For this year’s World Philosophy Day, we asked eight philosophers how 2020 has changed their minds. With more time for imagination and introspection than ever before, what have these philosophers been thinking and what have they realised?
Their answers throw up some subtle, surprising ideas. From Sabine Hossenfelder watching philosophy of science enter the center-stage to Massimo Pigliucci stoically drinking apperitivos on Zoom, these philosophers give us new ways to think about this unexpected year.
Amidst the medical crisis, Neil Levy found a green upside: if we can follow the science to fight Covid-19, we can do the same for climate change. Meanwhile Hilary Lawson despaired at our inability to read data and Steve Fuller realized that education and democracy don’t mix. Finding an authoritarian streak, Graham Harman wondered if some ‘Asian-style’ freedom would make the partying youth fall into line.
There were also more ponderous lines: On masks, Dermot Moran mused over Emmanuel Levinas’ claim that the human face is the primary ethical demand, turning this idea on its head. And, perhaps the most introspective, John Milbank recognized the web of his identity and planed joyful path, like a bee. From high politics to minute personal experience, these are deeper ways to understand the upheavals in our lives.
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