David Kern

Aristotle distinguishes between productive and contemplative knowledge in The Metaphysics (Book XI:7). In productive knowledge, the source of motion is in the one who makes, rather than in the thing being made. For example, when one exercises one’s productive knowledge by making a bookshelf, the source of motion is in the carpenter, not the bookshelf. […]

Are you registered for the upcoming summer conference? If so, you can prepare by reading the following books. This list will be updated from time to time so add a bookmark and check back soon! THE ABOLITION OF MAN The Magna Carta The Constitution of the United States The Declaration of Independence Two more added:

The “original intent” theory of Constitutional interpretation says that we ought to understand the Constitution in terms of what the author intended the Constitution to mean. This theory is associated with conservative legal theory. The “vectors of history” theory of Constitutional interpretation says that we ought to understand the meaning of the Constitution as shifting

In a democratic society, we are often told, the question of who is right and who is wrong ought to be avoided if at all possible. Instead of grounding the political community in a moral framework that provides guidance to public leaders on what moral duties human beings owe to one another and to themselves,

{EDITOR’S NOTE: The following post is the first in a series dedicated to introducing to the readers of Quddity the men and women who will speaking at this summer’s CiRCE Conference: A Contemplation of Liberty. Up first is Leigh Bortins, of Classical Conversations.} BIOGRAPHY: Leigh Bortins is a nationally acclaimed educator, perhaps best known for

Aristotelian political theory posits that the role of government is to foster human flourishing. The concept of human flourishing depends on central aspects of Aristotelian metaphysics and ethics. Metaphysically, the decisive thing is the concept of form. Ethically, the decisive thing is virtue. Form may briefly be described as what makes a thing what it

The most prominent feature of political thought since the Enlightenment (both in the academic theories and in the public’s common sense) is surely the language of inalienable rights. In fact, the emergence of inalienable political rights marks a break from more ancient times and is the distinctive feature of modern politics. Every mainstream political view

Martin Heidegger once instructed his students that “[i]t is advisable, therefore, that you postpone reading Nietzsche for the time being, and first study Aristotle for ten to fifteen years.” To one uninitiated in the field of ancient philosophy (and probably even to some in that field) this demand might seem absurd. Why devote so much