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Ian James Kidd

Ian James Kidd

Philosophy, University of Nottingham
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https://sites.google.com/site/dfl2ijk/

Posts

Being pluralistic about philosophical pessimism (Part 2)

Being pluralistic about philosophical pessimism (Part 2)

Posted on 31 March 2025 by

In part one, I argued that the conceptual core of pessimism is the twin judgments that the human condition is very bad and likely to remain so. However, this does […]

Being pluralistic about philosophical pessimism (Part 1)

Being pluralistic about philosophical pessimism (Part 1)

Posted on 17 March 2025 by

There are many vernacular senses of pessimism. Familiar images of half-empty glasses go with elaborate talk of ours as ‘the worst possible world’. Pessimistic people might be praised as resolute […]

Opacity and trust in institutions

Opacity and trust in institutions

Posted on 12 June 2023 by ,

A typical lament of those, like academics, who work in large institutions is that so many of the decisions and operations of institutional life are opaque. This is often expressed […]

The ambivalence of cynicism

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 […]

Hubris as Prime Ministerial Vice

Hubris as Prime Ministerial Vice

Posted on 31 July 2017 by

When Theresa May’s snap election backfired decimating her majority, many commentators were quick to use a language of vices to describe her errors. ‘May’s astounding arrogance has now paved the […]