探花直播 of Cambridge - philosophy

Cambridge launches Institute for Technology and Humanity

fpjl2 — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 09:13:02 +0000

A major interdisciplinary initiative has been launched that aims to meet the challenges and opportunities of new technologies as they emerge, today and far into the future.

Making peace

skbf2 — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 17:35:53 +0000

Enterprising Mind Jo茫o聽Costa has turned a philosophical idea into a practical tool for resolving real-world conflict.

New, handwritten Maimonides texts discovered at Cambridge 探花直播 Library

sjr81 — Thu, 11 May 2023 15:41:27 +0000

900-year-old paper fragment verified as the handwriting of legendary philosopher Maimonides.

Interfering in big decisions friends and family take could violate a crucial moral right, philosopher argues

ta385 — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:30:00 +0000

If you鈥檝e told an adult friend or family member that they should not take a job, not date someone, not try skydiving or not move abroad, you may have violated a crucial moral right to 鈥榬evelatory autonomy鈥� and 鈥榮elf-authorship鈥�, according to a philosopher at Christ鈥檚 College, Cambridge.

Dr Farbod Akhlaghi鈥檚 study, published in the journal Analysis, is the first of its kind to suggest that we have a moral right to 鈥榬evelatory autonomy鈥�, that is the right to discover for ourselves who we鈥檒l become as a result of making 鈥榯ransformative choices鈥�, choices to have experiences that teach us what that experience will be like for us whilst also changing our core preferences, values and desires.

Dr Akhlaghi says: 鈥� 探花直播ability to see that the person we鈥檝e become is the product of decisions that we made for ourselves is very important.

鈥淚鈥檓 not telling people what to do. I鈥檓 just highlighting part of what is morally at stake in these very common interactions and trying to develop a framework for us to understand them. I hope some may find this helpful, as these will always be difficult moments for all of us.鈥�

Traditionally, philosophers interested in 鈥榯ransformative experiences鈥� have focused on the decision-maker not on the people who are in a position to influence that person鈥檚 choices. But Dr Akhlaghi thinks that these neglected interactions present 鈥榓n urgent ethical challenge鈥�:

鈥淭here are lots of different reasons why we might seek to intervene 鈥� some selfish, others well meaning 鈥� but whatever our motivation, we can cause significant harm, including to the people we love most.鈥�

While Akhlaghi accepts that advice can be offered without crossing the moral line, he warns that it is all too easy to slip into various forms of interference, such as forcing, coercing, manipulating or even 鈥榬ationally persuading鈥� someone away from a transformative choice, in ways that may violate their right to revelatory autonomy.

Akhlaghi says: 鈥淩ational persuasion is probably the most common form of interference. Giving, when asked, factual information about a choice that you have knowledge about and the other person does not, can be justified. But while rational persuasion respects someone鈥檚 ability to reason, even this form of engagement can involve disrespecting their autonomous self-authorship.

For example, Akhlaghi continues: 鈥淥ffering reasons, arguments or evidence as if one is in a privileged position with respect to what the other person鈥檚 experience would be like for them disrespects their moral right to revelatory autonomy.鈥�

Initially inspired to consider this area of moral philosophy by personal experiences, Dr Akhlaghi examines and rejects a number of other conditions under which it could be argued that trying to prevent someone from making transformative choices is morally justified.

For example

Dissuading someone from becoming a parent because you think parenthood would make their life worse is problematic because becoming a parent is a positive experience for some and not for others, and no one can know that outcome in advance, even if the person doing the dissuading has experienced being a parent themselves.

A different example in the study relates to dissuading someone from making a career change that involves a big pay cut because you think that they would struggle to afford their expensive tastes. This is just as problematic, Akhlaghi says, because:

鈥淲e can only know what the future person鈥檚 interests are and whether their present interests will be fulfilled after a transformative choice has been made.鈥�

鈥� 探花直播person who changes job might manage to afford their expensive tastes and we don鈥檛 even know if that future person would still have these tastes. This highlights another problem 鈥� whose interests matter morally when trying to justify interfering: those of the present or the future person?鈥�

Is it ever right to interfere?

