Monthly Archives: December 2021

Originally posted on prior probability:
Clarification (June 11, 2020): I wrote and posted this part of my extended review of Nozick’s classic book “Anarchy, State, and Utopia” back in December of 2017. Recently, however, one of my readers brought to…

Originally posted on prior probability:
Nozick addresses a very intriguing question in the first subsection of Chapter 5 of ASU (pp. 88-90): when does a private protection agency in a (Lockean) state of nature have the moral right to prohibit…

You may be aware that some fraction of academic research is based entirely on fabricated data — a problem that I spotlight in my 2017 paper “Legal Liability for Data Fraud” — but how much of the popular college and … Continue reading →

Have you ever wondered what are the most frequently used “emoji” images in the online world? If so, then check out this fascinating report by Jennifer Daniel on “The Most Frequently Used Emoji of 2021”. Ms Daniel, the chairwoman of … Continue reading →

Originally posted on prior probability:
Nozick valiantly tries (alas, without success) to solve the stubborn problems of blackmail and criminal threats in the last subsection of Chapter 4 (pp. 84-87) of Anarchy, State, and Utopia. How? By drawing a distinction…

Originally posted on prior probability:
In our previous post, we saw Nozick’s “limited compensation rule” for risk-producing activities: in a state of nature, such activities should be allowed, but compensation must be paid if the risk materializes and a third…

Originally posted on prior probability:
Nozick identifies a “serious problem” (his words, not ours) for the natural rights tradition in the eighth subsection of Chapter 4 (pp. 73-78): the problem of risk. (Hey, what about “uncertainty” as opposed to risk?)…

Originally posted on prior probability:
Up to now, Nozick has been grappling with the following question: Why not permit all boundary crossings provided compensation is paid? Nozick, however, switches gears and addresses the opposite question in the seventh subsection of…

Originally posted on prior probability:
For most of Chapter 4, Nozick has been wondering why all wrongful acts are not allowed so long as compensation is paid. Here, in the sixth subsection of this chapter (pp. 65-71), Nozick presents (to…

Originally posted on prior probability:
The fifth subsection of Chapter 4 (pp. 63-65) returns to the first of Nozick’s two theoretical questions (p. 63): “why not allow any boundary crossings provided full compensation is paid?” (Nozick will revisit his second…