Philosophers’ Corner

Music is an amazing thing. It can move us to its groove and or make us cringe. It can lift us up or bring us down. But exactly how does music work its magic on the mind? What separates good music from bad? And why do different people react so differently to the very same music?

We’ve all experienced the desire for revenge, whether it be when some jerk cuts you…

Like most words for powerful ideas, “democracy,” is a bit ambiguous, a bit blurry around the edges; the word itself is a contested item in our democracy and others.  It would help if we have a preliminary definition.   I like Lincoln’s.  “Government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”  But now we have to ask what that means.  Here’s my take on it.

There’s a long tradition in philosophy of thinking that we actually know ourselves quite well. Descartes, who has a reasonable claim to be the founder of this tradition, apparently thought that we had infallible and complete knowledge of everything going on in our minds. And he is certainly not the only philosopher to think that.

“Live your life as a work of art!” Thus rings the slogan discussed by John,…

Is philanthropy an unalloyed good? Or does philanthropy have its downsides too? If you’re wondering what could be wrong with individuals voluntarily giving to charitable causes that serve the public good, let me just narrow the scope of my criticism to giving from the ultra wealthy—fat cats like Bill Gates or John D. Rockerfeller, who set up these huge foundations worth billions of dollars.

This week we’re staying up and thinking about Sleep. We spend so much of our lives asleep, but we philosophers have had very little to say about it. Maybe that’s becayse Philosophy is mostly about things we’re conscious of — our experiences, our choices, our beliefs. We’re mostly NOT conscious when we sleep, so you might wonder who cares, really.

From The Committee of Sleep by Deirdre Barrett Psychologists have developed incubation rituals to encourage…

It’s not that difficult to alter your consciousness. You might start your day with a stimulating cup of coffee, or end it with a relaxing cocktail. Even without imbibing any substances, you can alter your consciousness by doing various activities, like yoga, meditation, or with a simple walk in the woods. But if you really want a powerful, fast, and direct way to get into a radically altered state, try taking a mind-altering drug, like LSD, peyote, or ayahuasca.

There is nothing morally special about trolleys, except the historical accident that around thirty years ago the great philosophers Philippa Foot and Judith Jarvis Thomson used trolleys in a series of examples, originally to help us think about moral aspects of abortion. Since that time a zillion articles have been written about the trolley problem, applying it to all sorts of moral issues.

  This week, our topic is Affirmative Action,  We thought we’d focus on the question…

  The world already has too many people.  7.3 billion.  It’ll probably hit over 11…