Umberto Eco, in his book On Ugliness (Rizzoli, 2007), provides a helpful way to categorize our experience of ugliness. There is (1) Ugliness in itself which gives rise to a visceral, negative reaction. Here we can think of feces, a rotting animal,… Read more ›
In The Prince (Penguin: 1981), Machiavelli (1469-1527) wrote: “There are two things a prince must fear: internal subversion from his subjects; and external aggression by foreign powers. Against the latter, his defense lies in being well-armed and having good allies;… Read more ›
Shakespeare’s Richard III, although fairly simple in structure, is rich in philosophical insights. In this series of posts I will explore many of these insights. Let’s begin by looking at how the play illustrates stages of tyranny that can be… Read more ›