鈥淚t is only permissible to interfere to try to prevent a transformative choice,鈥� Akhlaghi argues 鈥渋f someone鈥檚 right to revelatory autonomy is outweighed by competing moral considerations.鈥�

A would-be killer鈥檚 right to revelatory autonomy is, for instance, plausibly outweighed by the wrongness of killing others solely to discover who they would become by doing so. Equally, protecting a friend from gratuitous self-mutilation would plausibly outweigh their right to autonomously discover what it would be like to harm themselves in this way.

Akhlaghi suggests that the more likely it is that a choice will affect someone鈥檚鈥榗ore preferences, identity and values鈥�, the stronger the moral reasons would need to be to justify interfering in their decision. For instance, interfering in someone鈥檚 decision to go to university or not, would require far stronger moral reasons than them choosing whether to eat a cheeseburger or not.

Finally, Akhlaghi clarifies that his study concerns voluntary choices to have 鈥榯ransformative experiences.鈥� Some such experiences are instead either the unintended consequences of something we did, or ones we are forced into as, for example, children might be by a divorce. These raise different but related problems he hopes to explore in future work.

Reference

Farbod Akhlaghi, 'Transformative experience and the right to revelatory autonomy', Analysis (2022), DOI: 10.1093/analys/anac084

We have a moral duty to allow others to make 鈥榯ransformative choices鈥� such as changing careers, migrating and having children, a new study argues. This duty can be outweighed by competing moral considerations such as preventing murder but in many cases we should interfere with far greater caution.

探花直播ability to see that the person we鈥檝e become is the product of decisions that we made for ourselves is very important

Farbod Akhlaghi

Charlesdeluvio on Unsplash

Two people speaking, sat at a table

探花直播text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright 漏探花直播 of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified.聽 All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways 鈥� as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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Men may not 鈥榩erceive鈥� domestic tasks as needing doing in the same way as women, philosophers argue

fpjl2 — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 09:39:23 +0000

Philosophers seeking to answer questions around inequality in household labour and the invisibility of women鈥檚 work in the home have proposed a new theory 鈥� that men and women are trained by society to see different possibilities for action in the same domestic environment.聽

They say a view called 鈥渁ffordance theory鈥� 鈥� that we experience objects and situations as having actions implicitly attached 鈥� underwrites the age-old gender disparity when it comes to the myriad mundane tasks of daily home maintenance.

For example, women may look at a surface and see an implied action 鈥� 鈥榯o be wiped鈥� 鈥� whereas men may just observe a crumb-covered countertop.聽聽聽聽

探花直播philosophers believe these deep-seated gender divides in domestic perception can be altered through societal interventions such as extended paternal leave, which will encourage men to build up mental associations for household tasks.

Writing in the journal Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, they argue that available data 鈥� particularly data gathered during the pandemic 鈥� suggest two questions require explanation.聽

One is 鈥渄isparity鈥�: despite economic and cultural gains, why do women continue to shoulder the vast majority of housework and childcare? 探花直播other is 鈥渋nvisibility鈥�: why do so many men believe domestic work to be more equally distributed than in fact it is?

鈥淢any point to the performance of traditional gender roles, along with various economic factors such as women taking flexible work for childcare reasons,鈥� said Dr Tom McClelland, from Cambridge 探花直播鈥檚 Department of History and Philosophy of Science.

鈥淵et the fact that stark inequalities in domestic tasks persisted during the pandemic, when most couples were trapped inside, and that many men continued to be oblivious of this imbalance, means this is not the full story.鈥�

McClelland and co-author Prof Paulina Sliwa argue that unequal divisions of labour in the home 鈥� and the inability of men to identify said labour 鈥� is best explained through the psychological notion of 鈥渁ffordances鈥�: the idea that we perceive things as inviting or 鈥渁ffording鈥� particular actions.

