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Rethinking Manipulation: The Indifference View of Manipulation

Open for Debate

Rethinking Manipulation: The Indifference View of Manipulation

Posted on 15 April 2024 by

In the series' Unpacking Manipulation in the Digital Age,' the previous five posts covered the rise of problematic forms of digital influence (Posts 1, 2, and 3), the need to […]

Open for Debate

Unravelling the Complexity of Manipulation Theories

Posted on 15 April 2024 by

In the previous four posts of this series on 'Unpacking Manipulation in the Digital Age'(Post 1; Post 2; Post 3; Post 4), I argued that more attention to different types […]

Open for Debate

Types of Social Influence and Manipulation Without Intention

Posted on 1 April 2024 by

In the previous two posts of this series on online manipulation, I outlined three developments that warrant closer attention to digital influence (here), and argued that a peculiar result is […]

Open for Debate

The Rise of Digital Manipulation

Posted on 30 March 2024 by

In the previous post of this series on 'Unpacking Manipulation in the Digital Age,' I argued that problematic forms of influence can be unintentional but not accidental and that the […]

 
The Dark Side of Digital Influence

The Dark Side of Digital Influence

Posted on 18 March 2024 by

In the previous post, I outlined three reasons for paying closer attention to social influence in the digital landscape: the proliferation of social influence, the informational empowerment of social influence, […]

Unpacking Manipulation for the Digital Age

Unpacking Manipulation for the Digital Age

Posted on 18 March 2024 by

Public debate is shaped partly by human social influence, and we routinely distinguish different types of social influence, such as persuasion, coercion, and manipulation. While persuasion and coercion are reasonably […]

Slurring Images

Slurring Images

Posted on 4 March 2024 by

// content warning: racist language and racist imagery // In 2012, the Swedish artist Makode Linde displayed an extremely controversial work of art at the Modern Museum in Stockholm. In […]

Fundamentalism as a contested concept

Fundamentalism as a contested concept

Posted on 19 February 2024 by

Fundamentalism is a contested concept. In ordinary language and public discourse, it is applied to actions, beliefs, or groups that we condemn, disagree with, or wish to delegitimize. Highly mediatized […]

Zetetic standpoint epistemology

Zetetic standpoint epistemology

Posted on 5 February 2024 by ,

A central claim of standpoint theory is that the oppressed have an epistemic advantage over the dominant with respect to the workings of oppression. This ‘epistemic advantage thesis’ ranges over […]

Can Machines Manipulate Us?

Can Machines Manipulate Us?

Posted on 22 January 2024 by , ,

YouTube, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and chatbots like ChatGPT and Bard—all of them are manipulating you. More specifically, their algorithms are manipulating you. Or so we now […]

The Epistemology of Rumours

The Epistemology of Rumours

Posted on 8 January 2024 by

Rumours disrupt official lines of communication and can derail policy. During the 2013 – 2016 West African Ebola outbreak, rumours were that medics were stealing bodies to be sold for […]

How to take an extremist seriously

How to take an extremist seriously

Posted on 25 December 2023 by

With the rise of polarization and support for right-wing populism, there is a call to take seriously the perspectives of those who seemingly turn away from liberal democratic ideals. But […]

We Should Complain

We Should Complain

Posted on 11 December 2023 by

I write about complaint to reduce its stigma. I teach classic philosophical texts that argue against it, so I realize the stigma is longstanding. Complaining is soft, Aristotle says. It’s […]

Suicidal Ideation or ‘Malingering’? A case of Testimonial Injustice.

Suicidal Ideation or ‘Malingering’? A case of Testimonial Injustice.

Posted on 27 November 2023 by ,

Introduction According to the Office for National Statistics, 5,275 suicides were registered in England and Wales in 2022. Nevertheless, reports of the intent to kill oneself are not always met […]

Extremism and the Good Life – Part 2

Extremism and the Good Life – Part 2

Posted on 13 November 2023 by

In the previous post I have argued that we need to adopt  a more complex picture of extremists. They are intellectual and practical agents responsive to both intellectual and practical […]

Extremism and the Good Life – Part 1

Extremism and the Good Life – Part 1

Posted on 30 October 2023 by

“Want to live the good life? Join an extremist group!” This odd piece of advice flies in the face of thousands of years of ethical theorizing, not to mention common […]

How to Become an Incel

How to Become an Incel

Posted on 16 October 2023 by

Introduction Discussions around incels – involuntary celibates – have become prevalent across popular social media platforms such as X/Twitter. However, it is not always clear who exactly is behind the […]

Semmelweis, Socratic Ignorance and Listening in an Unjust World

Semmelweis, Socratic Ignorance and Listening in an Unjust World

Posted on 2 October 2023 by

Ignaz Semmelweis, a physician working in a charity hospital in Vienna in the mid 19th century, faced a tragic puzzle: he saw that the rates of puerperal (childbed) fever and […]

Exploratory Epistemic Justice and Question-Making Practices

Exploratory Epistemic Justice and Question-Making Practices

Posted on 18 September 2023 by Alessandra Tanesini

In questioning practices, people not only ask questions but also contemplate how their questions can be precisely expressed and attempt to discover a right question. For instance, we may confront […]

Corporations: the power of possibility and the possibilities of power

Corporations: the power of possibility and the possibilities of power

Posted on 4 September 2023 by

There is a way of thinking about business corporations which sees them as inherently enemies of social progress.  On this view, inspired by Marxist analyses of class conflict and antagonistic […]