Philosophy on TV: “The Good Place”
The Good Place is a 2016 NBC television series in which one of the two lead characters -- played by William Jackson Harper -- is an ethics professor...
Unexplained Events
We assume all events are caused by something. Yet we happily refer to random chance be it a freak accident, or the state of...
A Novelist’s Tips for Writing Philosophical Fiction
The APA grant funded Fiction Writing for Philosophers Workshop was held at Oxford Brookes University on June 1-2, 2017. It was organized by Helen...
Is beauty hardwired into our world?
Beauty is in the eye of beholder. Yet from animal plumage to the grandeur of nature, beauty also seems curiously hardwired into reality. Is...
Board of the APA issues statement on Harassment, Bullying, and Intimidation of Philosophers
In recent weeks, the philosophical community has seen several instances of philosophers being targeted for harassment, and even threatened with violence, through social media...
To be happier, focus on what’s within your control
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
This is...
Philosophy in the Bedroom
For 250 years, the Marquis de Sade's writing was outlawed. Yet Fifty Shades has turned the exploration of pain and pleasure into an oddly...
The Humanities go to Washington: An Interview with Robert Bowen
On March 13, 2017, I joined approximately 200 humanities advocates in downtown DC to receive training in effective lobbying (the event was organized by...
Moral grandstanding: there’s a lot of it about, all of it bad
We’ve done it. You probably have, too. No matter what we believe about morality or politics, we’ve all used moral talk to project an...
Enlightenment’s Wake
Many assume Enlightenment values will triumph over violence and prejudice. But in the wake of ISIS and a resurgent far-right political movement, victory seems...