Simone M.’s Post

I have complete this Moral Foundations of Politics by Yale University. The Moral Foundations of Politics is a great way to delve into political philosophy and understand how politics has evolved over time. It allows you to explore the historical, ethical, and philosophical perspectives that have shaped political systems and ideologies This course was taught by Professor Ian Shapiro, offers a comprehensive exploration of the philosophical and ethical frameworks that underpin political ideologies and governance. He also wrote book called the "The Moral Foundations of Politics" Discussing moral theories such as consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics, students gain a deep understanding of how these principles inform political decision-making and societal norms. In his teachings, Professor Ian Shapiro expands upon the foundational works of political philosophers beyond Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau to encompass a diverse array of thinkers. He discusses John Stuart Mill's advocacy for individual liberty and utilitarianism, Karl Marx's critique of capitalism and vision of a classless society, Friedrich Hayek's defense of free markets and critique of central planning, Michel Foucault's analysis of power dynamics and institutional control, and John Rawls's theory of justice as fairness and principles of distributive justice. Shapiro's approach involves exploring the moral and philosophical underpinnings of these thinkers' ideas, examining their implications for political theory, and considering their relevance in contemporary policy and governance discussions. Case studies and debates enrich the learning experience by applying theoretical frameworks to real-world political issues, while also integrating perspectives from political philosophers. This approach fosters critical thinking and subtle analysis with a robust understanding of the ethical complexities of power, authority, justice, and political philosophy in contemporary society. #Moralfoundationsinpolitics #politicalphilosopy #yaleuniversity #history #political #ethics #philosophy #IanShapiro

The #ivyleague ivory tower Harvard University which claims to be the absolute vanguard in the pursuit of truth - of #Veritas - seeking to avoid taking a stand so that all point of views can freely express themselves in the battle of the best ideas on the marketplace .... Due to the severe biased at work at Harvard University and other Ivyleague Universities I have come to the conclusion that there is no way that I as a parent will ever allow or pay an unjustifiable fortune for any of my two kids get enrolled in this institution which has never performed well in @FIRE’s College #FreeSpeech Rankings, finishing below 75% of the schools surveyed in each of the past four years.  And this year, Harvard completed its downward spiral in dramatic fashion, coming in dead last with the worst score ever: 0.00 out of a possible 100.00. This earns it the notorious distinction of being the only school ranked this year with an “Abysmal” #speechclimate !!!! 1. From 2019 to this year, Harvard #sanctioned four scholars, three of whom it terminated.  2. In 2020, Harvard #revoked #conservativestudent activist Kyle Kashuv’s acceptance over comments he made on social media as a 16-year-old, for which he had since apologized.  3. In 2022, Harvard #disinvited #feministphilosopher @Devin Buckley from an English department colloquium on campus over her views on #gender and #transissues. 4. In 2019, Harvard was the site of a substantial event #disruption when #protesters interrupted a joint talk featuring former Harvard President Lawrence Bacow and Graduate School of Education Dean Bridget Long by occupying the stage and refusing to leave. Only time will tell if Harvard can climb out of the hole it has dug for itself over the past five years. But one thing’s for sure: it must start with promoting free expression on campus, making room for more speech, not less. Otherwise, none of my kids will ever set their feets on that campus #defundHarvard

Was Adam Smith a progressive? At risk of heresy, I’d say he was! Here’s a brief excerpt from my recent book, The Progressive Worldview, Volume I: The History of Progress, where I explain my reasoning. “It may seem odd, in a book about the progressive worldview, to devote a chapter to the writings of Adam Smith. Political conservatives, after all—or in any case, fiscal conservatives in the traditional mold—tend to regard Smith as their patron saint, whereas contemporary progressives frequently decry the laissez faire capitalism that has become synonymous with his name. Be that as it may, Smith fits squarely into the line of British thinkers, starting with Hobbes and Locke, who were trying to take the insights of the Scientific Revolution and apply them to areas of life beyond the hard sciences, partly to increase our understanding of these uniquely human domains but also to help us reshape these domains to better serve our human wants, needs, and aspirations. Indeed, one way to read Smith’s economic analyses in The Wealth of Nations is as a sustained response to the Hobbesian dilemma identified in [the book’s] last chapter: assuming people are guided by self-interest in all they do, as seems to be required for human beings to have a place in the rational, law-governed order of nature the modern physical sciences were revealing, how is civically responsible, moral behavior possible?” Please come read more! Information on ordering the book can be found in the first comment. #philosophy #ethics #progressivepolitics

🎓 I majored in Psychology and double minored in Behavioral Science and Communications while studying at McGill University. I received my first perfect score for a paper that combined these disciplines, analyzing the use of media and psychosomatic protest as an act of anti-colonialism through the lens of surrealist filmmaker Jean Rouch. This early academic experience was a testament to the power of interdisciplinary thinking, a principle that Kahneman embodied throughout his career as a founding figure in Behavioral Economics. In my current role as an Investor Relations professional, the lessons from Kahneman's seminal work, "Thinking, Fast and Slow," are more relevant than ever. 🔄 It's also a good follow-up read to the "Easy Money" memo I mentioned in my last post. 📝 Kahneman's exploration of cognitive biases and decision-making processes challenges us to reconsider our understanding of intuition and rationality. His work has taught us that exploring the psychological underpinnings of decision-making can lead to more effective communication strategies, enhance quality control measures, and equip us to more adeptly navigate the biases that shape behavior. RIP.

