Landon Frim | Florida Gulf Coast University (original) (raw)

Papers by Landon Frim

News-Press, 2023

The Hamas incursion into southern Israel sent shockwaves through my Jewish community. Militants n... more The Hamas incursion into southern Israel sent shockwaves through my Jewish community. Militants not only attacked Israeli military bases and a police station, but slaughtered unarmed civilians, executed the elderly, abducted and killed women, children and babies. By all reports, the murder of civilians was indiscriminate, and among the victims were to be found Israeli peace activists who spent their lives campaigning for Palestinian liberation. Hayim Katsman, 32, was a young scholar who worked with Machsom Watch (Checkpoint Watch), an organization dedicated to protecting Palestinian human rights. He was shot dead in a closet. May his memory be a blessing. Cindy Flash, 67, was the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors and protested past Israeli attacks on Gaza. She was killed in her home next to her husband Igal, 66. May their memory be a blessing. These accounts are heartbreaking. Because I am Jewish, my neighbors, friends, and colleagues have come up to me this past week with messages of concern and condolences. "I'm so sorry for your loss." "Do you know anyone in Israel?" I despise the fact that I can't

Spectre Journal, 2022

A defense of Reason (and Rationalism) as the genuine basis for radical politics. A critique of pr... more A defense of Reason (and Rationalism) as the genuine basis for radical politics. A critique of pragmatist, eclectic, and "strugglist" approaches to the Left.

Prometheus and Gaia, 2022

Chapter 3 of Prometheus and Gaia. A critical analysis of "Eco-Pessimist" or "Gaian" thinking today.

Better Call Saul and Philosophy, 2022

This paper uses the hit series Better Call Saul to debunk the most common myths about free will a... more This paper uses the hit series Better Call Saul to debunk the most common myths about free will and determinism.

Symposion

Should the state teach ethics? There is widespread disagreement on whether (and how) secular stat... more Should the state teach ethics? There is widespread disagreement on whether (and how) secular states should be in the business of promoting a particular moral viewpoint. This article attempts to schematize, and evaluate, these stances. It does so by posing three, simple questions: (1) Should the state explicitly promote certain ethical values over others? (2) Should the state have ultimate justifications for the values it promotes? (3) Should the state compel its citizens to accept these ultimate justifications? Logically, each question in this series is a prerequisite for considering those questions further down the list. The result is that responses can be categorized into one of four possible permutations or ‘camps.’ These are: (1) The Libertarian (“No” to all three questions) (2) The Pluralist (“Yes” to question 1; “No” to questions 2 and 3) (3) The Rationalist Republican (“Yes” to questions 1 and 2; “No” to question 3) (4) The Rigorous Republican (“Yes” to all three questions) I...

Symposion, 2022

Should the state teach ethics? There is widespread disagreement on whether (and how) secular stat... more Should the state teach ethics? There is widespread disagreement on whether (and how) secular states should be in the business of promoting a particular moral viewpoint. This article attempts to schematize, and evaluate, these stances. It does so by posing three, simple questions: (1) Should the state explicitly promote certain ethical values over others? (2) Should the state have ultimate justifications for the values it promotes? (3) Should the state compel its citizens to accept these ultimate justifications? Logically, each question in this series is a prerequisite for considering those questions further down the list. The result is that responses can be categorized into one of four possible permutations or 'camps.' These are: (1) The Libertarian ("No" to all three questions) (2) The Pluralist ("Yes" to question 1; "No" to questions 2 and 3) (3) The Rationalist Republican ("Yes" to questions 1 and 2; "No" to question 3) (4) The Rigorous Republican ("Yes" to all three questions) It will be shown that just one of these positions, the 'rationalist republican,' stands out from all the rest. For only the rationalist republican can account for a normative politics while also safeguarding the individual's freedom of conscience.

