83. SCHOOLS ARE GETTING IT WRONG AGAIN - It's Not The Uniforms, It's The Entire Broken System

May 17, 2021 by DaN McKee in Education, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, School, Work

“There is a sense the wheels have come off. And so the idea is we need to "get back to basics". Administer punitive sanctions for loose ties, untucked shirts, off-brand hoodies, phones and earphones. Get the kids to stand up behind their chairs in silence when the lesson begins. Ask them to remove their coats if the temperature no longer requires one. The argument goes that if the students look ready to learn, they will be ready to learn...and conversely, their currently sloppy appearance must therefore be a sign that they are not in the right mindset to do well at school.“

82. IS ALL REALITY VIRTUAL? - Reflecting On My Lack Of Concern About VR

May 10, 2021 by DaN McKee in Epistemology, Meaning, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Technology

“there are many philosophical anti-realists who accept the non-existence or possible non-existence of widely believed concepts or experiences and yet advocate living as if they are real nevertheless, for a wide range of reasons.“

- MAY DAY BANK HOLIDAY 2021 -

May 03, 2021 by DaN McKee in Anarchism, Economics, Education, History, Philosophy Unleashed, Work

It’s May Day - an International Worker’s Day in memory of the Haymarket Affair and the battle for an eight-hour work day, amongst other things. As the teaching profession encroaches more and more into the free time of its employees, and our unions do very little about it, and teachers encroach more and more into the free time of their students with endless homework and revision tasks, this week I will not be writing a new Philosophy Unleashed and encourage you instead to consider what needs to be done in your school or workplace to make the working day more humane for all? Longer or more frequent breaks? Democratic say in the decisions that impact on you rather than top-down decision making? Looser rules, or no rules at all, about what you wear? Being left to work independently without micromanagement? Being able to collaborate more with others? Whatever it is - identify it and then work on making it happen. Happy May Day from Philosophy Unleashed.

81. SHALL WE JUST BLOODLANDS IT? - The Existentialist Freedom To Say No

April 26, 2021 by DaN McKee in Culture, Free, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Pop Culture, Existentialism, Television

“It was only a four-part series, and for the first three weeks that Sunday ritual was diligently observed. On the final Sunday of the series, we talked eagerly that morning about what would happen in that evening’s finale.
And then I said something crazy: ‘but what if we don’t watch it?’“

80. WHAT IS YOUR WAY OF THE NINJA? - A Student Uses Naruto To Overcome Existentialist Ennui

April 19, 2021 by DaN McKee in COVID19, Culture, Identity, Meaning, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Pop Culture, Student Writing

“what Naruto teaches us is that the ideas others have of you or the person you’re meant to be is not inscribed within us at birth but something we grow into through a process of learning and discovering one’s own purpose“

- The Anarchism and Punk Book Project UPDATE -

April 16, 2021 by DaN McKee in Book, Anarchism, Punk

There’s been a lovely write-up HERE about what we’re trying to achieve with the anarchism and punk book project that I’d love you to check out - and remember, there’s still time to chip in for the crowdfunding to help keep costs down, pay translators, etc… https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/the-anarchism-and-punk-book-project

- Easter Holiday 2021 -

April 05, 2021 by DaN McKee

Two weeks away from the horrific hustle and bustle of a busy school in the middle of an ongoing pandemic. Two weeks of not having to wear a mask from 8:30am - 3:30pm. Two weeks of not having to shudder at the number of student noses I see each and every lesson as their flimsy face coverings slip down and put us all at risk. Two weeks of finally letting my hands rehydrate from all the cheap bulk-buy hand sanitiser. And, as always, two weeks away from Philosophy Unleashed.

If you miss your fix of new philosophy during the holiday lull, please do some yourself and write us something (submissions HERE). We’ll be back again with a new post every Monday morning at 8am from April 19th.

79. OFFENSIVE IMAGES - An Ethic of Kindness

March 29, 2021 by DaN McKee in Censorship, Culture, Education, Ethics, Free Speech, Obligation, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Religion, School

“In my classroom, I don’t feel my free-speech is threatened, or my right as a non-Muslim to draw or see images of a Prophet I don’t believe in impeded, if I refrain from showing images to my students which I know violates their beliefs. It is an act of kindness to them, not an act of repression to me.“

- The Anarchism and Punk Book Project -

March 27, 2021 by DaN McKee in Anarchism, Politics, Punk, Music

Hi all - I’m writing a chapter for an upcoming collection of books on Anarchism and Punk, coming out later this year on Active Distribution. In a bid to keep it both DIY and global we want to fund things like translation costs and contributor copies, as well as keep distribution costs low, through crowdfunding. If you’re able and interested in supporting the project - please check out the link: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/the-anarchism-and-punk-book-project

Many thanks for your support!

