Suggested readings, 15 November 2020

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

Kwame Anthony Appiah, “Why are politicians suddenly talking about their 'lived experience'?” 14 Nov, The Guardian.

"We go wrong when we treat personal history as revelation, to be elevated above facts and reflection. Talk of lived experience should be used not to end conversation but to begin them."

Kenan Malik, “Fanatics have no right to censor critics. But neither does Emmanuel Macron.” 8 Nov, The Observer.

" For these policies, like much of the French response to Islam and terror, are shot through with hypocrisy and illiberalism."

Marcello Fiocco, “Why questions (good and bad) matter.” 2 Nov, The Conversation.

"Asking questions is not just for kids or students or philosophers. Everybody needs to inquire critically and to be tolerant of the apparent ignorance of others. So when you hear a question that strikes you as ridiculous, don’t immediately presume it is."

Galen Watts, “Why Progressives Downplay Progress.” 10 Nov, Areo.

Why many progressives have trouble listening to claims about how good things are, or how much better they are than they used to be.

Jeffrey Flier, “It’s Still Early Days. But Pfizer’s Stunning Vaccine Results Could Be a Real Game-Changer.” 11 Nov, Quillette.

"[T]he good news on the vaccine front provides one more reason to exercise caution and avoid fatalism, since it suggests that there might be a viable long-term alternative to endless lockdowns and other public-health measures. Simply put: by being careful now, you can increase your chance of staying alive long enough to benefit from a vaccine."

Sigal Samuel, “Minks are transmitting Covid-19 to humans. Don’t blame the minks.” 13 Nov, Vox.

"If we decide to keep raising thousands of animals on high-density farms, it’s clear we will keep finding ourselves in terrible and unnecessary moral binds where we have to choose between animal welfare and human welfare. We need to ask ourselves whether the benefit -- a fur coat, a cheap cut of meat -- is really worth the cost."

Michael Huemer, “Language Police Are Messing with You.” 14 Nov, Fake Nous.

Philosopher Michael Huemer on the functions of language policing.

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