鈥淭his is not just looking at the shape and size of a tree and then surmising you can climb it, but actually seeing a particular tree as climbable, or seeing a cup as drink-from-able,鈥� said Sliwa, recently of Cambridge鈥檚 philosophy faculty and now at the 探花直播 of Vienna.聽

鈥淣euroscience has shown that perceiving an affordance can trigger neural processes preparing you for physical action. This can range from a slight urge to overwhelming compulsion, but it often takes mental effort not to act on an affordance.鈥�

There are dramatic differences in 鈥渁ffordance perception鈥� between individuals. One person sees a tree as climbable where another does not. Objects offer a vast array of affordances 鈥� one could see a spatula as an egg-frying tool or a rhythmic instrument 鈥� and a spectrum of sensitivity towards them.聽

鈥淚f we apply affordance perception to the domestic environment and assume it is gendered, it goes a long way to answering both questions of disparity and invisibility,鈥� said McClelland.

According to the philosophers, when a woman enters a kitchen she is more likely to perceive the 鈥渁ffordances鈥� for particular domestic tasks 鈥� she sees the dishes as 鈥榯o be washed鈥� or a fridge as 鈥榯o be stocked鈥�.

A man may simply observe dishes in a sink, or a half-empty fridge, but without perceiving the affordance or experiencing the corresponding mental 鈥渢ug鈥�. Over time, these little differences add up to significant disparities in who does what.聽聽

鈥淎ffordances pull on your attention,鈥� said Sliwa. 鈥淭asks may irritate the perceiver until done, or distract them from other plans. If resisted, it can create a felt tension.鈥�

鈥淭his puts women in a catch-22 situation: either inequality of labour or inequality of cognitive load.鈥�

This gender-based split in affordance perception could have a number of root causes, say philosophers. Social cues encourage actions in certain environments, often given by adults when we are very young children. Our visual systems update based on what we encounter most frequently.

鈥淪ocial norms shape the affordances we perceive, so it would be surprising if gender norms do not do the same,鈥� said McClelland.

鈥淪ome skills are explicitly gendered, such cleaning or grooming, and girls are expected to do more domestic chores than boys. This trains their ways of seeing the domestic environment, to see a counter as 鈥榯o be wiped鈥�.鈥�

探花直播鈥済endered affordance perception hypothesis鈥� is not about absolving men say Sliwa and McClelland. Despite a deficit in affordance perception in the home, a man can easily notice what needs doing by thinking rather than seeing. Nor should sensitivity to domestic affordances in women be equated with natural affinity for housework.

鈥淲e can change how we perceive the world through continued conscious effort and habit cultivation,鈥� said McClelland. 鈥淢en should be encouraged to resist gendered norms by improving their sensitivity to domestic task affordances."聽

鈥淎 man might adopt a resolution to sweep for crumbs every time he waits for the kettle to boil, for example. Not only would this help them to do the tasks they don't see, it would gradually retrain their perception so they start to see the affordance in the future.鈥�

Collective efforts to change social norms require policy-level interventions, argue the philosophers. For example, shared parental leave gives fathers the opportunity to become more sensitive to caring-task affordances.

Added Sliwa: 鈥淥ur focus has been on physical actions such as sweeping or wiping, but gendered affordance perceptions could also apply to mental actions such as scheduling and remembering.鈥�

By adding a gender dimension to the theory of 鈥渁ffordance perception鈥� and applying it to the home, a new hypothesis may help answer questions of why women still shoulder most housework, and why men never seem to notice.