Ethics, Policy & Environment, 2017

Curren and Metzger's work makes a bold, normative claim: The moral goal of sustainability is huma... more Curren and Metzger's work makes a bold, normative claim: The moral goal of sustainability is human flourishing. Their eudaimonic theory has as its summum bonum 'living well' according to the fundamental psychological needs and potentials of our species. With this, Curren and Metzger implicitly affirm precisely what, today, many theoretical ethicists strain to deny-a stable human nature. (Or what Marx, emphasizing humanity's sociality, termed 'species-being') Relatedly, Curren and Metzger's work stands in clear opposition to the 'deep ecology' tradition as well. For deep ecology criticizes any special focus on human need as an illicit 'speciesism' and instrumentalization of nature. Though the authors do not engage with deep ecology specifically, their contrast (and surprising confluence) with this school of thought is well worth exploring. For the meta-ethical assumptions on either side of this humanist/biocentric divide have real import for how sustainable policies are conceived and crafted.

Teaching Ethics, 2017

The international relations (IR) curriculum has long presented a dichotomy between the so-called ... more The international relations (IR) curriculum has long presented a dichotomy between the so-called “realist” and “idealist” positions. Idealists seek to embody universal norms of justice in foreign policy. Realists, by contrast, see competition between states, the balance of power, and relative advantage as basic to international politics. Though considered polar opposites, both the realist and idealist affirm the primacy of the nation state as a sovereign political unit, and so neither embraces cosmopolitanism in the strongest sense, i.e., the transcendence of national divisions as such. Opening up the IR curriculum to such a radical possibility requires its reframing in terms of underlying, ethical worldviews. Under this lens, it becomes evident that the realist and idealist share far more in common than contemporary policy debates would suggest. It also points us toward the space for an alternate ethical worldview, provided by Stoic rationalism, which is more viable for grounding c...

Epoché: A Journal for the History of Philosophy, 2018

This paper will set out in plain language the basic ontology of "Deleuze's Spinoza"; it will then... more This paper will set out in plain language the basic ontology of "Deleuze's Spinoza"; it will then critically examine whether such a Spinoza has, or indeed could have, ever truly existed. In this, it will be shown that Deleuze's reading of Spinoza involves the imposition of three interlocking, formal principles. These are (1) Necessitarianism, (2) Immanence, and (3) Univocity. The uncovering of Deleuze's use of these three principles, how they relate to one another, and what they jointly imply in terms of ontology, will occupy Part 1 of this paper. The critique of these principles from a Spinozist perspective, i.e. that their use by Deleuze is incompatible with Spinoza's own metaphysics, will occupy Part 2 of this paper.

However, this has not been a realignment of people, or of demographic coalitions, or of interest ... more However, this has not been a realignment of people, or of demographic coalitions, or of interest groups; it has rather been the realignment of ideas. Since before the French Revolution, and the composition of the Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen, the idea of universal human reason was always tied to the concept of universal, human emancipation. Yet today, the forces of emancipation are reluctant to draw their inspiration from the notion of universal human rationality. As such, the projects of political emancipation have, themselves, become increasingly particularized and tied to the struggles of specific cultural, social, racial, and gender identities. At their base, all political disagreements are really disagreements about metaphysics. Only this fact can illuminate the broad political trends and traditions which span multiple epochs and civilizations. Namely, there are substantive disagreements about the proper order for society because there are diverging views about the actual order of reality. Is it any wonder that

What is the role of the principle of sufficient reason in Baruch Spinoza’s ontological proof for ... more What is the role of the principle of sufficient reason in Baruch Spinoza’s ontological proof for God’s existence? Is this role identical within Spinoza’s early work on method, the Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect, and his magnum opus, the Ethics? This paper argues affirmatively that the methodology employed within the Ethics is consonant with that method found within the Treatise, and this claim is substantiated through an engagement with the influential works of Don Garrett and Aaron Garrett. It is also demonstrated through an original reconstruction of the Treatise itself. In this reconstruction, basic premises are identified which can validly prove Spinoza’s intended conclusion of substance monism. It is finally determined that what the Treatise and the Ethics share, specifically, is a methodology which begins with non-nominal definitions that denote the real, sufficient causes of their respective objects. However, at certain junctures, this methodology is expressed wi...

