November 2020

Is politicization of science justified? Should science be governed by politics?

By / / Philosophy of science, Political philosophy / , , , ,

Thank you for this crucial question. Aristotle believed that the highest human end is happiness, and that politics (or what Aristotle called “statesmanship”) is the science that directs the political community toward happiness. One possible consequence of this view is that what we nowadays call “science”—the systematic examination of the empirical world—is subordinate to politics […]

Is politicization of science justified? Should science be governed by politics? Read More

Is nature inherently beautiful? Or is it beautiful only because there are humans to observe its beauty?

By / / Aesthetics, Philosophy of mind / , , , ,

Thank you, Arjun Sambhi, for another great question. The natural world is undeniably beautiful. Aesthetically, we appraise majestic mountains as sublime, admire crepuscular rays from a crimson sunset, and appreciate the sound of waves crashing against the rocks. These features of nature are inherently beautiful. By ‘inherently beautiful’, I mean objectively beautiful, which is to

Is nature inherently beautiful? Or is it beautiful only because there are humans to observe its beauty? Read More

Is it ethical to buy toys and keep them unopened in their original packings part of a collection and never play with them?

By / / Ethics (Moral Philosophy) / ,

I love this question – thank you, Kate Messenger, for asking it. There are a couple of ways we might look at it, which I will go through before saying my piece. Let’s focus on the fact that you bought the toy. Robert Nozick famously argued that private property is something we get rights to

Is it ethical to buy toys and keep them unopened in their original packings part of a collection and never play with them? Read More

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