Why Philosophy? Round-up #2
Substack musings on ultramarine, procrastination, & more
Hi Substack Philosophers!
Once again, we’ll be showcasing various philosophy blogs in our second Substack Round-Up.
This time around, we’ve selected the posts to present overlapping motifs & themes of art, self-actualization, and perspective (and even babies?!). Ideally, they’ll create mix-and-match mental mosaics of related ideas for you to ponder on. And if not all that, you’ll at least have have six leisurely philosophical reads at your disposal to be divvied up between your bus travels or cereal breakfasts.
As always, make sure to visit each post’s Substack page to further your online intellectuality!
1. The Awesomeness of Bad Art - Eric Schwitzgebel (3-min read)
To start the reads off, Eric Schwitzgebel muses on the expressive value of art, and how this aspect especially shines through in the genre of “bad art.” When conventions are utterly disregarded (whether it be out of sheer ignorance or boldness), one’s unique perspectives manifest themselves in the one-of-a-kind solutions conjured to meet artistic goals.
2. Wasting time and other forms of grief - Antonia Bentel (9-min read)
In this second post, Antonia Bentel puts into writing and extends the internal dialogue present in so many about procrastination in the AI doomscrolling age. Bentel argues that this algorithm-fueled time-wasting is an effect of a kind of contemporary grief over one’s unrealized potential before providing a final comfort in the fact that our lives are still happening, we’re still becoming.
3. The Real Reason You Feel Stuck (What The Majority Of People Fail To Question) - Paul Musso (5-min read)
What if the short-form video content of TikTok and Instagram isn’t what’s holding us back? In this post, Paul Musso urges the need to critically revise the worldviews passed on to us by our childhood environments. We all seem to care deeply about the freedom to choose the direction of our lives, so why would we so idly accept the beliefs and values we were unwillingly born into?
4. The Colors Of Her Coat - Scott Alexander (15-min read)
Following up, Scott Alexander provides a stark contrast between the gargantuan efforts that used to be necessary to produce the finest works of art and the twelve seconds it now takes to upload a photo and type “make ghibli.” Will the wonders of life become dull as AI proliferates all that brings us enjoyment? Alexander suggests that maybe we have within us the ability to find unique pleasure in the oneness of each and every experience, from sunsets that we’ve seen our whole lives to paintings signed by ChatGPT that’ll soon populate the world.
5. Against two-tier philosophy - Helen De Cruz (3-min read)
This penultimate piece highlights the significance of staying true to yourself in your philosophizing. Helen De Cruz reminds us that the big canon authors in philosophy didn’t come up with their ideas in isolation but rather played their role in the long, intertwining, and ever-evolving tradition. Seeking to emulate others for the sake of vain success is not only obviously unsatisfactory but also eliminates the unique thoughts and efforts that contribute to and pave the way for philosophy’s development.
6. Beeping Nina - Kate Manne (10-min read)
Punctuating the set, Kate Manne is again featured on the blog with an article arguing for the importance of giving urgency to children’s present-day cares and wants, as opposed to devoting their upbringing to solely their future. It is true that parenting standards have been raised over time, but this does not mean they are worse. Instead, the higher bars should be strived for; the uncovered mistakes of abuse and neglect of the past shouldn’t be repeated.
We hope you’ll enjoy learning from each of these posts and digging into each of their Substacks. Make sure to keep watch for more Why Philosophy? content on the way soon!
Please keep me in mind for a future roundup!
Thanks, Gabriel, for putting this round-up together!