Adding philosophical depth to anything and everything
Spoiler Alert: I will divulge as little as possible about the specifics of the movie as I talk about the real-life implications of its philosophical ideas, but, obviously, some content of the movie will leak out. Yes, Barbie is a surprisingly philosophical movie. I had low expectations for Barbie. I’ve […]
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Trump, Power, and Desire versus the Law Much will be said and written about the latest set of indictments handed down against former President Trump. I will leave it to the legal analysts to dissect the minutiae and details of the indictment. I’m a philosopher, so I want to […]
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Reality 1: Many injustices occur every day. Reality 2: A large number of the injustices are caused by a small number of people. Reality 3: The freedom to protest and act against injustices is just and necessary. Reality 4: If you want to change the world for the better, you […]
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I received a letter (yes, some people still send paper letters!) that contained a lovely quote from Max Planck. A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die. Perhaps Planck was being metaphorical about “dying,” […]
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Text transcript, lightly edited for readability. Douglas Giles The topic of Artificial intelligence, or AI, has been all over the news lately, quite often discussed with a sense of foreboding doom and a plea for someone to do something to save us from the effects of AI. Much of […]
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Around a year ago, I produced a video about the philosophy of conspiracy theories. One comment several people made elsewhere is one I want to discuss here. I won’t repeat what I say in the original paper, but reading that will make what I am about to say much more […]
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One of my favorite historical stories is that of miasma theory. It is also known as the theory that bad air causes disease. The scientific word “miasma” comes from ancient Greek and means “pollution.” More common usage adopted the medieval Italian word “malaria,” meaning “bad air.” As you probably have […]
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Philosophy deals with the biggest and most complex issues facing humanity and philosophical insights underpin all human endeavors. Because the questions considered by philosophy are so large and complicated, philosophy itself is a long conversation about those issues among many people across many years. To compare past perspectives with our […]
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I learned the word “stroppy” when I lived in England. Great word. The word is often used in the phrase “stroppy teenager,” to denote a bad-tempered, grumbly kid who doesn’t like anything. We all know the type. Some stroppy teenagers turn into stroppy adults. We all know the type: touchy, […]
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A subject that has been in the news quite a lot lately as a political issue is diversity, equity, and inclusion, and this is a topic that’s dear to my heart as a philosophy professor. I have taught at 12 different universities over the course of my career. At first, […]
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