PLEASE SEE PUBLISHED ARTICLE IN EPOCHE: A JOURNAL FOR THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY

Societate şi Politică

What is the role of the principle of sufficient reason in Baruch Spinoza's ontological proof for ... more What is the role of the principle of sufficient reason in Baruch Spinoza's ontological proof for God's existence? Is this role identical within Spinoza's early work on method, the Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect, and his magnum opus, the Ethics? This paper argues affirmatively that the methodology employed within the Ethics is consonant with that method found within the Treatise, and this claim is substantiated through an engagement with the influential works of Don Garrett and Aaron Garrett. It is also demonstrated through an original reconstruction of the Treatise itself. In this reconstruction, basic premises are identified which can validly prove Spinoza's intended conclusion of substance monism. It is finally determined that what the Treatise and the Ethics share, specifically, is a methodology which begins with non-nominal definitions that denote the real, sufficient causes of their respective objects. However, at certain junctures, this methodology is expressed with greater consistency within the Treatise as opposed to within the Ethics. Evidence for this will be provided from the primary texts themselves and from the subsequent analyses of Don Garrett and Aaron Garret as well.

Symposion, 2019

Universal benevolence' may be defined as the goal of promoting the welfare of every individual, h... more Universal benevolence' may be defined as the goal of promoting the welfare of every individual, however remote, to the best of one's ability. Currently, the commonest model of universal benevolence is that of 'impartiality,' the notion promoted by Peter Singer, Roderick Firth, and others, that every individual (including oneself) is of equal intrinsic worth. This paper contends that the impartialist model is seriously flawed. Specifically, it is demonstrated that impartialist accounts of benevolence (1) attempt to draw positive moral conclusions from negative premises, (2) draw actual conclusions from merely counterfactual premises, (3) fail to live up to stated claims of naturalism, and (4) give no compelling account of moral motivation. By contrast, I propose an alternate model of universal benevolence, grounded in the Stoic, cosmopolitan theory of oikeiôsis, i.e. 'appropriation.' Such a model, in contradistinction to impartiality, would see benevolence as the positive identification between moral agent and moral patient, rather than a charitable sacrifice of oneself for a distinct but equal other. An ethics of oikeiôsis has the further benefit of avoiding each of the four abovementioned conceptual pitfalls common to impartialist theories.

Symposion, 2019

'Universal benevolence' may be defined as the goal of promoting the welfare of every individual, ... more 'Universal benevolence' may be defined as the goal of promoting the welfare of every individual, however remote, to the best of one's ability. Currently, the commonest model of universal benevolence is that of 'impartiality,' the notion promoted by Peter Singer, Roderick Firth, and others, that every individual (including oneself) is of equal intrinsic worth. This paper contends that the impartialist model is seriously flawed. Specifically, it is demonstrated that impartialist accounts of benevolence (1) attempt to draw positive moral conclusions from negative premises, (2) draw actual conclusions from merely counterfactual premises, (3) fail to live up to stated claims of naturalism, and (4) give no compelling account of moral motivation. By contrast, I propose an alternate model of universal benevolence, grounded in the Stoic, cosmopolitan theory of oikeiôsis, i.e. 'appropriation.' Such a model, in contradistinction to impartiality, would see benevolence as the positive identification between moral agent and moral patient, rather than a charitable sacrifice of oneself for a distinct but equal other. An ethics of oikeiôsis has the further benefit of avoiding each of the four abovementioned conceptual pitfalls common to impartialist theories.

Salvage Magazine (Patreon), 2019

Rationalists are often accused of presupposing a dualism between reason and unreason; that “there... more Rationalists are often accused of presupposing a dualism between reason and unreason; that “there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” But the charge is misapplied. The rationalist does not hold to any such dualism because, properly speaking, there is no “outside” to reason. There is no abyss, no nothingness, no chaotic unreason to speak of.

Anti Science and the Assault on Democracy, 2019

A history and critique of Futurism/Accelerationism across the political spectrum.

Jacobin Magazine, 2019

Netflix’s Trotsky miniseries demonizes its namesake with antisemitic themes and rank nationalism.

