Suggested readings, 20 September 2020

Here are some interesting articles I have read over the past week that I think are worth checking out.

John Gray, “What cats taught me about philosophy.” 17 Sep, UnHerd.

Philosopher John Gray argues that cats do not crave inner quietude, and unlike humans, they are able to achieve it. "Not craving inner quietude, cats revert to it whenever they are not practically threatened. Not looking for meaning in their lives, they are free to live them as they come, without looking for distraction or consolation. It is life itself that they value."

Joe Humphreys, “The forgotten women in philosophy: time to set the record straight.” 17 Sep, Irish Times.

Interview with Rebecca Buxton and Lisa Whiting, editors of a new volume entitled With The Philosopher Queen. "[T]here were a number of early modern women philosophers who contributed hugely to metaphysics: Margaret Cavendish, Anne Conway and Elizabeth of Bohemia to name only a few. To take ethical studies, again, there are so many women who have hugely impacted this area of philosophy: Mary Astell, Mary Wollstonecraft, Iris Murdoch and Iris Marion Young for instance."

William Li and Andrew von Eschenbach, “It’s time to focus on potential long-term organ damage from covid-19.” 14 Sep, Washington Post.

"It’s hard to imagine that covid-19 could have an even bigger impact on public health -- and the global economy -- than it already has. But the vascular consequences of the disease, which we’re only beginning to discover, could make this first wave of the pandemic look mild. The work of preventing this second pandemic can’t begin soon enough."

Kat Rosenfield, “Love Hurts.” 17 Sep, Persuasion.

Writer Kat Rosenfield on the current state of heterosexual affairs and that we must stop infantilising women and demonising men.

David Quammen, “The Pandemic, From the Virus’s Point of View.” 19 Sep, New York Times.

David Quammen, author of Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic, reminds us that evolution isn't set up to please humans. "Viruses have no malice against us. They have no purposes, no schemes. They follow the same simple Darwinian imperatives as do rats or any other creature driven by a genome: to extend themselves as much as possible in abundance, in geographical space and in time."

David Ley, “Performative Rage Over Pedophilia Doesn't Protect Kids.” 13 Sep, Psychology Today.

Psychologist David Ley points out, contrary to popular opinion, that not all pedophiles sexually abuse children, and sexual abuse is often carried out by non-pedophiles.

Comments

Should We Use Neuroenhancement Drugs to Improve Relationships?

A version of this article was printed in Humanism Ireland , July-August, Vol. 147 (2014) L ove, it is fair to say, is probably the strongest emotion we can experience. It can come in many different forms: love of one’s parent, sibling, or child. Though most people consider romantic relationships—which include companionship, sexual passion, intimacy, warmth, procreation and child-rearing—as the most significant component of one’s life; and it is probably the thing we find discussed more than anything else in novels, films and music. Committed romantic relationships tend to occur within the institution of marriage—something that is ubiquitous to most, if not all, cultures. Indeed, relationships today, which are primarily love-driven, are not just confined to marriages, as many couples sustain relationships outside of wedlock. Being in a love-driven relationship is considered important for most people, as it contributes to happiness—something we a...

Is Adult Incest Wrong?

An version of this article was printed in Humanism Ireland , March-April, Vol. 151 (2015) Incest is something most people find morally objectionable and it's one of the most common of all cultural taboos. The British Medical Association’s Complete Family Health Encyclopaedia (1990) defines incest as “ intercourse between close relatives,” that usually includes “intercourse with a parent, a son or daughter, a brother or sister, an uncle or aunt, a nephew or niece, a grandparent or grandchild.” The Oxford English Dictionary ’s definition is a little broader: it doesn’t confine incest to just intercourse, but to “sexual relations between people classified as being too closely related to marry each other.” Most countries have some kind of law against incest—though consensual adult incest is not a crime in France, Spain, Russia the Netherlands, and a host of countries in South America. In England and Wales, however, t he Sexual Offences Act 2003 ...

Intuitions and Ethics

A version of this article was printed in Humanism Ireland , May-June, Vol. 146 (2014) The notion that our moral intuitions possess epistemic authority has been associated with a number of philosophers within the canon of Western thought. Roughly speaking, these thinkers have argued that our intuitions have recourse to a unique authority of perception that yields special access to a sphere of moral legitimacy. Others, however, have claimed that our intuitions are incredibly diverse and often conflict with each other—for example, your intuition says assisted suicide is morally permissible and my intuition says it’s wrong. But it seems the two contrasting intuitions cannot both be right. At the same time, most of us think our own moral intuitions are right : they do not seem inconsistent to us, and we have a strong sense to believe them. Accordingly, they strike us as correct. Undoubtedly, moral intuitions can be shaped by our particular culture, environment or co...

Nothing as It Seems

Search This Blog