Author Archives: Steven Yates

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About Steven Yates

I have a Ph.D. in Philosophy, taught the subject at a number of universities around the American Southeast, then became disillusioned in the profession, moved to Chile in 2012. I am the author of Civil Wrongs: What Went Wrong With Affirmative Action (1994), Four Cardinal Errors: Reasons for the Decline of the American Republic (2011), What Should Philosophy Do? A Theory (2021), and most recently, So You Want to Get a PhD in Philosophy? (2025). I've also published around two dozen articles & reviews in academic journals, and hundreds online on numerous topics ranging from pure philosophy to political economy. My Substack publication is Navigating the New Normal. I currently live near Concepcion, Chile, with my wife Gisela and our two spoiled cats.

Higher Education and Race: Approaching the Nearest Cliff

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Steven Yates

Over the past month, we’ve been regaled by confrontations at an Ivy League school, Yale, and at the University of Missouri, involving allegations of supposed racism on campuses. The former involved supposedly “insensitive” Halloween costumes and a faculty member who … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Higher Education Generally | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

There Is No Such Thing As “Settled Science” (Here’s Why)

Posted on October 31, 2015 by Steven Yates

When deciding what to write and post on this blog, I am generally torn between two conflicting impulses. The first is to take note of and comment on those things that eventually drove many of us Lost Generation Philosophers from … Continue reading →

Posted in Higher Education Generally, Philosophy of Science, Political Economy, Where is Civilization Going? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Why Do Highly Intelligent People Do Extremely Stupid Things?

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Steven Yates

Academia, those who have spent any time there may have noticed, is a very strange place. Among other things, there is a certain amount of truth to those colorful anecdotes about absent-minded professors who, back in the days when chalkboards … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Philosophy | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Age of Atheism and the Eight Veils.

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Steven Yates

Over the past month or so I’ve been reading Peter Watson’s The Age of Atheists: How We Have Sought to Live Since the Death of God (2014). I’ve almost finished it. If you are a believer in any sense of … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

My Kantian-Kierkegaardian Christianity

Posted on October 2, 2015 by Steven Yates

In accordance with my standing as an outsider, I’ve been increasingly inclined over the years to make up my own mind about matters of philosophical theology, attendance of religious ceremonies, and matters of faith. I am unimpressed by the tenured … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Worldview, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Theses on Political Economy (Pre-Meltdown of 2015?)

Posted on August 22, 2015 by Steven Yates

A borderline-panic has gripped U.S. markets, which experienced their worst two-day drop since 2008 (roughly 890 points). This may be just a prelude of things to come. Before going on: I sincerely hope this analysis is wrong! It may not … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Economy, Where is Civilization Going? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Worldviews and Christianity: What the Loss of the “Culture War” Means

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Steven Yates

It is Sunday, but I didn’t make it to church this morning. When we lived in Las Condes, our church, San Marcos, was just a few bus stops down the road. Now, it’s over an hour away, and the public … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Worldview, Culture, Where is Civilization Going? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Modern Moral Philosophy (Part Two—Is the Libertarian Non-Aggression Principle Adequate As the Foundation for a Systematic Morality)

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Steven Yates

In Part One (two weeks ago) we surveyed such questions as: are there such things as knowable moral facts, or is morality a cultural artifact? I argued that the former claim makes better sense of what we use ethical language … Continue reading →

Posted in Libertarianism, Political Economy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Modern Moral Philosophy (Part I, Being a Longwinded Inquiry into Whether There Are Any Such Things As Moral Facts, Preliminary to Our Investigation of the Libertarian Non-Aggression Principle (NAP))

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Steven Yates

Introduction: this post was inspired by a thread on Facebook in which I participated. It raised issues that couldn’t be handled without more depth than is possible in one or two already-lengthy comments. The main topic was the viability and … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Libertarianism, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Not-Quite-Random Thoughts on Conservatism, Anarchism, and the Breakdown of Modern Civilization

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Steven Yates

Yesterday I found myself outlining an article entitled “Needed: A New Russell Kirk.” Russell Kirk (1918 – 1994) was a conservative philosopher & author of The Conservative Mind (1953), The Roots of American Order (1991) and other books including some … Continue reading →

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