Archive for William B. Irvine
The Case for Being Insensitive
Professor Irvine teaches philosophy at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. At the university where I teach there recently was an uproar when a white dean allegedly said that a black faculty member is paid as much as he is because he is black. Although the dean ultimately was cleared of the charge of racism [...]
1Sep1991 | William B. Irvine | 2 comments | ContinuedThe Right Not to Live
Professor Irvine teaches philosophy at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Last December a pair of legal decisions drew national attention. In one case a Michigan judge dismissed a first-degree murder charge against Dr. Jack Kevorkian, inventor of a “suicide machine.” Janet Adkins, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, had used this machine to self-administer drugs [...]
1May1991 | William B. Irvine | 0 comments | ContinuedThe Politics of Compassion
Professor Irvine teaches philosophy at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Not long ago a colleague and I were discussing my article on Federal disaster relief that appeared in the March 1990 Freeman. In the article I argued, among other things, that the government should not spend money to help rebuild the homes and businesses [...]
1Oct1990 | William B. Irvine | 7 comments | ContinuedThe Last Wild Children of Capitalism
Dr. Irvine is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. American futures markets have long played the role of villain in popular economic thinking. In his 1903 novel The Pit, for example, Frank Norris offers his readers the following description of the Chicago Board of Trade: Within there, a great whirlpool, [...]
1Aug1990 | William B. Irvine | 0 comments | ContinuedTaking the Train to Metamora
Professor Irvine teaches philosophy at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. For a few dollars, one can ride a train from Connersville to Metamora, in eastern Indiana. The ride is worth taking not just because it is a chance to ride a train (which in America is now difficult to do), and not just because [...]
1Jun1990 | William B. Irvine | 1 comment | ContinuedThe Earmarked Money Illusion
Professor Irvine teaches philosophy at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Two stories that made recent headlines were President Bushes declaration of war on drugs, and securities firm Drexel Bum-ham Lambert’s payment of over $300 million in fines and penalties for having engaged in insider trading. One would naturally think that these two events were [...]
1Apr1990 | William B. Irvine | 0 comments | ContinuedSaying No to Federal Disaster Relief
Professor Irvine teaches philosophy at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Hurricane Hugo and the earthquake in northern California have raised an old, but easily ignored question in political theory: What role, if any, should the federal government play in disaster relief? The current consensus seems to be not just that there is a role [...]
1Mar1990 | William B. Irvine | 2 comments | ContinuedThe Other Side of Adam Smith
Professor Irvine teaches philosophy at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Adam Smith has suffered the fate that often befalls the creator of a new “ism”: We no longer regard him as a mere mortal, but instead take him to be the embodiment of the doctrine he espoused. Many would like to think of Adam [...]
1Feb1990 | William B. Irvine | 0 comments | ContinuedThe Investor as Hero
Professor Irvine teaches philosophy at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Recent stock market crashes have been a disaster for American investors. In the Crash of ‘87, they saw the aggregate value of their investments fall by $1 trillion in less than a month; and in the Friday the 13th crash of last October, their [...]
1Jan1990 | William B. Irvine | 1 comment | ContinuedBasic Rights and Meta-Rights
Professor Irvine teaches philosophy at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. People are generally familiar with what might be called our basic rights. These include our economic rights, such as our right to own property and our right to start a business, and our political rights, such as our right to free speech and our [...]
1Dec1989 | William B. Irvine | 0 comments | ContinuedThe Rise (and Fall?) of the Video Store
William B. Irvine teaches philosophy at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and is a member of The Heartland Institute’s board of academic advisors. The popularity of the video cassette recorder (VCR) has given rise to a new economic phenomenon: the video store. Video stores are simply private libraries that lend video-taped movies rather than [...]
1Jul1988 | William B. Irvine | 0 comments | Continued-
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