Rather than framing moral philosophy as just another form of epistemology (how can we know what to do?), Iris Murdoch was asking a more classical question: “How can we make ourselves morally better?” she asks. “These are the questions the philosopher should try to answer.”

Looking back on sports stories designed to educate a certain class of white American male into the virtues of postwar civic culture.

Oftentimes we find that the people on the other side of a hot-button issue are motivated by good reasoning and deeply held values. They are not the enemy.

America has published thousands of book reviews over 110 years...and some of them were more spot-on than others...

I see them lining up for slaughter,/ Judas at the head of the pack/ grunting his way to survival, while my/ pigs do not stand a chance, doomed creatures/ that they are, and it’s a good thing.

Originally published in 1923, the works were slated to enter the public domain — meaning others are free to adapt and otherwise use them — in 1999. But Congress extended the copyrights for 20 more years.