Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Suppose that, if you fill in the relevant parameters properly, it is worth standing against grave injustice even at serious risk to one’s own life or well-being (call this principle Risk Death for Justice or RDJ). Suppose that RDJ extends, with s…

In reply to Roderick T. Long. It isn’t. I regret not looking her up before. She was a very powerful formative influence–a very sensitive person, very affectionate, and caring–in some ways more attached to me than I was capable of bein…

In reply to Roderick T. Long. I see she was the same age I am now when she died. This is even less fun. LikeLike

In reply to Irfan Khawaja. Your reply inspired me to look up my favourite English teacher from high school. Turns out she died in 1999. This game is no fun. LikeLike

In reply to Roderick T. Long. I don’t think it’s Dodgeball. The first of those trailers looks the best. It’s odd, I hadn’t read or even thought about “The Most Dangerous Game” since high school, where I first read it…

In reply to butimbeautiful. When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, people said it was a certainty that they’d invade Pakistan. How else to get to the warm water ports on the Indian Ocean? But they didn’t. The war propaganda for the Vietnam W…

In reply to mlyoung57. I guess my question is: why are we playing this game at all? Why are we in the position of wondering whether our actions are merely probabilizing a “limited” use of tactical nuclear weapons, or bringing about all-out …

In reply to butimbeautiful. I disagree with all of that. Let me take it point by point. “I don’t think Putin will use nuclear weapons. Russia would be obliterated. It’d be beyond stupid.” I don’t think Russia would be obliterated. You…

Certainly, people need to be — and are not enough — alive to the danger of significant use of nuclear weapons (and of course all-out nuclear war). The most likely scenario of major-power conflict in the nuclear era has always been the limit…