- DaN

78. TESTING OUR PATIENCE - Why Not Everyone Who Is Back At School Is Getting an Education

March 22, 2021 by DaN McKee in COVID19, Culture, Education, Economics, Philosophy Unleashed, Philosophy, School, Politics

“As I sat registering my form of Year 13 students and preparing to go teach my Year 11s, I asked them how they were feeling about being brought back to school in a pandemic to not be taught anything new and just focus on revision for an upcoming series of assessments? Not a single one was happy about it. Not a single student felt they were being “educated” anymore. They were there merely to be prepped for probing, so that they could amass as many “data points” as the school needed in order to give them a final letter or number and rank their so-called accomplishments.“

77. TIME TO EVOLVE ON GENDER - Why We Can't Ethically Support An Exclusionary Binary

March 15, 2021 by DaN McKee in Education, Ethics, Gender, Identity, LGBTQ, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed

“If you suggested that women should be barred from having the same rights as men because of their reproductive organs you would be laughed at or face a lawsuit for discrimination. We have overcome these old ways of thinking with technological, intellectual and emotional advances which have rendered the old narratives obsolete. Yet for some reason the myth of gender norms seems harder for people to shake despite the obvious failings of the binary male/female model.“

76. SOME PEOPLE SAY I'VE GOT A PROBLEM WITH AUTHORITY - So What?

March 08, 2021 by DaN McKee in Anarchism, Authentic Democracy, Censorship, COVID19, Education, Free Speech, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, Work

“people seem to forget that their authority is a gift we must choose to bestow; one for which they have to give us good reasons. For anyone ever told they have been “insubordinate”, the question must be asked: what damage did this insubordination do?“

75. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO JOINED UP THINKING? - My Continuing Despair at Incoherent Propaganda

March 01, 2021 by DaN McKee

“I find it increasingly difficult to cast a philosophical eye on the world when that world so constantly ignores logic and reason.“

74. COOPERATION IS GREATER THAN COMPETITION: Lessons in Anarchism and Mutual Aid from Professional Wrestling

February 22, 2021 by DaN McKee in Anarchism, Culture, Economics, Pop Culture

“By working together instead of against each other, as anarchists since Kropotkin have argued, everybody wins and the seemingly zero sum game is exposed for the capitalist con it always has been.“

- FEBRUARY HALF TERM 2021 -

February 15, 2021 by DaN McKee

A week away from excess screen-time! Half term has arrived and it’s time for you to look at the sky instead of a computer. If you insist on looking at a computer then scroll down and take a look at our archives - and if you fancy looking a bit longer write us something (submissions HERE). We’ll be back again with a new post every Monday morning at 8am from February 22nd or March 1st (depends if I can be bothered to write anything during the holiday on top of other writing commitments I have, or if someone sends in something good this week!)

73. OF NESTS AND PALIMPSEST - Am I Really Making An Aesthetic Choice?

February 08, 2021 by DaN McKee in Environment, Identity, Meaning, Mindfulness, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Work

“I have always loved chaotic collage and my childhood bedroom walls quickly became an ever-evolving palimpsest of posters, pictures, postcards, photos, and things I’d cut out of newspapers or magazines, their content adapting over the years alongside my tastes but generally maintaining the same ragged aesthetic; an aesthetic initially limited to a single cork noticeboard on a nicely painted wall but eventually sprawling out and taking over everything until, at one mad point, I was even hanging posters upside down on my ceiling, occasionally waking startled in the night as they lost their battle with gravity and came crashing down on my face.“

72. THE 2021 EXAMS ARE NOT CANCELLED - But They Should Be

February 01, 2021 by DaN McKee in COVID19, Data, Education, Ethics, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, School

“I don’t believe in examinations, but I do believe in moral tests, and I worry that when we do eventually hear back from the consultation about the alternative to 2021 GCSEs and A-levels we will have failed yet another one.“

71. RETHINKING HOW WE LISTEN TO MUSIC - Towards A Meaningful Ethics of Streaming

January 25, 2021 by DaN McKee in Charity, COVID19, Culture, Economics, Ethics, Obligation, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Pop Culture, Music

“…what is actually missing from the current business model of the music industry is not more pennies per stream, but a meaningful ethics instead of mere talk of ethics with very little substance. So here is my first attempt at drafting some…“

70. TRUMP, UNFORTUNATELY, HAS NOT BEEN SILENCED - Thoughts on Freedom of Speech in the Digital Age

January 18, 2021 by DaN McKee in Anarchism, Authentic Democracy, Censorship, Culture, Education, Elections, Ethics, Free Speech, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics

“Good ideas grow, bad ideas shrink. As a consequence, good speech gets louder and bad speech soon gets drowned out. Not censorship, but developed understanding and evolution towards better ideas that, at a certain point, recognise certain voices as no longer worthy of being listened to. The fascists, the racists, the sexists, the homophobes, the conspiracy theorists - they have little to offer once we look beyond mere transgression and take the ideas seriously as speech. And so, rightly, they are discarded.“

69. WHAT, IF ANYTHING, HAVE I LEARNT FROM HAVING COVID 19? - Reflections on Getting the Plague

January 11, 2021 by DaN McKee in Christmas, COVID19, Culture, Death, Education, Epistemology, Ethics, Free, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics

“now it is three weeks since the day I got my positive COVID test, and I cautiously think I may have survived it, I have decided to look back at the experience to see what, if any, philosophical lessons it taught me.“