A Philosopher’s View of the World

 

May
23

Critical Thinking & Pandemics IV: Argument from Authoritarian

While it would be irrational to reject medical claims of health care experts in favor of those made by a ruler, this happened in the last pandemic and will happen

May
22

Critical Thinking & Pandemics III: Argument from Authority

During the next pandemic, accurate information will be critical to your wellbeing and even survival. Some sources will mean well but will unintentionally spread misinformation. Malicious sources will be spreading

May
21

Critical Thinking & Pandemics II: Credibility

While assessing the credibility of sources is always important, the next pandemic will make this a matter of life and death. Those of us who are not epidemiologists or medical

May
20

Critical Thinking & Pandemics I: Assessing Claims

Critical thinking can save your life, especially during a pandemic of pathogens, disinformation and misinformation. While we are not in a pandemic as this is being written, it is a

May
19

Lessons from COVID-19 VIII: The State

The philosophical debate over the power and purpose of the state is ancient, but COVID-19 provided a new context for the discussion. Responding to a pandemic requires a robust state

May
18

Lessons from COVID-19 VII: Critical Unity

Anyone familiar with sports knows that if team members don’t work together, things will go badly. So good athletes set aside internal conflicts when on the field and come together

May
17

Lessons from COVID-19 VI: Sacrifices

As the COVID-19 pandemic played out, Trump wavered on social distancing. One reason was that billionaires  argued for getting back to work during the pandemic. In  neutral terms, their argument

May
16

Lessons from COVID-19 V: Xenophobia & Racism

As COVID-19 ravaged humanity, xenophobia and racism remained alive and well. For example, an Iranian leader  played on fears of America and Israel. He advanced, without evidence, the claim that

 

 

 

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