Wittgenstein, Popper and the Poker

BY SEAN WALSH The scene. From time to time the dialectic gets feisty and on rare occasions almost physical. A meeting of the Cambridge 1946 Moral Science Club, according to some of those present, was one such occasion. Note that recollections differ, as they say1. What might have happened is this: the very intense Ludwig Wittgenstein threatened the visiting speaker, Karl Popper, with a fire poker, in the course … Continue reading Wittgenstein, Popper and the Poker

countrysquiremagazineMarch 24, 2026March 23, 2026

Mad Philosophers

Elizabeth Anscombe

BY SEAN WALSH First in a series of personal reflections on batshit philosophers. Of all the philosophers I’ve worked with, known or met Elizabeth Anscombe was by far the most insane. Her husband, Peter Geach, takes silver. They were, by most accounts, an unusual conjunction. I do not know if they fell out over where to go on holiday or whose turn it was to … Continue reading Elizabeth Anscombe

countrysquiremagazineSeptember 25, 2025September 25, 2025

Thoughts

The Weight of Time

BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN Jimmy Carter died on the 29th of December. A century old. The press fêted him, especially the left flank of the mainstream media. Now that the obligatory 72 hours have passed, it’s fair to speak plainly. Carter runs Biden close for the title of worst modern American president. I saw the actions of his ‘philanthropic’ arm firsthand in the Philippines—sinister, appalling. But … Continue reading The Weight of Time

countrysquiremagazineJanuary 9, 2025January 9, 20251 Comment

Ideas

Revelation of the Method

BY DUSTIN BROADBERY CIA Director, William Casey is reputed to have said to Ronald Reagan: ‘We’ll know our disinformation is complete when everything the American public believes is false.’ Fast forward thirty years, and there’s no piece of fiction the masses will not swallow. From Woke to COVID to the war in Ukraine, people no longer make their own ideological pilgrimages to the truth – … Continue reading Revelation of the Method

countrysquiremagazineApril 30, 2022April 28, 2022

Freedom

Our Sisyphean Liberty

BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN Introductory Notes: In Greek mythology Sisyphus was the founder and king of Ephyra. He was punished by Hades for cheating death twice by being forced to roll an immense boulder up a hill only for it to roll down every time it neared the top, repeating this same action for eternity. In the final chapter of his ‘Myth of Sisyphus’, Albert Camus … Continue reading Our Sisyphean Liberty

countrysquiremagazineDecember 17, 2021December 18, 2021