Author Archives: F. E. Guerra-Pujol

Via The Amazing Cliff Pickover, we discovered a website that sells quilts of the periodic table, such as the one pictured below. These beautiful quilts are made by robots, measure 8 feet wide by 4 feet high (2.4m x 1.2m), and … Continue reading →

Nozick ends Chapter 3 of Anarchy, State, and Utopia by drawing up a tantalizing road map of the rest of his philosophical project (p. 53, emphasis in original): “The remainder of Part I … attempts to justify the minimal state. … Continue reading →

In our previous post, we reviewed subsections five, six, and seven of Chapter 3 of Anarchy, State, and Utopia (ASU). Here, we will review the next-to-last subsection of this long chapter. In short, after building a strong case in favor … Continue reading →

Since the Thanksgiving break, we have been rereading and reviewing Robert Nozick’s classic work of political philosophy Anarchy, State, and Utopia (ASU), one of our favorite academic books of all time. Thus far, we have posted our reviews of the … Continue reading →

In our previous post, we reviewed the third subsection of Chapter 3 in which Nozick makes a strong case for preferring moral side constraints over moral end states. In the fourth subsection (pp. 33-35), Nozick will focus on the libertarian … Continue reading →

In the second subsection of Chapter 3, which we reviewed in our previous post, we saw two possible ways of operationalizing Nozick’s moral premise that individuals have rights. Either we could make it our overall goal to minimize the violation … Continue reading →

In the first subsection of Chapter 3, which we reviewed in our previous post, Nozick drew a distinction between two types of libertarian government–minimal states and ultraminimal states–and identified a foundational moral problem with each type of state. Here, we … Continue reading →

Nozick begins Chapter 3 (pp. 26-28) by drawing a distinction between two types of libertarian government (see image below): a “soft core” libertarian minimal state that protects all its citizens against harm and a “hard core” libertarian ultra-minimal state that … Continue reading →

We will begin our review of Chapter 3 of Anarchy, State, and Utopia later today or tomorrow. Before proceeding, however, let’s take a closer look at Chapter 3’s overall structure and organization. In brief, Chapter 3 is titled “Moral Constraints … Continue reading →