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The ambivalence of cynicism

Open for Debate

The ambivalence of cynicism

Posted on 19 September 2022 by

Cynicism seems to have an ambivalent status. On the one hand, ‘being cynical’ might mean dogmatic scepticism about people’s moral character. A cynic can be arrogant – too smart, too […]

Open for Debate

Thoughts for Sale

Posted on 5 September 2022 by

My father spent his career working in production for large bakeries, supervising and troubleshooting the mass production of bread and buns. He would get up at 5:00 in the morning, […]

Open for Debate

WHY CARE ABOUT KNOWLEDGE?

Posted on 22 August 2022 by

We care about knowledge. Given a choice between getting information about my illness from a doctor or a quack, I’d always go with the doctor. Why? Because, unlike the quack, […]

Open for Debate

Social media: a viral promoter of social ills?

Posted on 8 August 2022 by

Public discourse is the currency in which we exchange our attitudes and beliefs. Social media has proven a double-edged sword with respect to this exchange. On the one hand, it […]

 
“That’s not what I didn’t say”. Some thoughts on silence and deniability

“That’s not what I didn’t say”. Some thoughts on silence and deniability

Posted on 25 July 2022 by

In June 2020, there was a long moment of silence, when Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau was asked a question about his views on US president Donald Trump’s reaction to […]

Is being resilient an unfair burden?

Is being resilient an unfair burden?

Posted on 11 July 2022 by

Navigating the world of public debate can be a difficult task. There are many hurdles to overcome in the process of finding out about and sharing one’s views on social […]

Extended confirmation bias: When the mind leaks into algorithms

Extended confirmation bias: When the mind leaks into algorithms

Posted on 27 June 2022 by

 It’s no secret that when we are online, websites (Google, Facebook, YouTube etc.) often use algorithms to infer our preferences, interests, or attitudes from our digital footprints (our browsing, clicks, […]

The Internet Never Forgets: How Google Shapes and Cements Our Identities

The Internet Never Forgets: How Google Shapes and Cements Our Identities

Posted on 13 June 2022 by

I remember sneaking downstairs to use the computer. I was 11, personal computers weren’t really a thing yet. I couldn't use the computers at school because I was afraid a […]

What’s The Social Approach to Public Trust in Science?

What’s The Social Approach to Public Trust in Science?

Posted on 30 May 2022 by

In my previous post , I have argued that, while the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown into stark relief the practical importance of public trust in science, the dominant, individualistic approach […]

What’s Wrong with the Individualistic Approach to Public Trust in Science?

What’s Wrong with the Individualistic Approach to Public Trust in Science?

Posted on 16 May 2022 by

While academics and commentators have been worrying about distrust of science for some time now, the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown into stark relief the full scale of the problem as […]

Sharing bullshit on social media

Sharing bullshit on social media

Posted on 2 May 2022 by

It’s another dull day of commuting to work, and you are waiting for the bus. Bored, you open your phone and start scrolling the all-too-familiar, endless cascade of mildly uninteresting […]

The Hidden Problem in Moral Imagination

The Hidden Problem in Moral Imagination

Posted on 18 April 2022 by

Be more imaginative? When we fail to treat someone in a morally appropriate way – say, being generous to the stranger in need, fair to the candidate who speaks with […]

How Dehumanization Works

How Dehumanization Works

Posted on 4 April 2022 by

On February 1, 1893, an intellectually disabled Black man was burned to death in Paris, Texas.  His death was not accidental. It was the culmination of several hours of torture, […]

On White Privilege and Anesthesia

On White Privilege and Anesthesia

Posted on 21 March 2022 by

America has, once again, entered a period of public racial reckoning. No single event has brought us to this place. A malignant presidency and the January 6th attack on the […]

On “Choosing Reality”: How Public Discussions of Gender Recognition Go Wrong, and What We Can Do About It Part 3. Beyond the Ontology-First Approach

On “Choosing Reality”: How Public Discussions of Gender Recognition Go Wrong, and What We Can Do About It Part 3. Beyond the Ontology-First Approach

Posted on 7 March 2022 by

Content advice: transphobia. In the previous post, I argued that we should reject the Ontology-First Approach, which is the view that questions about gender recognition should be settled by first […]

On “Choosing Reality”: How Public Discussions of Gender Recognition Go Wrong, and What We Can Do About It: Part 2 Rejecting the Ontology-First Approach

On “Choosing Reality”: How Public Discussions of Gender Recognition Go Wrong, and What We Can Do About It: Part 2 Rejecting the Ontology-First Approach

Posted on 21 February 2022 by

Content advice: transphobia. In the last blog post, I identified what I call the ‘Ontology-First Approach’ to gender recognition. This approach says that disagreements about gender recognition should be settled […]

On “Choosing Reality”: How Public Discussions of Gender Recognition Go Wrong, and What We Can Do About It: Part 1 Arguing About What Gender Really Is

On “Choosing Reality”: How Public Discussions of Gender Recognition Go Wrong, and What We Can Do About It: Part 1 Arguing About What Gender Really Is

Posted on 7 February 2022 by

Content advice: transphobia. On 10th October 2018, a full page-advert ran in the Metro, London’s free commuter newspaper. The topic of the advert was an imminently closing government consultation on […]

The Potential Pitfalls of Thinking for Yourself

The Potential Pitfalls of Thinking for Yourself

Posted on 24 January 2022 by

In the previous two posts (here and here) we’ve looked at how we should think of epistemic autonomy as well as why it is valuable. In this post we’ll examine […]

The Value of Thinking for Yourself

The Value of Thinking for Yourself

Posted on 10 January 2022 by

Why think for yourself? Sometimes thinking for yourself is necessary. Sometimes you are the expert, sometimes the experts (or their beliefs) are too hard to identify, and sometimes there’s not […]

The Myth of Intellectual Individualism

The Myth of Intellectual Individualism

Posted on 27 December 2021 by

Have courage to use your own understanding. This, Kant declared, as the motto of the Enlightenment. This same sentiment is echoed in the more contemporary call to think for yourself. […]