Violence in the Age of Spectacle
From Sophocles to soccer, we are all players on history’s bloody stage.
Awe and Wonder in Outer Space
Socrates reckoned that philosophy began with wonder. It seems a pretty good place to start; but what of the actual state of wonder—what is it, and how does it relate to awe, humility and curiosity? It seems that astronauts can help with the bigger picture and their star logs from celestial journeys might impart some clues. A team of researchers led by a philosopher has closely analysed the felt experience of being in space through the lens of phenomenology. (audio)
The Power of Pondering
More than 3,000 kids in 48 schools across England participated in weekly discussions about concepts such as truth, justice, friendship, and knowledge, with time carved out for silent reflection, question making, question airing, and building on one another’s thoughts and ideas. The result which surprised many was that those in the test group significantly boosted their math and literacy skills, with disadvantaged students showing the most significant gains, according to a large and well-designed study. And the test group continued to outperform the control group long after the philosophy class had finished. [See also Science Alert.]
Philosophy’s True Home
The idea that philosophy was and still is isolated from other disciplines ignores much of its history. It has influenced Einstein’s physics, Turing’s computation and human flourishing, all from its place in the university. In just the last 200 years, it has played foundational roles in the development of logic, decision theory, linguistics, psychology, political science and economics. Far from fostering isolation, specialization in philosophy makes communication and cooperation among disciplines possible. This has always been so.
Friends with Moral Benefits
What justifies being partial to your child, lover, parent or friend? It seems intuitive that the closer the person is to you the greater the consideration you should give them. But it does fall foul, strictly speaking, of moral theories—where we should all be equal from the standpoint of the universe. So, what’s to be done: abandon the theories, prune them a little, or just turn a blind eye? (audio)
Transcendental Idealism
In the Critique of Pure Reason Kant argues that space and time are merely formal features of how we perceive objects, not things in themselves that exist independently of us. Objects in space and time are said to be “appearances”, and he argues that we know nothing of substance about the things in themselves of which they are appearances. Kant calls this doctrine (or set of doctrines) “transcendental idealism.” What is transcndental idealism exactly and what should we think of it?… There is probably no major interpretive question in Kant’s philosophy on which there is so little consensus.
Super-Sensible Being Clocks In
Philosopher Alva Noë discusses Carlo Rovelli’s “readable bestseller” Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, newly translated into English from its original Italian. The discussion leads to a question about consciousness and the reality of time. Pretty sure its going to have to be super-sensible beings all the way down.
On the Body
Maurice Merleau-Ponty was one of the most interesting of the French phenomenologists, but his reputation has been eclipsed by Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir’s. Philosopher Katherine Morris discusses some of his ideas about the body. (audio)
Son of Saul’ as Philosophy
The winner of the Oscar for best foreign language film delivers a moral imperative as well as an aesthetic choice. Art is often the subject of philosophy. But every now and then, a work of art — something other than a lecture or words on a page — can function as philosophy. “Son of Saul,” a film set in Auschwitz-Birkenau during the Holocaust, is such a work of art.
Spooky Action: Now Spookier Than Physics
Entanglement, in quantum mechanics, sets up a strange state of physical affairs. Two seemingly distant particles can tango, so to speak. Einstein called it spooky action at a distance; he didn’t like it much. So, all very well for the arcane world of contemporary physics—where it should stay… or should it? We talk with a theorist who has no doubts about this curious sub-atomic oddity and its its wider implications—from the arts to terrorism. (audio)
Philosopher Assists World Bank on Mind, Society and Behavior
According to World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, “The challenges of tackling the great human problems of economic development and eliminating poverty are too complicated for a single background or a single discipline.” This is one of the reasons that the World Bank asked for the assistance of philosopher Ryan Muldoon to work on their most recent report World Development Report, Mind, Society and Behavior. Muldoon’s work is on the social organization and dynamics of political, cultural, and scientific communities and the emergence of social norms.
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The Philosopher’s Guide to the Universe
Those Philosophy Talk guys, philosophers John Perry and Ken Taylor, have won a grant from the John Templeton Foundation to produce an eight-episode series called “A Philosophical Guide to the Cosmos.” The series takes listeners on a grand philosophical journey through the cosmos, tackling deeply puzzling questions about the nature of the universe, and our knowledge of it. The series is in part motivated by some recent philosophy bashing by some well-known scientists, like Stephen Hawking and Neil deGrasse Tyson. “Why does philosophy get these scientists so bent out of shape…? I suspect that neither of them ever had a serious philosophy course or read a serious work of philosophy,” says Taylor. “So they are just spouting off.” “Tyson, in particular, seems like an upbeat kind of guy who could find something nice to say if he put his mind to it,” Perry says. “Maybe he got bit by a philosopher once.” (audio)
Bringing Philosophy to Life
I don’t want to do what I want to do,’ the student told his professor. ‘I want to do what I ought to do.’ Philosopher Nakul Krishna tells his own tale of how moral philosophy was brought to life for him by one professor, Bernard Williams.
Rescuing the Beautiful
Would you do something simply because it was ‘beautiful’? As a reason for action it’s fallen on hard times—the aesthetic and the ethical don’t seem to mingle much in our world—but leading moral philosopher Sophie Grace Chappell won’t let it go without a fight. Fond of old fashioned words like noble and honourable, Professor Chappell believes that beauty is as good a motivation as any, and is determined to rescue it from a world more interested in calculation than contemplation. (audio)
Can Neuroscience Help Us Understand Art?
Neuroaesthetics — as the application of the concepts and methods of neuroscience to the study of art is sometimes known — is a booming enterprise. What should we think about it? What can neuroscience tell us about art?
