Published on Oct 7, 2013
TEDx video
Neuroscientist Matthew Lieberman explains that through his studies he's learned that our kryptonite is ignoring the importance of our social superpowers and by building on our social intuition, we can make ourselves smarter, happier, and more productive. In this TEDx Talk, Lieberman explores groundbreaking research in social neuroscience that reveals that our need to connect with other people is even more fundamental than our need for food or shelter and that the social pain and pleasure we experience has just as much impact as physical pain and pleasure.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Loving animals and eating meat: The Meat Paradox
By Brock Bastian
New Philosopher
Originally posted March 11, 2014
Here is an excerpt:
Of course consuming animals that are not considered food can create all kinds of squeamishness. Consider the recent horsemeat scandal. People created all kinds of reasons for their feeling of disgust at eating horsemeat, including health safety concerns, but of course horsemeat has been consumed safely for years.
I would argue that the issue was far more closely related to the fact that horses are seen as pets and not food. The idea of eating pets is indeed disgusting.
If people try to avoid the connection between meat and animals, what happens when they are forced to make this link? In other research we have shown that asking people to think about animals being killed for food leads them to attribute fewer mental qualities to that animal. Perhaps, however, this only happens for meat-eaters and not vegetarians, who on average attribute many more mental qualities to animals in the first place.
Monday, March 24, 2014
In Health Care, Choice Is Overrated
By Ezekiel J. Emanuel
The New York Times
Originally posted March 5, 2014
Here is an excerpt:
Second, we need more transparency. Insurance companies should have to publish the measures they use to select their “high performing” or “efficient” networks. This will discourage them from looking at price alone. And consumers should be able to easily find which doctors and hospitals are included in a network. The size of a plan’s network should be as transparent as its premium.
Third, we need more reliable ways of measuring the quality of networks and the doctors and hospitals within them. The N.C.Q.A. or Consumer Reports could develop a grading system, from A to F. When comparing different plans, no one should have to rely on U.S. News and World Report’s flawed rankings or hearsay from acquaintances.
The entire story is here.
The New York Times
Originally posted March 5, 2014
Here is an excerpt:
Second, we need more transparency. Insurance companies should have to publish the measures they use to select their “high performing” or “efficient” networks. This will discourage them from looking at price alone. And consumers should be able to easily find which doctors and hospitals are included in a network. The size of a plan’s network should be as transparent as its premium.
Third, we need more reliable ways of measuring the quality of networks and the doctors and hospitals within them. The N.C.Q.A. or Consumer Reports could develop a grading system, from A to F. When comparing different plans, no one should have to rely on U.S. News and World Report’s flawed rankings or hearsay from acquaintances.
The entire story is here.
A Different Type of Barbie: Body Image
By Elizabeth Plank
PolicyMic
Originally posted March 3, 2014
A few months ago, one of the most iconic toys in the world got a modern makeover so revolutionary that it went completely viral. If, like millions of others netizens, you loved the pictures of "Average Barbie" circulating across the web, you'll love what Nickolay Lamm, the designer of the creative project has in store next.
Motivated by a strong desire to show that "average is beautiful," Lamm has decided to make his designs come to life with a doll called "Lammily."
Lamm decided to take matters into his own hands after being bombarded with questions about where to buy a Barbie of normal size.
The entire story is here.
Thanks to Steve Ragusea for this article.
PolicyMic
Originally posted March 3, 2014
A few months ago, one of the most iconic toys in the world got a modern makeover so revolutionary that it went completely viral. If, like millions of others netizens, you loved the pictures of "Average Barbie" circulating across the web, you'll love what Nickolay Lamm, the designer of the creative project has in store next.
Motivated by a strong desire to show that "average is beautiful," Lamm has decided to make his designs come to life with a doll called "Lammily."
Lamm decided to take matters into his own hands after being bombarded with questions about where to buy a Barbie of normal size.
The entire story is here.
Thanks to Steve Ragusea for this article.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Experimental Approaches to Free Will: Knobe and Nahmias
Joshuan Knobe and Eddy Nahmias
Knobe and Nahmias begin with an overview of the early history and aims of experimental philosophy. Then they discuss experiments on the contrast between bypassing and throughpassing intuitions about free will (8:57); Nahmias’s “theory lite view,” according to which ordinary people have no strong views about the relation between mind and brain (17:34); whether the folk have a causal or an interventionist view of agency (24:17); the effect of descriptions of determinism on folk intuitions (32:52); and Nahmias’s work on “willusionism,” inspired by his critical view of certain popularized versions of free-will skepticism (41:47). Finally, Knobe and Nahmias consider future results that could resolve some of their disagreements (48:49) and forecast the next big steps in experimental philosophy of free will (57:00).
Knobe and Nahmias begin with an overview of the early history and aims of experimental philosophy. Then they discuss experiments on the contrast between bypassing and throughpassing intuitions about free will (8:57); Nahmias’s “theory lite view,” according to which ordinary people have no strong views about the relation between mind and brain (17:34); whether the folk have a causal or an interventionist view of agency (24:17); the effect of descriptions of determinism on folk intuitions (32:52); and Nahmias’s work on “willusionism,” inspired by his critical view of certain popularized versions of free-will skepticism (41:47). Finally, Knobe and Nahmias consider future results that could resolve some of their disagreements (48:49) and forecast the next big steps in experimental philosophy of free will (57:00).
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Why Can’t We Talk About Race?
By Noliwe Rooks
Chronicle Vita
Originally posted March 4, 2014
Last November Shannon Gibney, a professor of English and African-diaspora studies at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, was formally reprimanded for making three white male students in her class uncomfortable during a conversation about contemporary instances of structural racism.
