Does Philosophical Language Have to Be Difficult?
Readers have sometimes asked why my books aren’t more accessible, why they can’t be easily understood by non-academics. At first, I was surprised that these...
Philosophy in the Public Interest
There appears to be a growing interest among academic philosophers in the idea of “public philosophy,” understood minimally as philosophy addressed to a more...
Discussion: The Relationship Between Philosophy, Science & Religion
In an interview for What Is It Like to Be a Philosopher?, Clifford Sosis asks Helen De Cruz (Oxford Brookes University) about the relationship between...
Are we better off giving up the myth of perfect rationality?
“There is more to be said for stupidity than people imagine. Personally I have great admiration for stupidity” – the sentiment behind Oscar Wilde’s...
Doctoral Student Orientation
For many years I attended my department’s opening week orientation for new doctoral students. While most arrived unsure or even apprehensive, all were eager...
Philosophy Goes to the Future: An Interview with K.K. Edin
The Measurements of Decay is K.K. Edin's debut novel. Described as both "a tortured love letter to philosophy and a space opera spanning centuries,"...
Michael Shermer on utilitarianism, deontology, and “natural rights”
You may have noticed that I don’t opine on quantum mechanics. Or jazz. The reason for this is that — although I’m very interested...
SOMA and I
The game “SOMA” is a first-person sci-fi horror game. I study philosophy of mind and cognitive science, so I was thrilled to find that...
Arrival, Interstellar, and the Transcendence of Temporality
If you haven’t seen Arrival or Interstellar, I’d advise you to stop reading immediately and go watch them. What I’m about to say will spoil the surprises...
The Variety of Good Lives
Suppose a person I shall call Leslie cares about others, treats them with respect, and seeks to minimize their distress. Leslie has also found...