Freethought Discussion: Foreign Policy & Critical Thinking

Moderator: Alan E. Johnson

Critical Thinking about U.S. Foreign Policy with Specific Reference to Russia and Ukraine

The exercise of reason and critical thinking is especially important regarding questions of foreign policy and international law and politics. The Russia-Ukraine war is a case in point. Here are some questions we will consider:

Should the United States have an isolationist or neo-isolationist foreign policy à la the MAGA wing of the Republican Party?

What is at stake in Russia’s invasion and attempted conquest of Ukraine?

What should be the United States foreign policy regarding the Russia-Ukraine war?

What will happen if MAGA Republicans and authoritarian leaders in Europe succeed in blocking further Western aid to Ukraine?

References (not required reading):

What is critical thinking? See Alan E. Johnson, Reason and Human Ethics, chapter 2 (“Human Reason”), especially pages 40–62 (a free PDF replica of the paperback edition is available at https://www.academia.edu/107899091/Reason_and_Human_Ethics_Pittsburgh_Philosophia_2022).

Interview with foreign policy expert Fiona Hill regarding Ukraine: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/12/12/fiona-hill-ukraine-putin-00131285.

“Putin Quietly Signals He Is Open to a Cease-Fire in Ukraine,” New York Times, December 23, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/23/world/europe/putin-russia-ukraine-war-cease-fire.html?mwgrp=a-dbar&unlocked_article_code=1.IE0.zaqG.xlAEkAsnfULx&smid=url-share. (This article is freely accessible for 30 days through my New York Times subscription.)

Wikipedia, “America First (policy),” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_First_(policy).

The MAGA position on Ukraine: Newsweek, July 8, 2023, https://www.newsweek.com/maga-reacts-lindsey-grahams-ukraine-nato-pledge-brink-wwiii-1811685.

Michael Hirsh, “The Biden Administration Is Quietly Shifting Its Strategy in Ukraine,” Politico, December 27, 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/12/27/biden-endgame-ukraine-00133211.

Please join us!

Participants are encouraged to join PFC if not already a member.
https://pghfreethought.org/Become-a-member