Philosophy in the News
- The Paradox of Dogmatism
Is refusing to consider evidence against one's views always wrong? Saul Kripke - widely regarded as the most influential analytic philosopher alive today - explores what we should do when faced with things that don't quite add up. — Institute of Art and Ideas
- AI, Ethics and Education
AI holds enormous potential for transforming the way we teach. At a certain point it may be unethical for us not to use AI. But whenever we talk about transforming something—like educational institutions, we should ask what we will be transforming it into. — Future Tense
- The Trouble with Humanism
If you believe that as a human being, your rights and interests carry more moral weight than the rights and interests of a cat or a chicken, then you're most likely a humanist. But should you be? How well does humanism's account of itself hold up in philosophical terms? —Philosopher's Zone
- Ethics of Synthetic Media
Media featuring digital "people" has already arrived and ethical and social issues abound.
- Earth, Air, Fire and Water
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has a new entry on the ancient Greek philosopher Empedocles. In the middle of the fifth century BCE, Empedocles of Acragas pioneered the influential four-part theory of roots (air, water, earth, and fire) along with two active principles of Love and Strife, which influenced later philosophy, medicine, mysticism, cosmology, and religion. The philosophical system responded to Parmenides' rejection of change while embracing religious injunctions and magical practices. As a result, Empedocles has occupied a significant position in the history of Presocratic philosophy as a figure moving between mythos and logos, religion and science.
- What Kind of Problem Is Climate Change?
Philosopher Alex Rosenberg discusses.
- Half a Person
Philosopher Agnes Callard reflects on pregnancy, abortion and her miscarriage.
- What Is It Like to Be a Cat?
Isn't this what we really wanted to know all along? A review of Lars Svendsen's recent book Understanding Animals: Philosophy for Dog and Cat Lovers.
- Pythagoras’ Dribble Cup
Besides proving the Pythagorean Theorem, ancient philosopher Pythagoras also invented the dribble cup. It's like we owe everything to philosophers!
- Hobbes at Home
Atlas Obscura takes you to ... the home of Thomas Hobbes in the village of Malmesbury.
- Have We Reached the Limit?
Since human brains were evolutionarily adapted to solve practical problems impinging on our survival and reproduction, not to unravel the theoretical fabric of the universe, some philosophers argue there are bound to be things we will never understand. Human science will therefore one day hit a hard limit – and may already have done so. But does this argument hold up? Philosopher Maarten Boudry discusses.
- On Misgendering
Misgendering is when someone addresses someone else in a way that corresponds to the wrong gender. There are some people who don't care at all, and they constitute interesting edge cases that we should take seriously. But a lot of people do care, and there's some work to be done explaining why. Philosopher Stephanie Kapusta lays out some of the basic reasons why misgendering someone is a kind of moral harm. (audio)
- A Good Place for Moral Philosophy
Philosopher Lydia Morland interivews the producer of The Good Place and its co-star William Jackson Harper who plays ethics professor Chidi Anagonye. (video)
- On Wildly Implausible Ideas
Some philosophers have drawn very strange conclusions about the nature of reality. But that doesn't necessarily mean we shouldn't study their work. Historian of philosophy Emily Thomas discusses how wildly implausible metaphysics can be enlightening when we learn the reasons why these philosophers adopted these positions. (audio)
- Philosophy Booth at the Farmers Market
Profile piece on philosophy doctoral student Rena Beatrice Goldstein who recently opened her own "Ask a Philosopher Booth". They caught up with her at a local farmers market.
- Does That AI Have Your Best Interest at Heart (or Someone Else’s)?
“Don't be evil,” now seems both prescient and naive. As we create systems that are more capable of understanding and targeting services at individual users, our capacity to do evil by automating bias and weaponizing algorithms will grow exponentially. merely complying with the law has never been more perilous, nor more morally insufficient.
- What Makes Science Trustworthy
Philosopher Philip Kitcher discusses Naomi Oreskes' recent book Why Trust Science? The book is based on Oreskes' Tanner Lectures on Human Values, delivered at Princeton in 2016, and includes commentaries by a historian, a philosopher, and three social scientists.
- The Ethics of Predictive Policing
Prof. Duncan Purves has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to study the ethics of using artificial intelligence for predictive policing.
- The Dogged Philosopher
Dogs are a bridge between nature and culture, between the world of the animal kingdom, and the human kingdom and civilization. An interview with philosopher Mark Alizart on the subject of his recent book Dogs: A Philosophical Guide to Our Best Friends.
- AI Ethics and Power
AI has been called one of the great human rights challenges of the 21st century. And it's not just about doing the right thing or making the best AI systems possible, it's about who wields power and how AI affects the balance of power in everything it touches.