Philosophy in the News
- Who Wants to Be a Cyborg?
An interview with philosopher Susan Schneider on how artificial intelligence and other technologies might alter our bodies and minds, for good or ill. @ Scientific American
- Lebron on “Racial Diminishment Syndrome”
Racism is a kind of social disease — call it Racial Diminishment Syndrome. This disease, like the coronavirus, is hard to detect, highly contagious and often deadly. @ New York Times
- Bored in the House and in the House Bored
Boredom hasn't received a lot of philosophical attention — perhaps because it's boring. There's something about it that resists analysis, which isn't surprising, given that boredom suggests a radical absence of anything to talk about. But even the most tedious things can prove on inspection to be complex, multi-layered and... well, interesting. Norwegian philosopher Lars Svendsen explores the intricacies, the joys, and the creative potential of boredom. @ Philosopher's Zone
- Dancing Through Isolation
From backyard to TikTok, a philosopher explains why dance can help pandemic-proof your kids. @ The Conversation
- Why Biometric Tech Is Still Racially Skewed
Using limited datasets to build facial recognition technologies, with images that don't represent society as a whole, has prompted an ethical debate about their evolution. @ Raconteur
- Guidelines for Ethical Tracing
Technologies to rapidly alert people when they have been in contact with someone carrying the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 are part of a strategy to bring the pandemic under control. Currently, at least 47 contact-tracing apps are available globally. ... How are we to assess whether — and to what extent — a contact-tracing app is ethically justifiable? @ Nature
- Is It Okay to Visit My Mother (Now)?
A lot of people are facing ethical decisions about their daily life as a result of the coronavirus. Ethicist Lee McIntyre answers the question: "Should I visit my mother?" @ The Conversation
- AI and Ethics in the Age of Covid-19
How a global pandemic is changing our ideas about and acceptance of the intervention of AI systems. @ MIT Sloan
- Galileo and Consciousness
Philosopher Philip Goff discusses consciousness, panpsychism, and Galileo's insights into the nature of matter. @ Philosophy Bites
- Ethics of Contact Tracing
Jeffrey Kahn, director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, discusses the ethical considerations of using digital technologies for public health surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic. @ Johns Hopkins University
- The Humanities You Need Right Now
With the 500th episode of the popular radio show Philosophy Talk approaching, program co-founder John Perry and current host Joshua Landy reflect on how philosophy, and the humanities broadly, can help during these turbulent times. @ Stanford University
- Why We Really Need to Talk
Political philosopher Elizabeth Anderson explains why we should spend more time discussing political ideas, even with those with whom we strongly disagree. @ Philosophy Bites
- George Eliot and Spinoza
Spinoza was the single most significant philosophical influence on novelist George Eliot's thinking, and she knew the /Ethics/ more intimately than anyone else in 19th-century England. @ Prospect Magazine
- Avoiding the Corona of Fallacies
With the COVID-19 pandemic causing a great deal of anxiety, we might come to think people are irrational, selfish or downright crazy. We see people showing up to public venues en masse or clearing supermarket shelves of toilet paper. Experts are often ignored. ... The answer for this kind of panicked flurry in reasoning may lie in a field of critical thinking called vice epistemology. @ The Conversation
- The Kids Are Alright
Why are kids asking such big questions during the pandemic? @ The Conversation
- Fighting for the Soul of America
Cornel West on 'The FIght for the Soul of America'. Address delivered at the University of Montana. Missoula, Montant, August 2019. @ Montana Public Radio
- Be Your Own Soulmate
Today, instead of a life-defining relationship, many of us now see partnership as just one part of a bigger puzzle. @ New York Times
- Are We Happy Yet?
Happiness is a precious commodity whose demand far outstrips supply - so it's no surprise that these days there's a "happiness industry" devoted to selling it. But what is happiness, and why are we incapable of getting a fix on it? Is the happiness industry really in the business of making us unhappy? And can philosophy help? @ Philosopher's Zone
- Philosophy Your Way to Happiness
An interview with philosopher Catherine Wilson. @ Scientific Philosophy
- The Algorithm Made Me Do It
Simply arguing that your AI platform was a black box that no one understood is not likely to be a successful legal defense in the 21st century. @ Forbes