No matter where you are on the ideological spectrum, no matter what you think you know about this topic; you should read this op-ed by outgoing Harvard President Claudine Gay. It is so very well said. Our universities are the foundation of so much of what makes America great. Undermining them deliberately is to cut off our nose to spite our face. A favorite snippet: “Having now seen how quickly the truth can become a casualty amid controversy, I’d urge a broader caution: At tense moments, every one of us must be more skeptical than ever of the loudest and most extreme voices in our culture, however well organized or well connected they might be. Too often they are pursuing self-serving agendas that should be met with more questions and less credulity.”

After the Second World War, Marxist theorists realized that the socialist revolution would not come as they wished. The proletariat, instead of revolting against its boss, chose to defend the flags of its nation in the largest conflict in history. The left reformulated itself and adopted a new strategy that is reaping its main fruits today. Antonio Gramsci pioneered the understanding that it was necessary to destroy Western culture rather than taking government by arms. His strategy would be to promote the revolution from the field of culture, without his strategy being discovered. In line with Gramsci's teachings, the Frankfurt School promoted critical theory. Critical theory is a philosophical doctrine that aims to criticize reality and reconstruct it according to Marxist ideology. The theory works as a politicization of logic. It is not reality anymore the content of analysis, but how things serve certain objectives.

Leadership advice from newly unencumbered Claudine Gay "As I depart, I must offer a few words of warning. The campaign against me was about more than one university and one leader. This was merely a single skirmish in a broader war to unravel public faith in pillars of American society. Campaigns of this kind often start with attacks on education and expertise, because these are the tools that best equip communities to see through propaganda. But such campaigns don’t end there. Trusted institutions of all types — from public health agencies to news organizations — will continue to fall victim to coordinated attempts to undermine their legitimacy and ruin their leaders’ credibility. For the opportunists driving cynicism about our institutions, no single victory or toppled leader exhausts their zeal." ******** Pleased to see her present a robust defence of her contribution to academic knowledge and expanding her field. As a former academic, this had been a lacunae. This piece offered a picture of a bruised but not broken Black woman. One who has already emerged with summtin' to say to the world. Maybe this is why she had to be stripped and stopped. #consequences #antiracism #solidarity

SHE SPEAKS. "My hope is that by stepping down I will deny demagogues the opportunity to further weaponize my presidency in their campaign to undermine the ideals animating Harvard since its founding: excellence, openness, independence, truth. As I depart, I must offer a few words of warning. The campaign against me was about more than one university and one leader. This was merely a single skirmish in a broader war to unravel public faith in pillars of American society. Campaigns of this kind often start with attacks on education and expertise, because these are the tools that best equip communities to see through propaganda. But such campaigns don’t end there. Trusted institutions of all types — from public health agencies to news organizations — will continue to fall victim to coordinated attempts to undermine their legitimacy and ruin their leaders’ credibility. For the opportunists driving cynicism about our institutions, no single victory or toppled leader exhausts their zeal." ... "Having now seen how quickly the truth can become a casualty amid controversy, I’d urge a broader caution: At tense moments, every one of us must be more skeptical than ever of the loudest and most extreme voices in our culture, however well organized or well connected they might be. Too often they are pursuing self-serving agendas that should be met with more questions and less credulity. College campuses in our country must remain places where students can learn, share and grow together, not spaces where proxy battles and political grandstanding take root. Universities must remain independent venues where courage and reason unite to advance truth, no matter what forces set against them." #harvarduniversity #harvard #highereducation #highereducationleadership #highered

I’m happy to share that I’ve obtained a new certification: Justice from Harvard University, offered by Harvard Kennedy School. Through this 12-week course, Michael J. Sandel, the renowned political philosopher, was successful in unsettling my settled assumptions and turning the familiar into the strange. The lectures present defenses and objections to the ideas of Utilitarianism, Consequential and Categorical moral reasonings, Libertarianism, Right to Private Property, Military Conscription, Natural Rights, Absolute Principle of Morality, Affirmative Action, Distributive Justice, Meritocracy, Communitarianism, and many more. Although I do not concede to the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, for the sake of critical thinking, his differentiation between Misleading Truths and White Lies made me awe. In my opinion, had he not been a strict moralist, his ideas would have been at least superficially persuasive. During the coming months, I will be reading books authored by Michael J. Sandel: 1. Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? 2. The Tyranny of Merit

YOU design the trap, YOU set it, and YOU trap YOURSELF in it. Here's an excerpt from Peter Senge discussing The Fifth Discipline at the 1999 Teaching for Intelligence Conference: "There is a kind of drumbeat to the industrial age. And the drumbeat is [that] the world is a fragmented set of pieces. "This is easiest to see when we realize that in some sense the industrial age has to continually and repeatedly and you might say viciously reinforce individualism...because the essence of the economics of the industrial age has been to continually try to convince people of one overarching belief; one overarching worldview...because if you don't continually convince people of this, you don't work at it relentlessly without interruption...some have argued the best organized religious enterprise in the history of humankind has been driving again and again and again one single message over and over again and you encounter this message somewhere between eight and sixteen hours a day...you, me, everybody...the message is whatever you've got is not enough. "And there's two key notions there. Obviously the not enough part, because after all if you had this you would have something you don't have now and then by golly you would really be happy... "But the other part is of course the you, the you is a very particular you. The you is an isolated individual. "A consumer."