Monthly Archives: November 2019

how to think about the self (Buddhist and Kantian perspectives)

Posted on November 26, 2019 by Peter

Facebook11 Twitter3Total14I. Buddhist arguments A Buddhist argument for “no self” goes like this: Look inward–as hard as you want–for some unchanging “I” or “self.” You cannot find it. All you’ll find are physical sensations, feelings, perceptions, volitions, and consciousness, coming … Continue reading →

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judgment in a world of power and institutions: outline of a view

Posted on November 21, 2019 by Peter

Facebook8 Twitter3Total11 Judgment or practical reason (i.e., deciding what is right to do) means forming beliefs about facts, values, and strategies. It is sometimes worth trying to isolate the factual beliefs in order to test them empirically. But no claims … Continue reading →

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talking about gerrymandering and political reform on WCAI (Cape Cod and Islands)

Posted on November 20, 2019 by Peter

Facebook10 Twitter1Total11I was on Mindy Todd’s show The Point yesterday, for a program on “Strengthening our Representative Democracy.” The other two guests were David Daley, author of Ratf**ked: The True Story Behind the Secret Plan to Steal America’s Democracy,” and Judy … Continue reading →

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two important opportunities through APSA

Posted on November 19, 2019 by Peter

Facebook10 Twitter1Total11The American Political Science Association’s Research Partnerships on Critical Issues program offers up to $20,000 for “proposals aimed at developing research-based projects that bring academics and practitioners together to tackle critical issues concerning citizens across the globe.” The first … Continue reading →

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discuss impeachment in high school–but not only impeachment

Posted on November 18, 2019 by Peter

Facebook31 Twitter2Total33As impeachment dominates the headlines, many social studies teachers are assigning it as a topic of discussion and analysis in their classrooms. That is appropriate. Since students and their families are already discussing impeachment, it is a great “hook” … Continue reading →

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new Civic Engagement section for the American Political Science Association

Posted on November 14, 2019 by Peter

Facebook53 Twitter1Total54Elizabeth Bennion (Indiana University – South Bend), Richard Davis (Brigham Young University), and I have proposed a new APSA Organized Section on Civic Engagement. It will promote the teaching of and scholarship about civic engagement through sponsorship of civics … Continue reading →

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an agenda for political reform in Massachusetts

Posted on November 13, 2019 by Peter

Facebook10 Twitter1Total11Today at the Boston Foundation, MassINC & Tisch College released our report on reforming state government in Massachusetts. The major theme is that a small number of people who lack the diversity of our state dominate the process of … Continue reading →

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in defense of (some) implicit bias

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Peter

Facebook18 Twitter1Total20I hope that if there were an implicit bias test for Nazism, I would demonstrate a strong negative bias. Shown rapid-fire images of swastikas and Nazi leaders, I would be unable to associate them with positive words without strenuous … Continue reading →

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on baseball as an analogy for civics

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Peter

Facebook7 Twitter1Total8(DCA) Yesterday at the “Future of Civics” event presented by The Atlantic and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, I got to hear Paul Finkelman present the same argument he had made recently in The … Continue reading →

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the Oberlin cultural appropriation controversy, revisited

Posted on November 6, 2019 by Peter

Facebook17 Twitter1Total18(Washington, DC) In 2016, I began a blog post: The Oberlin College Cultural Appropriation Controversy is almost certainly getting more attention than it deserves because it reinforces critiques of political correctness in higher education. Nevertheless, it provides an interesting case to … Continue reading →

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