Men should be encouraged to resist gendered norms by improving their sensitivity to domestic task affordances

Tom McClelland

Getty images

Wiping down the countertop

Yes

探花直播philosopher who wants us to think deeply about ordinary things

cg605 — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 12:56:46 +0000

Nikhil Krishnan, winner of a 2021 Pilkington Prize for outstanding teaching, says that what he loves about teaching is what he loves about philosophy: you can鈥檛 know in advance where it鈥檚 going to lead. Outside of the lecture hall he鈥檚 unravelling how philosophy came to be what it is today.

Mind Over Chatter: What is the future?

ns480 — Thu, 27 May 2021 13:22:48 +0000

Season 2, episode 1

This second series of Mind Over Chatter is all about the future - and in this first episode we鈥檙e going to be considering what the future even is鈥� Have you ever wondered how time works? It turns out, the answer is a lot more complicated than we thought.

Join our wondering and wonderful conversation with philosopher of science Dr Matt Farr, whose work focuses particularly on what it means for time to have a direction, professor of psychology Nicky Clayton, who looks at the evolution and development of intelligence in non-verbal animals and pre-verbal children, and professor of linguistics and philosophy, Kasia Jaszczolt whose research interests combine semantics, pragmatics, and the metaphysics of time聽

We鈥檒l be talking about everything from physics to linguistics鈥� and from broken eggs to Einstein鈥檚 theory of relativity.聽

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Key points

[04:28] - Does time actually go from past to present to future? And does time really 鈥榝low鈥�?

[09:53] - How do B-theorists deal with entropy? Can you un-break an egg?

[14:12] - Recap of the first portion of the episode, reviewing A-theory, B-theory and C-theory of time

[18:58] - How the mind understands the subjective concept of time

[27:11] - 探花直播Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis and how the way you talk about language affects the way you perceive and think about things

[30:21] - Recap of the second portion of the episode聽

[34:02] - How do the mental and linguistic concepts around time fit with philosophical聽concepts and physics of time?

[45:46] - Is there a conflict between the psychological and linguistic models of time and the way physics handles time?

[48:20] - Recap of the last portion of the episode

Mind Over Chatter: 探花直播Cambridge 探花直播 Podcast

Mind Over Chatter: What is the future of artificial intelligence?

ns480 — Thu, 27 May 2021 12:49:38 +0000

Season 2, episode 5

Artificial Intelligence can be found in every aspect of our lives. From A-level grade predicting algorithms to Netflix recommendations, AI is set to change the choices we make and how our personal information will be used.聽

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聽

In this episode of Mind Over Chatter, we explore the future of AI - its potential benefits and harms. We cover topics ranging from how to make AI 鈥榚thical鈥�, how the media representation of AI can colour the public鈥檚 perception of what the real issues are, and the importance of an international AI regulatory system.聽

Dr Beth Singler, whose research explores the social, ethical, philosophical and religious implications of advances in Artificial Intelligence and robotics, told us about the different cultural consequences of AI, and how the way we think about the future of AI reflects more about society today than the future itself.聽聽

Dr John Zerilli, author of 鈥楢 citizen鈥檚 guide to artificial intelligence鈥� shared his views on the consequences of AI for democratic decision-making.聽

Finally, Futurist-in-Residence at the Entrepreneurship Centre at the Judge School, Richard Watson, urged us to conceive of the future of AI in terms of 鈥榮cenario planning鈥�, rather than predicting the future directly.聽

Key points:聽

[10:09]- how we think about the future as reflecting on what we think about the present

[13:38]- Time for the first recap!聽

[17:55]- the relationship between AI and religion, and the cultural impact of AI

[20:35]- being 鈥榖lessed鈥� and 鈥榗ursed鈥� by the algorithm

[22:04]- democracy and AI. How are we to expect citizens to be informed enough to exercise their voting rights in the best way?

[32:27]- Time for recap number two!聽

[45:01]- loss of free agency鈥� or did we never have any?

[58:05]- Thinking about the benefit of AI can teach us about what makes a good life

Mind Over Chatter: 探花直播Cambridge 探花直播 Podcast