March 2018
March 2018
Is Killmonger to Blame?
Serena Wong
06
Mar 2018
Marvel's newest superhero movie, Black Panther, has been setting records left and right since its release. In many ways, it is a classic superhero movie, with a clearly defined and often one-dimensional super villain that eventually loses to our hero. But many are questioning who is to truly blame in Black Panther.
Read moreIs Every Idea Worth Engaging?
Serena Wong
28
Mar 2018
Is every idea worth responding to, or are some ideas so harmful that we should not engage at all? Philosopher Elizabeth Barnes explores this question in a recent article, arguing that it is sometimes worth it to engage with harmful ideas.
Read moreRacist Algorithms and Fair Sentencing
Mohit Mookim
16
Mar 2018
Can an algorithm be racist? An algorithm used to determine bail sentencing assesses the risk that an individual will reoffend. Critics claim the algorithm is unfair because it incorrectly assesses more black individuals as high risk than white.
Read morePhilosophy for Prisoners
Sun Lee
12
Mar 2018
Can prisoners benefit from engaging in philosophical thinking? Kirstine Szifris spent six months teaching philosophy to prisoners and says it can can mitigate prison violence and help prisoners to engage in deep self-reflection, getting closer to the ideals of rehabilitation.
Read moreIs Punishment Wrong?
Ray Briggs
02
Mar 2018
Is it ever morally okay to punish people? To punish someone is to hurt them because of a wrong they’ve already committed—whether or not any future benefit will come of that hurt. How could it be okay to deliberately hurt someone?
Read more#FrancisOnFilm: The Shape of Water
Leslie Francis
05
Mar 2018
Loneliness isn't written about much by analytic philosophers. Nearly everything philosophical written about it is either theological, existentialist, or social psychological. The Shape of Water is a lovely movie for reflecting on loneliness and how it can be overcome in the lives of ordinary people.
Read moreStories To Think With
David Livingstone Smith
07
Mar 2018
Philosophers are notorious for expressing themselves in a dry and, let’s face it, boring way. But this isn’t the only way to do philosophy. There are some great philosophical stories that delight and engage, rather than putting the reader to sleep.
Read moreIs 'The Will of the People' Sacred?
Sun Lee
26
Mar 2018
One golden standard of successful democracy is whether its political decisions and institutions adequately reflect the will of the people. But what exactly is this will of the people? Is it the sum of constituent preferences or is it something beyond that?
Read moreThe “Complicated” Causes of Gun Death (Part I)
Neil Van Leeuwen
13
Mar 2018
Imagine an organization—the Materials Rights Association (MRA)—that contributes millions to the campaigns of politicians who keep the laws that govern building materials safety lax. The MRA reaps huge financial rewards because cheap building materials, even if highly flammable, are desirable to its member builders.
Read moreHumble Disagreement
Ken Taylor
15
Mar 2018
Should you cling to your beliefs even when others disagree? Or should you reconsider your beliefs whenever they’re challenged? Is it possible to disagree without being disagreeable?
Read moreAdorno and the Culture Industry
Josh Landy
23
Mar 2018
A lot of the popular culture we consume these days is produced and distributed by large studios and record companies. Should that worry us? Are doomed to mediocre music, television, and film? Or even worse: are we doomed to songs, shows, and movies that secretly serve a hegemonic propaganda machine?
Read moreDark Knowledge?
David Livingstone Smith
27
Mar 2018
A new intellectual counterculture has been coalescing in virtual space. The intellectual dark web is billed as island of free speech in a sea of dogma: a place where bold, creative thinkers can discuss their ideas at length and without censure by the mainstream media or suppression by a hidebound academic establishment.
Read moreFrom Pessimism to Nihilism
Eliane Mitchell
20
Mar 2018
Young adult dystopian novels like Divergent and The Hunger Games may have ruled the marketplace in the 2010s, but now there's a new trend in young adult literature. Stories of teens committing (or ideating) suicide have become the new obsession. But why?
Read moreMoral Philosophy and The Good Place
Eliane Mitchell
08
Mar 2018
The Good Place, a hit TV show, begins with a woman named Eleanor who wakes up in the afterlife. Eleanor learns that she has landed in "The Good Place," even though she knows that she should have landed in the other place. Chidi, a professor of moral philosophy whom Eleanor confides in, decides to teach her to be good.
Read moreThe Irreverent Peter Sloterdijk
Eliane Mitchell
30
Mar 2018
From The New Yorker, this delightful long-form piece, "A Celebrity Philosopher Explains the Populist Insurgency," discusses Peter Sloterdijk, one of Germany's most famous and celebrated living philosophers.
Read moreIs Alexa a Setback for Feminism?
Serena Wong
19
Mar 2018
Voice-activated personal assistants like Alexa and Siri are becoming increasingly popular. While the assistants each try to differentiate themselves in someway, there is one inescapable commonality: they are all female.
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