Austin Stone

My own attempt to define the conservatism I believe in - the antithesis of much of the current Bush-Cheney-Palin GOP - is in my book, " The Conservative Soul ." If you’re interested in a more abstract and academic account of the philosophical roots of my take on post-modern . . . . Continue Reading »

In reponse to excellent questions and insights regarding my previous post, I’ve decided to offer a sequel. While Jim is certainly right that the whole of the Enlightenment can’t be reduced to its anti-religious premises, and there are surely important thinkers who don’t fit . . . . Continue Reading »

Much of the early modern project of mass Enlightenment was based on the dogmatic rejection of religious belief as the benighted detritus of pre-scientific consciousness. Similarly, even those who offered foundational critiques of Enlightenment principles during what Philipe Beneton and Chantal . . . . Continue Reading »

Just sayin’. (H/t Hit & Run ) . . . . Continue Reading »

I had not expected to see the headline A Dionysian End to Summer in Inside Higher Ed , but we live in strange times: Smith College rings in the new academic year in a most revealing way. Still, administrators worry that its students may not be putting their best foot forward. As a result, the . . . . Continue Reading »

The last thing I want to do is prolong what has become a rather ugly debate over Conor’s suggestion that Palin be dropped from the ticket, but I think there’s some profit in pointing out one misstep in his logic. I could probably state my entire objection in a single . . . . Continue Reading »

McCain is down in the national polls well beyond the margin of error with less than a month to go, so a change in strategy seems imperative. Our own Peter Lawler suggests , among other things, that McCain start focusing on the blank check an Obama victory would be to a very unpopular and very . . . . Continue Reading »

Over at the Confabulum, Conor Friedersdorf reminds us to remind ourselves of how lucky we are. While I’m always up for some meta-gratitude, I was more immediately reminded of Daniel Larison’s brilliant post from a while back about theodicy and "the pornography of compassion": . . . . Continue Reading »

As a card-carrying member of the "bitter block", I have a number of bones to pick with an intellectual trend on the left that I like to call the "psychologization of belief." I’ll define it as a rhetorical move which dismisses opposing claims by relegating to the status of . . . . Continue Reading »

According to our own Peter Lawler , McCain’s increasingly slim prospects depend not on going negative, as the Weekly Standard has suggested, but in making a strong case that he’s the most competent steward of our domestic agenda. He has real substantive advantages on central issues . . . . Continue Reading »