News-Press, 2023

The Hamas incursion into southern Israel sent shockwaves through my Jewish community. Militants n... more The Hamas incursion into southern Israel sent shockwaves through my Jewish community. Militants not only attacked Israeli military bases and a police station, but slaughtered unarmed civilians, executed the elderly, abducted and killed women, children and babies. By all reports, the murder of civilians was indiscriminate, and among the victims were to be found Israeli peace activists who spent their lives campaigning for Palestinian liberation. Hayim Katsman, 32, was a young scholar who worked with Machsom Watch (Checkpoint Watch), an organization dedicated to protecting Palestinian human rights. He was shot dead in a closet. May his memory be a blessing. Cindy Flash, 67, was the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors and protested past Israeli attacks on Gaza. She was killed in her home next to her husband Igal, 66. May their memory be a blessing. These accounts are heartbreaking. Because I am Jewish, my neighbors, friends, and colleagues have come up to me this past week with messages of concern and condolences. "I'm so sorry for your loss." "Do you know anyone in Israel?" I despise the fact that I can't

Spectre Journal, 2022

A defense of Reason (and Rationalism) as the genuine basis for radical politics. A critique of pr... more A defense of Reason (and Rationalism) as the genuine basis for radical politics. A critique of pragmatist, eclectic, and "strugglist" approaches to the Left.

Prometheus and Gaia, 2022

Chapter 3 of Prometheus and Gaia. A critical analysis of "Eco-Pessimist" or "Gaian" thinking today.

Better Call Saul and Philosophy, 2022

This paper uses the hit series Better Call Saul to debunk the most common myths about free will a... more This paper uses the hit series Better Call Saul to debunk the most common myths about free will and determinism.

Symposion

Should the state teach ethics? There is widespread disagreement on whether (and how) secular stat... more Should the state teach ethics? There is widespread disagreement on whether (and how) secular states should be in the business of promoting a particular moral viewpoint. This article attempts to schematize, and evaluate, these stances. It does so by posing three, simple questions: (1) Should the state explicitly promote certain ethical values over others? (2) Should the state have ultimate justifications for the values it promotes? (3) Should the state compel its citizens to accept these ultimate justifications? Logically, each question in this series is a prerequisite for considering those questions further down the list. The result is that responses can be categorized into one of four possible permutations or ‘camps.’ These are: (1) The Libertarian (“No” to all three questions) (2) The Pluralist (“Yes” to question 1; “No” to questions 2 and 3) (3) The Rationalist Republican (“Yes” to questions 1 and 2; “No” to question 3) (4) The Rigorous Republican (“Yes” to all three questions) I...

Symposion, 2022

Should the state teach ethics? There is widespread disagreement on whether (and how) secular stat... more Should the state teach ethics? There is widespread disagreement on whether (and how) secular states should be in the business of promoting a particular moral viewpoint. This article attempts to schematize, and evaluate, these stances. It does so by posing three, simple questions: (1) Should the state explicitly promote certain ethical values over others? (2) Should the state have ultimate justifications for the values it promotes? (3) Should the state compel its citizens to accept these ultimate justifications? Logically, each question in this series is a prerequisite for considering those questions further down the list. The result is that responses can be categorized into one of four possible permutations or 'camps.' These are: (1) The Libertarian ("No" to all three questions) (2) The Pluralist ("Yes" to question 1; "No" to questions 2 and 3) (3) The Rationalist Republican ("Yes" to questions 1 and 2; "No" to question 3) (4) The Rigorous Republican ("Yes" to all three questions) It will be shown that just one of these positions, the 'rationalist republican,' stands out from all the rest. For only the rationalist republican can account for a normative politics while also safeguarding the individual's freedom of conscience.

