Category Archives: Philosophy

All Us Zombies

Posted on July 5, 2020 by robertpkruger

Lucius and I had a disagreement about zombies. I thought they had become popular for some deep psychological reason. He thought zombies were just a fad perpetuated by unimaginative hacks. Granted that there are many valid ways to look at … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Politics | Leave a comment

Our Viral Moment

Posted on April 11, 2020 by robertpkruger

When will we get back to normal? Never. We’ll achieve a new normal, but it won’t be the old one. This is our Red Pill viral moment. In 1999, The Matrix explored our condition metaphorically: the machines would have given … Continue reading →

Posted in HIgh Tech, Philosophy, Politics, Social Media, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Happy liberal New Year!

Posted on January 4, 2020 by robertpkruger

I have been on Facebook for over ten years now, and my interactions have brought me to a couple points of emphasis in political discussions. 1. Properly defined, as opposed to how it’s commonly misunderstood, liberalism is the fearless pursuit … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Rhetoric | Leave a comment

Religion and Endgame

Posted on April 27, 2019 by robertpkruger

So three things occasion this post: I watched Avengers: Endgame last night, Will Shetterly posted an observation about fandom and its religious nature, and I stumbled upon an article in my feed from a left-ish site about how new studies … Continue reading →

Posted in Evo Psych, Evolution, Fantasy, Philosophy, Religion, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

A Poisonous Idea

Posted on January 20, 2019 by robertpkruger

“Every categorical statement is political” — I keep coming back to this proposition by my critical theory professor. It’s such a stupid, poisonous idea. It discounts science, art, and the dialectical process. And I see it has caught on like … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Polluted Well of Social Media Discourse

Posted on January 20, 2019 by robertpkruger

These days, I mostly indulge myself with meta-political posts rather than get in the weeds on a specific issue, and when I do get specifically political on Facebook, I see much more clearly now how stupid I’m being. I cannot … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Rhetoric, Social Media, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

When identity politics trumps all

Posted on January 6, 2017 by robertpkruger

In a recent Facebook thread on identity politics, I made the following contribution, with some redaction here. I see a dozen online memes an hour speaking to Trump’s “misogyny” and “racism.” These terms have suffered scope creep. They no longer … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Rhetoric, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Feminism Dialog, Part 1

Posted on June 11, 2016 by robertpkruger

My friend Kristin King and I have had several tense but mutually respectful conversations on Facebook where evolution intersects gender politics. We’ve decided to hold a series of conversations about feminism by introducing a subtopic as a post and then … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Uncategorized | 46 Comments

Liberalism Needs a Housecleaning

Posted on February 7, 2016 by robertpkruger

After this post, I hope to leave off religion and politics for a while. I’m a liberal and liberal apologist but also a philosophical conservative, meaning I’m more into Adam Smith than Karl Marx, more into Plato and Lao Tzu than Nietzsche. … Continue reading →

Posted in Evo Psych, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Uncategorized | 15 Comments

Scalia, Naive Essentialism, and Evolution

Posted on June 11, 2015 by robertpkruger

I’ve lain relatively low on Facebook this past year, becoming more circumspect. Before posting, I weigh the importance of any controversial statement I have to make, and increasingly I let it go. This seems to have improved my relationships with … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution, Philosophy, Religion | Tagged , , | Leave a comment