Matthew Skene

Author's details

Name: Matthew Skene
Date registered: March 1, 2010

Biography

I have a Ph.D in philosophy from Syracuse University (Dec, 2013). I am currently working as an adjunct while pursuing a tenure track job.

Latest posts

  1. Is Executive Compensation too High? — February 19, 2019
  2. What I Really Think about Physicalism — May 25, 2018
  3. Why is the NFL ban on Kneeling Wrong? — May 25, 2018
  4. The Last Jedi — January 3, 2018
  5. Success of Philosophy Students: Selection Bias or Skill Development? — June 14, 2014

Most commented posts

  1. The Crime of Immigration Restrictions — 2 comments
  2. Why Health Care isn’t a Right — 2 comments
  3. Hello world! — 1 comment
  4. Why Study Philosophy? — 1 comment
  5. The Gap in the Market — 1 comment

Author's posts listings

Apr 16

The Wire

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It is often hard to sell The Wire to people. When people hear that it is about the drug trade in Baltimore, they are likely to immediately misunderstand it. There are a few ways such a show could traditionally go. It could glorify the drug trade and gangsters, like a classic Mafia movie parading around …

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Sep 06

Why Study Philosophy?

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A college education is usually thought to provide three main things to students: 1. Valuable knowledge about various subjects. 2. The acquisition of useful skills. 3. A signal to future employers of intelligence and a willingness to work hard. Students should study philosophy because it does a very good job at providing value relative to …

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Aug 16

Why Health Care isn’t a Right

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Politics

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Positive and Negative Rights: When someone has a right to something, this always creates obligations in others. My right not to be killed creates an obligation in others not to kill me. My right to be compensated for my labor in accordance with the terms of a contract creates an obligation in my employer to …

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2 comments

Jun 23

Judicial Confirmation

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Politics

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The threat of the “tyranny of the majority” has been recognized as a serious problem for democratic societies since the formation of American democracy. The solution to this problem the founding fathers envisioned was to establish a set of rights as a foundation for American democracy, and to set up a branch of government whose …

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Jun 20

Common Sense Philosophy FAQ

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Philosophy

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What is Common Sense Philosophy? Common sense philosophy is a branch of philosophy that places restrictions on the legitimate results of philosophical investigations requiring such results to be compatible with common sense. It views the appropriate role of philosophical inquiry as the codification and gradual extension of our pre-theoretical understanding of reality, rather than as …

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Mar 22

The Gap in the Market

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Currently, it is against the law for any business to engage in any practice that they believe will fail to maximize profit for their investors. In a way, this makes sense. People invest in companies because they believe that these companies will give them a good return on their investment. If companies were allowed to …

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Mar 22

The Slow March to Anarchy, Part 2

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Politics

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Although I have tried to explain their underpinnings in the last post, most people consider my political views to be rather extreme.  When it comes to method, however, I take a far more cautious approach.  My approach is still underwritten by general principles, however, including the following: We ought to do what works: It’s very …

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Mar 12

Arguments and Bias: An X-phi Experiment that should be Conducted

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Philosophy

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Despite the fact that I am a thoroughgoing rationalist, I find myself liking a lot of experimental philosophy.  Since I’m an advocate of common sense, studies about what people actually believe seem like a good place to at least start in checking that we’re right when we claim that the folk think something is true.  …

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Mar 03

General Politics: The Slow March to Anarchy (Part 1)

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Politics

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As a first blog post on politics, I thought it would be appropriate to describe my general political view of things.  As I see it, one’s politics is determined by two things: their view of how the world should be, and their view of what we should do to get there.  When it comes to …

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Mar 03

Why Waving Hands?

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Philosophy

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The title of this blog is drawn from one of my favorite philosophical arguments: G. E. Moore’s Proof of an External World.  Moore gave the following proof of the existence of things outside our minds: Here’s one hand (waves his hand). Here’s another (waves other hand). Therefore, there are external objects. Moore’s proof may sound …

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