Ethics, Policy & Environment, 2017

Curren and Metzger's work makes a bold, normative claim: The moral goal of sustainability is huma... more Curren and Metzger's work makes a bold, normative claim: The moral goal of sustainability is human flourishing. Their eudaimonic theory has as its summum bonum 'living well' according to the fundamental psychological needs and potentials of our species. With this, Curren and Metzger implicitly affirm precisely what, today, many theoretical ethicists strain to deny-a stable human nature. (Or what Marx, emphasizing humanity's sociality, termed 'species-being') Relatedly, Curren and Metzger's work stands in clear opposition to the 'deep ecology' tradition as well. For deep ecology criticizes any special focus on human need as an illicit 'speciesism' and instrumentalization of nature. Though the authors do not engage with deep ecology specifically, their contrast (and surprising confluence) with this school of thought is well worth exploring. For the meta-ethical assumptions on either side of this humanist/biocentric divide have real import for how sustainable policies are conceived and crafted.

Teaching Ethics, 2017

The international relations (IR) curriculum has long presented a dichotomy between the so-called ... more The international relations (IR) curriculum has long presented a dichotomy between the so-called “realist” and “idealist” positions. Idealists seek to embody universal norms of justice in foreign policy. Realists, by contrast, see competition between states, the balance of power, and relative advantage as basic to international politics. Though considered polar opposites, both the realist and idealist affirm the primacy of the nation state as a sovereign political unit, and so neither embraces cosmopolitanism in the strongest sense, i.e., the transcendence of national divisions as such. Opening up the IR curriculum to such a radical possibility requires its reframing in terms of underlying, ethical worldviews. Under this lens, it becomes evident that the realist and idealist share far more in common than contemporary policy debates would suggest. It also points us toward the space for an alternate ethical worldview, provided by Stoic rationalism, which is more viable for grounding c...

Epoché: A Journal for the History of Philosophy, 2018

This paper will set out in plain language the basic ontology of "Deleuze's Spinoza"; it will then... more This paper will set out in plain language the basic ontology of "Deleuze's Spinoza"; it will then critically examine whether such a Spinoza has, or indeed could have, ever truly existed. In this, it will be shown that Deleuze's reading of Spinoza involves the imposition of three interlocking, formal principles. These are (1) Necessitarianism, (2) Immanence, and (3) Univocity. The uncovering of Deleuze's use of these three principles, how they relate to one another, and what they jointly imply in terms of ontology, will occupy Part 1 of this paper. The critique of these principles from a Spinozist perspective, i.e. that their use by Deleuze is incompatible with Spinoza's own metaphysics, will occupy Part 2 of this paper.

However, this has not been a realignment of people, or of demographic coalitions, or of interest ... more However, this has not been a realignment of people, or of demographic coalitions, or of interest groups; it has rather been the realignment of ideas. Since before the French Revolution, and the composition of the Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen, the idea of universal human reason was always tied to the concept of universal, human emancipation. Yet today, the forces of emancipation are reluctant to draw their inspiration from the notion of universal human rationality. As such, the projects of political emancipation have, themselves, become increasingly particularized and tied to the struggles of specific cultural, social, racial, and gender identities. At their base, all political disagreements are really disagreements about metaphysics. Only this fact can illuminate the broad political trends and traditions which span multiple epochs and civilizations. Namely, there are substantive disagreements about the proper order for society because there are diverging views about the actual order of reality. Is it any wonder that

What is the role of the principle of sufficient reason in Baruch Spinoza’s ontological proof for ... more What is the role of the principle of sufficient reason in Baruch Spinoza’s ontological proof for God’s existence? Is this role identical within Spinoza’s early work on method, the Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect, and his magnum opus, the Ethics? This paper argues affirmatively that the methodology employed within the Ethics is consonant with that method found within the Treatise, and this claim is substantiated through an engagement with the influential works of Don Garrett and Aaron Garrett. It is also demonstrated through an original reconstruction of the Treatise itself. In this reconstruction, basic premises are identified which can validly prove Spinoza’s intended conclusion of substance monism. It is finally determined that what the Treatise and the Ethics share, specifically, is a methodology which begins with non-nominal definitions that denote the real, sufficient causes of their respective objects. However, at certain junctures, this methodology is expressed wi...

