothing from you, except the right to exist.” (via @charliejane.bsky.social) [capitalfm.com]

Pedro Pascal calls out “vile and pathetic” transphobic trolls after defending trans rights

Pedro Pascal, whose sister Lux is a trans woman, is a prominent trans ally and he has no time for transphobia.

capitalfm.com

How to kill a democracy in 10 easy steps. Unfortunately a very relevant post by Lisa Herzog. "Always remember: exhausted citizens are submissive citizens. Or no citizens at all – at some point of sleep deprivation, they turn into subjects. That’s when you know you’ve won. "

How to kill a democracy in 10 easy steps (spoiler alert: exhaust your citizens)

This month we will be publishing a series of posts on the topic of fatigue. Two years after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, constant fatigue characterises the lives of too many of us. Here w…

buff.ly

i think it is important to say that the open and explicit racism of the president and the vice president isn’t just uncouth or “controversial” but a direct attack on tens of millions of americans and a dereliction of their duty to represent the entire country

When Musk denies that he did a big ol Nazi salute during the inauguration, remember this, from Jean-Paul Sartre, 1944.

starting the year with one of my fav lines from Chandrashekhar Azad "what we are to face has been faced a thousand times and it has been defeated a thousand times before, we are merely those called to now carry on a tradition."