ANARCHIST ATHEIST PUNK ROCK TEACHER

June 01, 2023 by DaN McKee in Anarchism, Book, Education, History, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, School, Work, Wrestling

Is the memoir of DaN McKee's twelve years as a conflicted Philosophy and Religious Studies teacher out June 16th on Earth Island Books!

It not only contains some highlights from the last four years of Philosophy Unleashed, but shows how anarchist philosophy, atheism and a background in DIY punk rock has influenced and shaped DaN's approach to the classroom, as well as his approach to life.

As the blurb says: "'Anarchist Atheist Punk Rock Teacher' is more than just a memoir of some teacher you've never met. It is philosophy of education, of anarchism, of authenticity, and of life. Throw in some personal history, the deaths of both of his parents to deal with on top of juggling all the professional absurdities that come with the job (not to mention having to teach through a global pandemic), and you have all the earmarks of a biographical classic."

If you want to pre-order it directly from the publisher, do so here. If you want to pre-order it from Amazon, do so here. It's available in both paperback and as an eBook.

143. ARTIFICIALLY PRODUCED - Is using ChatGPT To Do Your Work Cheating?

January 23, 2023 by DaN McKee in Anarchism, Communication, Education, Ethics, Epistemology, Mind, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, School, Student Writing, Technology, Artificial Intelligence

“The following essay for Philosophy Unleashed was produced by AI. ChatGPT to be precise. I asked it to attempt to write a Philosophy Unleashed post on the topic of the ethics of using ChatGPT to cheat in school work, and do it in the style of me as author. I will present the essay to you first, then show you how it came to be. As you read, ask yourself the question: if I hadn’t told you it was artificially generated, would you know that a human being didn’t write this? And if you know my work specifically, would you know that I hadn’t written it?“

126. EDUCATED ABOUT EDUCATION - Anarchist Pedagogies and Learning From My Students

July 18, 2022 by DaN McKee in Anarchism, Education, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, School

“If I had planned an ideal last lesson for you (an actual lesson aimed at teaching you something new) what would we be doing and how would we be doing it?“

90. FREEDOM DAY - An Anarchist Account

July 12, 2021 by DaN McKee in Anarchism, Authentic Democracy, COVID19, Economics, Ethics, Obligation, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics

“Given that we do not yet live in an anarchy, and on July 19th we will still be living in the same exploitative capitalist system which limits so many of our options and choices, the end of these particular laws does not mean we are being given radical new freedom by our government. The only thing being given the green light here is capitalism, to resume its exploitation as usual at the continued expense of our wellbeing.“

85. WALKING IT OFF - Avoiding Atrophy and Learning How to Self-Govern

June 07, 2021 by DaN McKee in Anarchism, Authentic Democracy, COVID19, Free, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, School, Work

“The anarchist thinker, Errico Malatesta, once suggested growing up with external authority imposed upon us was like learning to walk in leg braces. We don’t even realise the imposition that is dragging us down, and the limitations put upon our ability to walk, let alone run. We simply trudge as best we can in the belief that this restricted movement is the best propulsion possible because we know no better.“

- 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

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.“

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.“

59. IS THIS BLOG DANGEROUS? - On Indoctrination, Ideology and the DfE

October 05, 2020 by DaN McKee in Anarchism, Education, Book, Philosophy Unleashed, Economics, Free, Environment, Philosophy, Free Speech, Authentic Democracy, School, Black Lives Matter, Censorship, Politics

“unlike the politician, doomed to blind allegiance to whatever colour team they are playing for, on whatever side of the aisle, the philosopher has loyalty only to the truth. If you can show me my argument is wrong, I am not only willing to change my mind, logic dictates that I have to.”

- Commercial Break: NEW BOOK OUT NOW - →

May 01, 2020 by DaN McKee in Anarchism, Ethics, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Book

My new book - Authentic Democracy: An Ethical Justification of Anarchism - is out now as an e-book on Amazon and out in paperback from May 11th. Pre-order now from the publisher, Tippermuir Books, or from Amazon.

39. ANARCHISM AND COVID-19 - Does the need for government intervention undermine the anarchist argument?

March 30, 2020 by DaN McKee in COVID19, Culture, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, Anarchism

“Supporting the lockdown does not, therefore, undermine the anarchist argument, but, to the contrary, makes it even clearer how dangerous, infantilising, and corrupting such state-systems can be. “

19. ON THE NEED FOR A SECOND REFERENDUM - Why I Joined The People’s March

October 19, 2019 by DaN McKee in Ethics, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics

“The reason we see lifetime terms as undemocratic is because it is built into the fabric of a democracy that one vote is not enough. The mood of the nation is checked every four or five years for them to reconfirm their last electoral decision, or change their minds about the direction they want their country to go in. There seems no good reason to me why that same principle does not apply for something as significant as Brexit.”

6. IDENTITY CRISIS - On Immigration and Belonging

June 10, 2019 by DaN McKee in Meaning, Philosophy Unleashed, Identity, Immigration

“It is only in the last few years that I began to realise how much I had been affected by being the child of an immigrant. Growing up, because my skin was white, the idea that I was a second-generation immigrant didn’t even cross my mind, although the fact of my status acted constantly in the shadows without my recognition, and I remained completely aware of my non-British heritage even in my ignorance of living its consequences. “