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Social Laws, Part 6
Smith explains methodological individualism and its implications for the existence of institutions and other social phenomena.
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George H. Smith
George H. Smith was formerly Senior Research Fellow for the Institute for Humane Studies, a lecturer on American History for Cato Summer Seminars, and Executive Editor of Knowledge Products. Smith's fourth and most recent book, The System of Liberty, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2013.
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Edmund Burke, Intellectuals, and the French Revolution, Part 4
Smith explains the defense of rights and other abstract political principles given by James Mackintosh, one of Burke’s most effective critics.
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Social Laws, Part 5
Smith discusses the value of sociology and some misconceptions of methodological individualism.
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Social Laws, Part 4
Smith explains Herbert Spencer’s views of the scientific status of sociology, the nature of social laws, and the practical value of social science.
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Social Laws, Part 3
Smith explores the controversy over whether sociology qualifies as an authentic science.
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Social Laws, Part 2
Smith explains how the methodological monism of modern positivism differs from classical empiricism.
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Social Laws, Part 1
Smith explains methodological subjectivism and how it applies to the study of human action.
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Thomas Paine Versus Edmund Burke, Part 11
Smith discusses Paine’s welfare proposals in Rights of Man and Agrarian Justice.
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Ideas, Human Action, and Social Change
Smith explores various ways in which ideas influence human action, and why ideas are essential to the success of libertarianism.
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Remembering Roy Childs
Smith pays tribute to Roy Childs.
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John Gray and the Myth of the Ayn Rand Cult
John Gray’s discussion of Objectivism in Seven Types of Atheism, which is egregiously and inexcusably bad, relies on portraying Ayn Rand as a cult leader.
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Intellectuals and Libertarianism: Thomas Sowell and Robert Nisbet
Smith discusses the role of modern intellectuals in government.
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Some Thoughts about Writing Essays
With his 250th essay, Smith interrupts his series on abolitionism to offer some reflections on writing essays.
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John Gray Mischaracterizes Nietzsche’s Influence on Ayn Rand
Continuing his review of Gray’s Seven Types of Atheism, Smith explains how Gray greatly exaggerates Nietzsche’s influence on Rand, and he criticizes Gray’s misstatements about Rand’s notion of sacrifice.
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The Moral Implications of Beliefs
Smith discusses the claim that some beliefs are immoral and the role of credibility in choosing our beliefs.
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Independence Day: What is There to Celebrate?
The ideal of individual freedom is more than a will-o’-the-wisp. It was widely appreciated in the past and so may become widely appreciated in the future.
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What are the Human Sciences?
Defending freedom requires an interdisciplinary approach, so in this column George H. Smith turns to the “human sciences”—and also to a definition of science itself.
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Methodology of the Human Sciences
Smith presents an overview of the philosophy of the human sciences.