Orestis TsinalisPlato’s hijacking of Socratic aporia and media-friendly radicalismIn Plato’s early dialogues Socrates leads his interlocutors to aporia, a state in which they are unconvinced by their own beliefs and…Jul 25, 20171Jul 25, 20171
Orestis TsinalisModerate rebels and augmented realityA common characteristic of the multiple regime change interventions in the Middle East is the financial, military, and moral support given…Jul 14, 2017Jul 14, 2017
Orestis TsinalisThe architecture of intolerance: From Wahhabism to Le Corbusier and back againWahhabism is an extreme, fundamentalist strain of Sunni Islam that was created in the 18th century in central Arabia. It was originally…Dec 24, 2016Dec 24, 2016
Orestis TsinalisWildlife documentaries and human savageryWildlife documentaries bring in our living room a world that to many people looks savage and brutal. A tedious animal existence revolving…Dec 18, 20161Dec 18, 20161
Orestis TsinalisOn populismGlobalization was fiercely promoted for its purported benefits to people by professors of economics, poshly-educated politicians, and…Nov 15, 2016Nov 15, 2016
Orestis TsinalisThe intellectual mobWhen people think of the mob, they usually have the picture of a boorish crowd in mind. Many people with university education think of the…Nov 9, 20161Nov 9, 20161
Orestis TsinalisFanaticism in moderationJudging whether someone is a fanatic is not straightforward. Unless you have access to their private or closed-circle conversations most…Oct 31, 2016Oct 31, 2016
Orestis TsinalisInventing the (gay) enemyI was recently reading Umberto Eco’s essay ‘Inventing the Enemy’ from his book of the same title (2012). The core idea of the essay is that…Dec 29, 20151Dec 29, 20151
Orestis TsinalisPlato, radicalism, and ‘good ideas implemented badly’In his work after the early Socratic dialogues — most notably The Republic — Plato expounded his totalitarian theory motivated by a form of…Dec 15, 2015Dec 15, 2015
Orestis TsinalisSeneca and the cult of consistencySeneca, the first century AD Roman philosopher, and Emperor Nero’s chief adviser and speech-writer, was a curious case, his critics tell…Dec 13, 20153Dec 13, 20153
