Philosophy in the News
- The Philosopher’s Stone Discovered in Turkey
An account of the (still ongoing) archaeological finding of the writings of the Epicurean philosopher Diogenes inscribed in the stone walls of a stoa.
- All Wrong About Being
Stanford professor Thomas Sheehan says that Martin Heidegger's work "has been misinterpreted for years, and in his latest book, Making Sense of Heidegger: A Paradigm Shift, Sheehan introduces a radical new framework for understanding Heidegger. According to Sheehan, standard academic readings have long claimed that Heidegger believed Being gave weight and value to our world ... After an exhaustive survey of Heidegger's works, Sheehan concluded that Heidegger's philosophy centers not on Being but rather on his early insight that our mortality is the source of all meaning. 'Humans are characterized by the need to interpret everything they meet, and this need arises from our radical finitude.'"
- 22nd Century Ethics Faceoff … in Space!
Philosophy student, Hart Jeffers, is bringing his first love to his new comic book project, Sol, where in the 22nd century two A.I. robots designed on the basis of different ethical systems go toe to toe. Philosophy, comics, science fiction, different ethical systems. What could go wrong? "One of the things I want to do with this series — one of the things I think science fiction should do — is introduce philosophical ideas to an audience in a way that's accessible, in a way that's interesting," Jeffers says. "And we're not just going to do virtue ethics."
- Logic of Effective Altruism
Eleven others debate with philosopher Peter Singer on his well-known thesis that 'a minimally acceptable ethical life involves using a substantial part of one's spare resources to make the world a better place.'
- Israel to Teach Philosophy in Elementary School
The Education Ministry of Israel has proposed a new program to introduce the fundamentals of philosophy to children in elementary school, starting from the third grade. Under the new curriculum, students will be taught the works of the prominent philosophers, develop critical thinking and learn how to ask meaningful questions and answer them in a serious manner.
- Why Grow Up?
Philosopher Susan Neiman discusses themes from her recent book, Why Grow Up?: Subversive Thoughts for an Infantile Age.
- Natural Theology
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has a new entry on natural theology and natural religion. In contemporary philosophy, both “natural religion” and “natural theology” typically refer to the project of using the cognitive faculties that are “natural” to human beings—reason, sense-perception, introspection—to investigate religious or theological matters ... Philosophers and religious thinkers across almost every epoch and tradition (Near Eastern, African, Asian, and European) have engaged the project of natural theology, either as proponents or critics. The question of whether natural theology is a viable project is at the root of some of the deepest religious divisions.
- Better, Better, Best
If A is a better course of action than B, and B is better than C, it seems to follow that A must be a better course of action than C. This is the principle of transitivity
- I Spy Philosopher Spy
How is a philosopher like a spy? Peter Rickman wants to know and you know why.
- Perceptual Experience
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has a new entry on perceptual experience and perceptual justification. When you see a ripe lemon in a supermarket, it seems eminently reasonable for you to believe that a lemon is there. Here you have a perceptual experience since you consciously see something yellow. And your experience seems to justify your belief since your experience seems to make it reasonable for you to believe that a lemon is there. Our perceptual experiences of the world outside us seem to justify our beliefs about how the world outside us is. If that's right, a question in the epistemology of perception remains open: how do our experiences justify beliefs about the external world? And a question in the philosophy of mind remains open as well: what are our experiences themselves like?
- End of Social Science as We Know It
Philosopher Brian Epstein warns that without significant changes, social sciences as we know it will become irrelevant and obsolete. His research on the metaphysics of the social world lead him to ask fundamental questions such as what are languages, what are banks, or artifacts? Why should we care? Because according to Epstein, asking and answering such questions are the only way we can fix the foundations of social sciences.
- Graffiti Suit @ 5Pointz. Legit?
For more than a decade, the owner of the 5Pointz property in Queens allowed artists to create and display their work on the exterior and interior of the derelict building. "Over the years, the spectacular artistic creations blossomed into an international tourist attraction and transformed the neighborhood from a virtual wasteland into an attractive place for residential development." When the building was recently whitewashed prior to being turned into condos, nine graffiti artists filed suit for the willful destruction of their artworks. Four philosophers of art discuss the issue.
- Liberal Politics and Public Faith
In a liberal democracy, citizens share political power as equals. This means that they must decide laws and policies collectively. Yet they disagree about fundamental questions regarding the value, purpose, and meaning of life. What role should their convictions concerning these matters play in their public activity as citizens? According to familiar answers, citizens must bracket or constrain the role that their religious convictions plays in their public lives. But many religious citizens find this unacceptable. Some of these hold that their religious views should determine law and policy. But that, too, looks unacceptable. Author Kevin Vallier discusses themes from his recent book, Liberal Politics and Public Faith: Beyond Separation in which he develops a position of the role of religious conviction and reasoning in liberal democracy.
- Change Comes From the Margins
Those forced to the margins of society can sometimes make the most profound change to the status quo.
- Being Al Mele
An interview with philosopher Al Mele.
- The Cognitive Science of Theology
Natural theology involves attempts to rationally justify religious belief based on reasoning about experience. The world appears to exhibit order or design, and so, the design argument goes, we are justified in concluding that there must be a divine designer. But what are the cognitive bases of this and other arguments in natural theology? And will revealing the cognitive processes behind these arguments show them to be unjustified or irrational? Authors Helen de Cruz and Johan de Smedt discuss themes from their recent book A Natural History of Natural Theology.
- That Doctrine Worthy of Swine
A moral theory that emphasizes ends over means, Utilitarianism holds that a good act is one that increases pleasure in the world and decreases pain. The tradition flourished in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, and has antecedents in ancient philosophy. According to Bentham, happiness is the means for assessing the utility of an act, declaring "it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong." Mill and others went on to refine and challenge Bentham's views and to defend them from critics such as Thomas Carlyle, who termed Utilitarianism a "doctrine worthy only of swine."
- Applied Philosophy of Sport
Ten philosophers talk philosophy and the FIFA World Cup.
- Speaking in the Pejorative
Philosopher and linguist Robert May discusses pejorative expressions.
- Einstein vs Bergson On Time
Jimena Canales, historian of science, talks about her discovery of an explosive 20th century debate that changed our view of time and destroyed a reputation.