Eric Anthamatten, Author at Public Seminar

Democracy

The Age of Infection

Is life turning against itself?

May 5, 2020 • by Eric Anthamatten

In the age of infection, the goal of human existence is to become a virus -- to have a Tweet or TikTok infect the cells of the cultural body, cutting through the cacophony, so that others might finally see me, and acknowledge that my existence matters (even if that “existence” ...

Punching Nazis in the Face

A philosopher makes the case for violent resistance

March 6, 2017 • by Eric Anthamatten

My human dignity lay in this punch to the jaw... —Jean Améry, At The Mind's Limits As white supremacist Richard Spencer was being interviewed on camera, a masked protester punched him square in the jaw. Many conservatives looked at this as evidence of "cry-baby” liberalism: unable to handle alternative points of view, ...

Does Donald Trump Speak?

August 19, 2016 • by Eric Anthamatten

"I am your voice!" booms Donald Trump at the climax of his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. “Speech is something different from voice,” writes Aristotle in the Politics. “Voice” (phone) is possessed by both humans and animals, enabling us to communicate basic desires, most especially pleasure and pain. “Speech ...

Eric Anthamatten

The Age of Infection

Is life turning against itself?

Punching Nazis in the Face

A philosopher makes the case for violent resistance

Does Donald Trump Speak?

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