“There is only one thing a philosopher can be relied upon to do, and that is to contradict other philosophers”*…
In the July/August 2001 issue of the late, great magazine Lingua Franca, James Ryerson [now a New York Times writer/editor] published an enthralling article about an anonymous benefactor who was paying professors huge sums of money to review a strange 60-page philosophical manuscript…
Read Ryerson’s fascinating intellectual detective story at “The Mystery of the Millionaire Metaphysician.” And after you’ve done that (lest you spoil the ending), read what became of that anonymous benefactor.
[Image above: source]
* William James
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As we search for the moral in moral philosophy, we might spare a thought for William Penn; he died on this date in 1718. An English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, early Quaker, and founder of the English North American colony the Province of Pennsylvania, he was an early advocate of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful treaties with the Lenape Native Americans. he directed the planning and development of the city of Philadelphia.
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