Category Archives: Uncategorized

“A Winter Comes Without a Spring that I Shall Ever See”*

Posted on January 10, 2022 by robertpkruger

So why is the movie Spring a romance on par with Casablanca for me? First, a disclaimer about criticism. A work of art has more dimensions than any criticism of it. I mean this figuratively, but it’s a tight analogy: … Continue reading →

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The Kindly Pit and the Pendulum

Posted on December 22, 2021 by robertpkruger

I recently finished Jonathan Rauch’s book Kindly Inquisitors, the New Attacks on Free Thought (expanded edition), and I think everyone who would style themselves a modern thinker, and especially a liberal, should read it. For the last decade, I’ve been … Continue reading →

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Alienation from Work

Posted on November 9, 2021 by robertpkruger

My friend Dr. Greg Scorzo interviewed me a couple weeks ago for his Culture on the Offensive podcast series, and he used my essay Liberalism Needs a Housecleaning as a discussion springboard. I greatly enjoy talking with Greg, and I … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on Discursive Modes and Critical Thinking

Posted on September 27, 2021 by robertpkruger

I have been a guest lecturer twice now for an undergraduate critical-thinking class at University of Wyoming, and these are among the notes I gave out, minus the last paragraph, which is a late addition.

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A Bayesian Approach to Better Logic

Posted on March 29, 2021 by robertpkruger

You probably have noticed that I say the same things over and over again. I’m well aware, but I try to say them in different ways. I’ve written many times about how discourse at any given time follows a mode … Continue reading →

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Age of Monsters, Available in Ebook and Trade Paperback

Posted on February 7, 2021 by robertpkruger

My teen romance about roleplaying gamers in 1980s Portland, Oregon, is live at Amazon. If you are not interested in Dungeons & Dragons, Portland, teen romance, or vampires, werewolves, giants, or cannibal hags — both terrestrial and aquatic — this … Continue reading →

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Shying Away from Meaning

Posted on October 31, 2020 by robertpkruger

I promised my best friend a couple weeks ago that I’d stop posting on Facebook and get back to writing fiction. And then something happened, and I felt I had to write about it, but I just couldn’t, and instead … Continue reading →

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Lies, Prevarication, and Modes of Discourse

Posted on August 3, 2020 by robertpkruger

“That’s a lie!” Have you ever heard that in a serious science debate? If you have, the debate has crossed over from objective discussion to inference of intent. In the logical mode, there is no such thing as a lie, … Continue reading →

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Happy Independence Day!

Posted on July 4, 2020 by robertpkruger

Happy Independence Day! Today, I don’t narrowly celebrate the liberation of the US colonies from Britain; I celebrate freedom itself. I celebrate you who manage to find education in school, and God in the Church or the Temple, despite those … Continue reading →

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Epistemological Modes and the Dialectical Process

Posted on July 3, 2020 by robertpkruger

“An enlightened person seeks convergence in their thinking, not compartmentalization. They’re always looking toward the next synthesis.” So this seems to be the argument people are making against recognizing that science, politics, and art are separate modes — or attitudes … Continue reading →

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