Monthly Archives: December 2021

I will continue with my review of Nozick in the next day or two. In the meantime, however, check out this misleadingly-titled report by Sarah Holder “The Year Basic Income Programs Went Mainstream“, which begins by noting that 20 guaranteed-income … Continue reading →

Originally posted on prior probability:
The last two subsections of Chapter 6 (pp. 137-146) contain an extended digression on the problem of punishment and the possibility of “anti-punishment” (my term) via preventive detention in “resort detention centers”, one of my…

Originally posted on prior probability:
Unwittingly, Nozick contradicts himself and refutes his own theory of the state in the fourth subsection of Chapter 6 (pp. 133-137)! Recall Nozick’s previous claims from Chapter 5 of  Anarchy, State, and Utopia. In case…

Originally posted on prior probability:
Nozick poses two additional questions in the third subsection of Chapter 6 (pp. 130-133). First, he asks whether individuals in a state of nature might agree with each other or unilaterally decide to refrain from…

Originally posted on prior probability:
The second subsection of Chapter 6 (pp. 126-130) anticipates the worldwide controversy over President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair’s ill-fated decision to invade Iraq in 2003, which in hindsight, turned out to…

Originally posted on prior probability:
We almost considered skipping Chapter 6 of Anarchy, State, and Utopia, since Nozick himself invites his readers to do so on p. 120: “The reader who wishes to pursue the main flow of our argument…

Happy Boxing Day! You may have heard about the James Webb Space Telescope, which was launched 10 years behind schedule and cost almost $10 Billion USD to complete. (See this NY Times report, for example.) What you may not be … Continue reading →

I will resume my epic, in-depth review of Nozick on Monday; in the meantime, all I want for Christmas is “Mariachi Show 2000” — check out their version of Jose Feliciano’s classic song “Feliz Navidad” — the best version I … Continue reading →

To commemorate the holiday traditions of “Nochebuena” and Christmas I am posting this portrait of “The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne” by the Greek artist El Greco (b. 1541, d. 1614), who completed this work in the year 1600 … Continue reading →