The Laughing Philosopher
VIDEO – THE LAUGHING PHILOSOPHER. Does comedy hold the key to truth and morality? Julian Baggini, Katy Brand, John Ó Maoilearca.[…]
ReadTag: Ethics
The few and the many
When asking whether inequality is unfair, we have perhaps too often made the mistake of asking whether it is unfair in and of itself. A better question is to ask whether the inequality we see is the inevitable result of a fair economic and political system. The answer to that appears to be no. But even if it were, we have more good reasons than ever to see rising inequality as representing a grave threat to our health and to the legitimacy of capitalist democracies.
ReadDo we need metaphors?
The whole point about metaphors is that some are much better than others. It makes sense to say the world shook when the Berlin Wall fell, not that it danced, slept or cooked. Nietzsche said concepts were “merely the residue of a metaphor” but there is nothing mere about it. Believing words to be metaphorical did not prevent him from choosing his very carefully indeed. We should do the same.
ReadDoes an apology matter?
The refusal to apologise can look like a denial that anything was wrong in the first place and that no lessons have been learnt. The point is not to confess the continued presence of the sin or even to take the blame for it.
ReadThe good news from Homo naledi
Much as we like to celebrate the fact that all humans are essentially the same, our reactions show that we are not. Homo naledi holds up a mirror not to unchanging human nature: it would reveal very different things to a southern creationist, a Victorian bishop, and a secular 2015 Guardian reader. These bones remind us that it is our nature to change, and that what the human species becomes in the future is at least in part in our own hands.
Read