Category: Short Takes

Will ChatGPT and AI Ruin Education? (Short Takes)

February 4, 2023

Please fill out this form to be put on the email list for future Maurin Academy seminars, short series and other events: https://pmaurin.org/newsletter/ Maurin Academy Patreon: https://patreon.com/user?u=81568975&utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/the-maurin-academy-311669 Dustbowl Diatribes podcast can be found on iTunes, Google Podcasts, and Audible. Spotify thought we were a music business… For more from us: https://pmaurin.org https://lauriemjohnson.com/ https://politicalphilosophy.video.blog/ … More Will ChatGPT and AI Ruin Education? (Short Takes)

Baby Formula Shortage and Technocratic Evil

May 22, 2022

A lot of pain and dehumanizing damage in the world takes place due to “technical rationality,” which Hannah Arendt referred to as the “banality of evil.” Here I discuss the baby formula shortage as an example of how “wicked problems” are caused by layers and layers of failures that can be traced back to a lack of fundamental responsibility. In our world, no one is responsible except for the discrete part they play in the overall machine whose inhuman, abstract, and often “CYA” formulations govern their responses and behavior. The evil of non-being comes through in the inertia of organizations and the inaction and conformity of lots of people over long periods of time. … More Baby Formula Shortage and Technocratic Evil

The Realist View of Ukraine/Russia: John Mearsheimer on the “Thucydides View”

March 15, 2022

earlier series on John Maynard Keynes’s view of the aftermath of WWI and the failure of the Treaty of Versailles to create a lasting peace, the remarks of political scientist John Mearsheimer give a perspective on the Russia/Ukraine conflict that you won’t hear on the news. … More The Realist View of Ukraine/Russia: John Mearsheimer on the “Thucydides View”

The Realist View of Ukraine/Russia: John Mearsheimer on the “Thucydides View”

March 15, 2022

Resonating with my earlier series on John Maynard Keynes’s view of the aftermath of WWI and the failure of the Treaty of Versailles to create a lasting peace, the remarks of political scientist John Mearsheimer give a perspective on the Russia/Ukraine conflict that you won’t hear on the news. … More The Realist View of Ukraine/Russia: John Mearsheimer on the “Thucydides View”

Be Humble–Living “In-Between”

December 26, 2021

daunting prospect for many and for many reasons. Coming off of a series on Edmund Burke, I reflect on the value of humility as a source of strength for individuals as well as for societies as we move into increasing challenges on many fronts. The book I will be getting into next is Stanley Hauerwas, Christian Existence Today: Essays on Church World, and Living In-Between. … More Be Humble–Living “In-Between”

How to Read Theory

April 21, 2021

After all, when we’re reading theory, surely we’re not looking for that golden unicorn–the one thinker who can give us the answers to everything already formed. Surely we’re reading theory because that comprehensive answer is still lacking, and we’re trying our best to put the comprehensive answer together. No one has yet provided the comprehensive answer, and maybe no one ever will, but one thing I know is, that unicorn has yet to be born. … More How to Read Theory

What Does the Incarnation Mean? Christmas 2020 (Video)

December 24, 2020

This is a reading of my blog post “Christmas 2020: What Does the Incarnation Mean? Three Insights.” Instead of discussing whether the event happened or whether Jesus could really also be God, I ask “If we believe this, how does it change things?” The Incarnation puts us into an uncomfortable place, especially in this year when we can so clearly see how messed up the world has become, largely due to human actions. It puts us in an uncomfortable place because it asks way more of people than they have been willing to do so far. … More What Does the Incarnation Mean? Christmas 2020 (Video)

Christmas 2020: What Does Incarnation Mean? Three Insights.

December 24, 2020

God becoming man in flesh is perhaps the biggest belief-ask of Christianity. We call Jesus being born “the incarnation.” This literally means enfleshment; God becoming a real man, not just the illusion of one. If we want to entertain this belief, what insights does it give? … More Christmas 2020: What Does Incarnation Mean? Three Insights.