Philosophy Now

Philosophy Now is a magazine for everyone interested in ideas. It isn't afraid to tackle all the major questions of life, the universe and everything. It tries to corrupt innocent citizens by convincing them that philosophy can be exciting, worthwhile and comprehensible, and also to provide some light and enjoyable reading matter for those already ensnared by the muse, such as philosophy students and academics. It contains articles on all aspects of philosophy, plus book reviews, film reviews, news, cartoons, and the occasional short story.

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Philosophy Now

some of our Contributors

News

Philosophy Shorts

Ethics for the Age of AI • Mahmoud Khatami asks, can machines make good moral decisions?

Philosophy Café

Rescuing Mind from the Machines • Vincent J. Carchidi agrees with Descartes and friends that our ability to use language creatively distinguishes our minds from computers.

Lao Maintenance Ethics Hotline

Studying Smarter with AI? • Max Gottschlich on sense and nonsense when using AI in academia.

Affirmative Action for Androids • Jimmy Alfonso Licon asks, when should we prioritise android rights?

Is VR Meaningful Escapism? •  Amir Haj-Bolouri enquires into possible meaning through technology.

Stephen Fry • Perhaps unshockingly for someone who is an actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer, Stephen Fry has a deep interest in words and how we use them. After hearing him lecture on that subject, Marcel Steinbauer-Lewis asked him about Artificial Intelligence and how it connects with the extraordinary lure of language.

Welcome to the Civilization of the Liar’s Paradox • Slavoj Žižek uncovers political paradoxes of lying.

What Simone de Beauvoir Got – And Didn’t Get – About Motherhood • Nura Hossainzadeh argues that motherhood is both physical and transcendent.

Young & Meaningful • Elise Beal notes a Japanese philosophy of finding pleasure in the small things, and matches it with an online trend.

Is Laughter Liberating or Cruel? • Alfie Bown investigates different categories of laughter.

It’s Just A Joke

Simon & Finn

The Functions of Humor in Writing •  Omar Sabbagh contemplates the use of humor, in fiction, and in life.

Letters • When inspiration strikes, don’t bottle it up. Email me at rick.lewis@philosophynow.org Keep them short and keep them coming!

The Importance of the Purple • Massimo Pigliucci looks for threads of integrity in a morally compromised world.

Books • We search for freedom this issue, as Kevin Currie points out the many varieties of liberalism, and Philip Badger questions Robert Sapolsky’s determinism.

Determined

PERFECT DAYS •  Thomas E. Wartenberg focuses on a path to happiness.

Excusing God • Raymond Tallis highlights the problem of evil.

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Anand Vaidya (1976-2024) • Manjula Menon on the short but full career of a ‘disciplinary trespasser’.

René Descartes Loses His Phone • Judah Crow follows Descartes as he seeks that which one must have always.

Philosophical Haiku