PLEASE SEE PUBLISHED ARTICLE IN EPOCHE: A JOURNAL FOR THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY

Societate şi Politică

What is the role of the principle of sufficient reason in Baruch Spinoza's ontological proof for ... more What is the role of the principle of sufficient reason in Baruch Spinoza's ontological proof for God's existence? Is this role identical within Spinoza's early work on method, the Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect, and his magnum opus, the Ethics? This paper argues affirmatively that the methodology employed within the Ethics is consonant with that method found within the Treatise, and this claim is substantiated through an engagement with the influential works of Don Garrett and Aaron Garrett. It is also demonstrated through an original reconstruction of the Treatise itself. In this reconstruction, basic premises are identified which can validly prove Spinoza's intended conclusion of substance monism. It is finally determined that what the Treatise and the Ethics share, specifically, is a methodology which begins with non-nominal definitions that denote the real, sufficient causes of their respective objects. However, at certain junctures, this methodology is expressed with greater consistency within the Treatise as opposed to within the Ethics. Evidence for this will be provided from the primary texts themselves and from the subsequent analyses of Don Garrett and Aaron Garret as well.

Symposion, 2019

Universal benevolence' may be defined as the goal of promoting the welfare of every individual, h... more Universal benevolence' may be defined as the goal of promoting the welfare of every individual, however remote, to the best of one's ability. Currently, the commonest model of universal benevolence is that of 'impartiality,' the notion promoted by Peter Singer, Roderick Firth, and others, that every individual (including oneself) is of equal intrinsic worth. This paper contends that the impartialist model is seriously flawed. Specifically, it is demonstrated that impartialist accounts of benevolence (1) attempt to draw positive moral conclusions from negative premises, (2) draw actual conclusions from merely counterfactual premises, (3) fail to live up to stated claims of naturalism, and (4) give no compelling account of moral motivation. By contrast, I propose an alternate model of universal benevolence, grounded in the Stoic, cosmopolitan theory of oikeiôsis, i.e. 'appropriation.' Such a model, in contradistinction to impartiality, would see benevolence as the positive identification between moral agent and moral patient, rather than a charitable sacrifice of oneself for a distinct but equal other. An ethics of oikeiôsis has the further benefit of avoiding each of the four abovementioned conceptual pitfalls common to impartialist theories.

Symposion, 2019

'Universal benevolence' may be defined as the goal of promoting the welfare of every individual, ... more 'Universal benevolence' may be defined as the goal of promoting the welfare of every individual, however remote, to the best of one's ability. Currently, the commonest model of universal benevolence is that of 'impartiality,' the notion promoted by Peter Singer, Roderick Firth, and others, that every individual (including oneself) is of equal intrinsic worth. This paper contends that the impartialist model is seriously flawed. Specifically, it is demonstrated that impartialist accounts of benevolence (1) attempt to draw positive moral conclusions from negative premises, (2) draw actual conclusions from merely counterfactual premises, (3) fail to live up to stated claims of naturalism, and (4) give no compelling account of moral motivation. By contrast, I propose an alternate model of universal benevolence, grounded in the Stoic, cosmopolitan theory of oikeiôsis, i.e. 'appropriation.' Such a model, in contradistinction to impartiality, would see benevolence as the positive identification between moral agent and moral patient, rather than a charitable sacrifice of oneself for a distinct but equal other. An ethics of oikeiôsis has the further benefit of avoiding each of the four abovementioned conceptual pitfalls common to impartialist theories.

Salvage Magazine (Patreon), 2019

Rationalists are often accused of presupposing a dualism between reason and unreason; that “there... more Rationalists are often accused of presupposing a dualism between reason and unreason; that “there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” But the charge is misapplied. The rationalist does not hold to any such dualism because, properly speaking, there is no “outside” to reason. There is no abyss, no nothingness, no chaotic unreason to speak of.

Anti Science and the Assault on Democracy, 2019

A history and critique of Futurism/Accelerationism across the political spectrum.

Jacobin Magazine, 2019

Netflix’s Trotsky miniseries demonizes its namesake with antisemitic themes and rank nationalism.

The Godfather and Philosophy, 2023

The Godfather as an illustration of Historical Materialism and Marxist dialectics.