Reportedly, one of those students broke into Gibney’s lecture to ask why white men were always portrayed as “the bad guys.” Gibney says she asked them not to interrupt her lecture and pointed out that she never said white men were at fault. But the exchanges continued, and she eventually told the three students that they were free to leave the class and file a complaint if they were uncomfortable. They did, and the reprimand was the result.
The entire story is here.
Chronicle Vita
Originally posted March 4, 2014
Last November Shannon Gibney, a professor of English and African-diaspora studies at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, was formally reprimanded for making three white male students in her class uncomfortable during a conversation about contemporary instances of structural racism.
Reportedly, one of those students broke into Gibney’s lecture to ask why white men were always portrayed as “the bad guys.” Gibney says she asked them not to interrupt her lecture and pointed out that she never said white men were at fault. But the exchanges continued, and she eventually told the three students that they were free to leave the class and file a complaint if they were uncomfortable. They did, and the reprimand was the result.
The entire story is here.
Friday, March 21, 2014
Leading an Ethical Culture: 6 Building Blocks
By Cynthia Schoeman
Ethics Monitor
The concept of organisational culture surfaced in the late 1970s and is as relevant in the workplace today as it was then. Amongst the wealth of theories and thought leadership on the topic, the definition of culture as “the way things are done around here” is widely recognised. So too is it generally accepted that values play a significant role in shaping culture and that, in turn, culture shapes behaviour in organisations. The quest for more ethical workplace conduct makes culture especially pertinent and it makes the attainment of an ethical culture a high-priority goal.
Leaders who aim to achieve this need to start by understanding the value of an ethical culture, such as that it produces higher levels of individual accountability and avoids the need for excessive regulation. An ethical culture serves to improve employee commitment, investor and market confidence and customer loyalty, which collectively enhance the company’s reputation and brand equity. A sound ethical culture also positively impacts risk management, reducing the likelihood of high costs and other negative consequences associated with ethical breaches.
The entire article is here.
Ethics Monitor
The concept of organisational culture surfaced in the late 1970s and is as relevant in the workplace today as it was then. Amongst the wealth of theories and thought leadership on the topic, the definition of culture as “the way things are done around here” is widely recognised. So too is it generally accepted that values play a significant role in shaping culture and that, in turn, culture shapes behaviour in organisations. The quest for more ethical workplace conduct makes culture especially pertinent and it makes the attainment of an ethical culture a high-priority goal.
Leaders who aim to achieve this need to start by understanding the value of an ethical culture, such as that it produces higher levels of individual accountability and avoids the need for excessive regulation. An ethical culture serves to improve employee commitment, investor and market confidence and customer loyalty, which collectively enhance the company’s reputation and brand equity. A sound ethical culture also positively impacts risk management, reducing the likelihood of high costs and other negative consequences associated with ethical breaches.
The entire article is here.
Five Key Ethical Issues in the Workplace
By Cynthia Schoeman
The Ethics Monitor
It’s important to understand these key ethical issues.
Ethics in the workplace is not a new topic. In theory, it should always have been applicable. However, in practice, ethics is often quite a recent focus area. Consequently, leaders and managers often don’t have the breadth of knowledge or depth of understanding about ethics that they have relative to many other areas of business. But, in order to manage ethics effectively, an understanding of five key ethical issues is imperative.
1. Ethics is a choice.
2. Values: The Leader's Role
3. Ethics involves Others as well
4. The New ROI: Return on Integrity
5. From Theory and Sound Intentions to Action
The entire article is here.
The Ethics Monitor
It’s important to understand these key ethical issues.
Ethics in the workplace is not a new topic. In theory, it should always have been applicable. However, in practice, ethics is often quite a recent focus area. Consequently, leaders and managers often don’t have the breadth of knowledge or depth of understanding about ethics that they have relative to many other areas of business. But, in order to manage ethics effectively, an understanding of five key ethical issues is imperative.
1. Ethics is a choice.
2. Values: The Leader's Role
3. Ethics involves Others as well
4. The New ROI: Return on Integrity
5. From Theory and Sound Intentions to Action
The entire article is here.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
The Philosophy of ‘Her’
By Susan Schneider
The New York Times
Originally published March 2, 2014
Here is an excerpt:
“Her” raises two questions that have long preoccupied philosophers. Are nonbiological creatures like Samantha capable of consciousness — at least in theory, if not yet in practice? And if so, does that mean that we humans might one day be able to upload our own minds to computers, perhaps to join Samantha in being untethered from “a body that’s inevitably going to die”?
(cut)
Some people argue that the capacity to be conscious is unique to biological organisms, so that even superintelligent A.I. programs would be devoid of conscious experience. If this view is correct, then a relationship between a human being and a program like Samantha, however intelligent she might be, would be hopelessly one-sided. Moreover, few humans would want to join Samantha, for to upload your brain to a computer would be to forfeit your consciousness.
The entire article is here.
The New York Times
Originally published March 2, 2014
Here is an excerpt:
“Her” raises two questions that have long preoccupied philosophers. Are nonbiological creatures like Samantha capable of consciousness — at least in theory, if not yet in practice? And if so, does that mean that we humans might one day be able to upload our own minds to computers, perhaps to join Samantha in being untethered from “a body that’s inevitably going to die”?
(cut)
Some people argue that the capacity to be conscious is unique to biological organisms, so that even superintelligent A.I. programs would be devoid of conscious experience. If this view is correct, then a relationship between a human being and a program like Samantha, however intelligent she might be, would be hopelessly one-sided. Moreover, few humans would want to join Samantha, for to upload your brain to a computer would be to forfeit your consciousness.
The entire article is here.
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