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Extended confirmation bias: When the mind leaks into algorithms

Open for Debate

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, […]

Open for Debate

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 […]

Open for Debate

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 […]

Open for Debate

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. […]

The Case for Epistemic Reparations

The Case for Epistemic Reparations

Posted on 13 December 2021 by

In 1976, 15-year-old Deann Katherine Long was raped and murdered near her home in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. Five years later, Lewis “Jim” Fogle was arrested for his purported involvement in […]

Choosing a future for humanity: effective altruism and longtermism: Part 2

Choosing a future for humanity: effective altruism and longtermism: Part 2

Posted on 29 November 2021 by

In discussions among the charity evaluators whom I described in the previous post, Derek Parfit is often quoted as saying that we live at ‘the hinge of history’. What he […]

Choosing a future for humanity: effective altruism and longtermism: Part 1

Choosing a future for humanity: effective altruism and longtermism: Part 1

Posted on 15 November 2021 by

At one time, not so long ago, it was the mosquito nets. If you wished to give to £100 to charity, and you wanted your donation to do as much […]

Nudging for Changing Selves

Nudging for Changing Selves

Posted on 1 November 2021 by

When we go into a car showroom and we’re greeted by a series of sales assistants, one after the other, we tend to end up buying from the first person […]

Choosing for Changing Selves

Choosing for Changing Selves

Posted on 18 October 2021 by

Our values change. What we want, value, prefer, desire, and how much; for nearly everyone, these will be different at different times in their lives. Perhaps when you were younger, […]

Mill and Ideal Theory

Mill and Ideal Theory

Posted on 4 October 2021 by

John thinks that facemasks, social distancing and other public health measures are necessary to deal with the Covid 19 pandemic. He is aware that some disagree with him about this. […]