Sparks Commentary

Disclaimer: I am writing here as a philosopher and as a historian , not as a  psychologist . That is, I freely admit that I am not an “expe...

He was one of the greatest Christian philosophers of all time. But, in a particular way, he was one of the greatest  philosophers  of the ...

“I heartily accept the motto,—‘That government is best which governs least;’ and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and system...

We tend to associate the story of electricity with  Thomas Edison inventing the light bulb . Alternatively, we tend to associate it with  Be...

This audiobook changed my mind about utilitarianism . In my college years, I was a fan of utilitarianism. Now, I’m a little soured on it. I ...

There have been some massive advances in medical science since the  Renaissance . Medical science goes back at least as far as the Ancient G...

“ We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly ; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God...

I had heard only a little about  Alexis de Tocqueville  before I listened to this audiobook. I knew that he was from France , and that he ha...

“On this subject, I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. No! no! Tell a man whose house is on fire, to give a moderate...

If you feel like you don’t understand the Gettysburg Address, this post is for you. What the heck does “Fourscore and seven years ago” mean?...

Joseph Story was a U. S. Supreme Court justice, appointed by President James Madison In 1812, President James Madison appointed a new just...

“What is rational is real; And what is real is rational.” – Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel’s “Elements of the Philosophy of Right” (1821) In ...

“Amongst the novel objects that attracted my attention during my stay in the United States, nothing struck me more forcibly than the general...

“To desire immortality is to desire the eternal perpetuation of a great mistake.” – Arthur Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer is known as a pe...

“The statesman, who should attempt to direct private people in what manner they ought to employ their capitals, would not only load himself ...

“A commodity appears, at first sight, a very trivial thing, and easily understood. Its analysis shows that it is, in reality, a very queer t...

“There are no facts, only interpretations.” – Friedrich Nietzsche He was the most controversial thinker in the entire history of philo...

I once read “The Communist Manifesto”  itself in English translation in 2012, because it is a shorter work that requires very little time...

" A spectre is haunting Europe - the spectre of communism . All the Powers of old Europe have entered into a holy alliance to exorcis...