What makes an object art? Many different answers may come to mind. Works of art are typically beautiful or possess different kinds of aesthetic value. We may seek them out when we want to satisfy our need for aesthetic experiences. Works of art are usually the result of creative actions guided by artistic intentions. Some…
Tag: Essentialism
Second-Order Desires Are Not What Matters
Here’s a classic philosophical thought experiment: Sandra is struggling with an addiction to heroin. She desperately wants another hit, but she wishes she didn’t. She wishes that she could stop craving heroin and that she could start living a very different life. Faced with this thought experiment, many people have the intuition that Sandra’s desire…
Changing Explanatory Theories vs. Changing Norms
Suppose you want to do something to decrease the amount of sexist behavior in the world. One thing you might do is try to change people’s explanatory theories. Perhaps you think that sexism is caused in part by people seeing certain outcomes as the result of a biological essence. You might then try an intervention…
Workshop: “XPHI UK Work in Progress Workshop Series”
The “XPHI UK Work in Progress Workshop Series,” organized by James Andow and Eugen Fischer, continues. They write: We are looking forward to the next series of our monthly online workshop devoted to discussion of work in progress in experimental philosophy. The workshop is held via Teams, the second Wednesday of each month, 16:00–18:00 UK…