Disability: Health, Well-being, and Personal Relationships
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has a new entry discussing disability’s relevance to health, well-being, and personal relationships.
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Preconditions for the Very Possibility of Science
Are there kinds of a priori scientific knowledge — knowledge not based in sense experience? What is the status of mathematical claims in science? In his recent book, Conceptual Change and the Philosophy of Science, philosopher David J. Stump argues that the a priori in science is best understood as truths that must be presupposed for empirical inquiry to take place, but without implying that these truths are universal and fixed as Kant held. (audio)
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The Life of Marcus Aurelius
The 16th emperor of Rome, Marcus Aurelius is remembered as the last of the Five Good Emperors and is known today as one of the most important Stoic philosophers.
Experimental Semantics
What does the name ‘Kurt Gödel’ refer to? Most people think it refers to the person who came up with the incompleteness theorem. But does it matter what most people think? Are our intuitions consistent, or even relevant here? Philosopher Michael Devitt discusses. (audio)
Just War Theory
Aquinas follows medieval legal thinkers in defining the conditions under which war may be justified, and proposes his famous doctrine of double effect. (audio)
Saving the Enlightenment
How could such a formative epoch in human civilisation fall so low in intellectual standing? Time to rethink the Enlightenment. (audio)
Why Kids Need to Learn Philosophy – Now More Than Ever
Nothing could be more important to the future well-being of both our kids and society as a whole than that they learn how to be philosophers. If we fail…, our kids may end up becoming expert at a making a living, but they will be incompetent at creating a civil society. [As Frederick Douglass once said,] “It’s easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
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Why Should I Respect Your Stupid Opinion?
The default position for most of us … is that we should respect other people’s beliefs. Respectfulness is a virtue, and it is associated with tolerance, which everyone agrees is generally a good thing. To not respect someone’s beliefs can be hurtful or alienating and evinces a closed mind. But this common response is too simple. Not all beliefs are worthy of respect, and withholding respect is sometimes in order. There are different kinds of respect, and a belief may deserve some of these but not others. Philosopher Emtrys Westacott discusses when, why and how we should respect the beliefs of others.
Is Humanity Getting Better?
The world now is a thoroughly awful place, compared with what it should be. But not compared with what it was. Our new global crises are so challenging because the bads are so tightly bound up with the goods. Oh, humanity does learn, but often only after thousands or even millions have died.
Philosophy Majors To Top Other Humanities in Earnings
Philosophy majors are projected to be the top-paid Class of 2016 humanities graduates at the bachelor’s degree level, says the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
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Everybody Needs Some Body Sometime
Thomas Aquinas makes controversial claims concerning the unity of the soul and the empirical basis of human knowledge. (audio)
Love and Moral Value
When it comes to morally valuing others and our duties to them to accommodate, support, or love them, are there any general principles that suffice? Might it be that some such moral value simple doesn’t rest on principles — but spring instead from a person’s unique, irreplaceable individuality. Philosopher Mark Hopwood discusses. (audio)
Summer Diversity Institutes in Philosophy
A number of undergraduate diversity institutes in philosophy are now accepting applications for their 2016 sessions. These institutes operate independent of one another, but they share the overarching goal of encouraging and supporting undergraduates from underrepresented groups in philosophy. Each institute normally accepts 10-20 students per year. Philosophy in an Inclusive Key (PIKSI) – PIKSI-Rock (June 13-22, 2016) and PIKSI-Boston (July 17-23, 2016). Application deadline: March 21, 2016. Rutgers Summer Institute for Diversity in Philosophy – July 10-17, 2016. Application deadline: May 9, 2016. Summer Immersion Program in Philosophy at Brown University (SIPP@Brown) – July 17-30, 2016. Application deadline: March 15, 2016. UCSD Summer Program for Women in Philosophy – June 20-July 1, 2016. Application deadline: March 1, 2016. UMass Dartmouth Summer Program for Diversity: Logic – May 22-28, 2016. Application deadline: April 18, 2016.
Philosophy of Liberation
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has a new entry on the philosophy of liberation. Philosophy of Liberation is the collective name for a philosophical movement and method of doing philosophy that emerged at first in Argentina during the late sixties, but that went on to spread throughout Latin American during the early seventies.
Down Girl
An interview with philosopher Kate Manne. This is the first in a continuing series from the American Philosophical Association, spotlighting the work of philosophers early in their careers.
The Phantom Official
A Spanish civil servant was on the payroll but didn’t actually show up for work for more than six years before anyone noticed. What did he do in his extra “off” time? According to his family, he dedicated himself to reading philosophy. [UPDATE: Some later reports are now saying it was actually over 12 years.]
The Principles of Existing Things
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has a new entry on the work of Al-Farabi. Abu Nasr al-Farabi (c. 870–950), known in the Arabic philosophical tradition as the “Second Master” after Aristotle, and Alpharabius/Alfarabi in the Latin West tradition, is one of the major thinkers in the history of Islamic philosophy. He wrote extensively on logic, philosophy of language, metaphysics, natural philosophy, ethics, political philosophy, philosophical psychology and epistemology.
Ethnic Identity and DNA
It ought to be possible to compare the DNA of a random individual with DNA from around the world to make a call on ethnicity, but there are problems with tests of this kind, says philosopher Alva Noë.
Neuroethics
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has a new entry on neuroethics. Neuroethics is an interdisciplinary research area that focuses on ethical issues raised by our increased and constantly improving understanding of the brain and our ability to monitor and influence it, as well as on ethical issues that emerge from our concomitant deepening understanding of the biological bases of agency and ethical decision-making.
On Being Awesome
Why, in the entire history of human life, did awesomeness become the great virtue of our age (and suckiness its vice)? Philosopher Nick Riggle discusses.