It’s been a while! I’m backdating a few Simon & Finn’s from way back in November. The following cartoon accompanied the print article on “Embracing Imperfection: Plato and Nussbaum on Love” (Lillian Wilde, Issue 122 Philosophy Now).
To read the article, please visit: https://philosophynow.org/issues/122/Embracing_Imperfection_Plato_vs_Nussbaum_On_Love
The following cartoon accompanied the print article on “The Integrated Information Theory of Consciousness”, or ITT (Dr. H. Morch, Issue 121 Philosophy Now). To wit, “IIT is now one of the leading theories of consciousness in neuroscience” and is linked to the concept of integrated information, denoted by a mathematical quantity called Φ (‘phi’).
As per the article, “Systems with a low Φ have a small amount of consciousness – they only have very simple and rudimentary experiences. Systems with zero Φ are not conscious at all. [This implies that] IIT has radical implications. If IIT is true, we could in principle build a ‘consciousness-meter’ that tells us whether any system is conscious, and to what level: from comatose patients to infants; from simple animals and plants to robots and next generation AI.”
Check out the (radical theory!) article and Philosophy Now’s fantastic new website: https://philosophynow.org/issues/121/The_Integrated_Information_Theory_of_Consciousness
Also, see the following WIRED interview (and quote) with Christof Koch: https://www.wired.com/2013/11/christof-koch-panpsychism-consciousness/
Issue 120 of Philosophy Now is all about Bertrand Russell; who wouldn’t jump at the chance to illustrate that! The following cartoon accompanied an article “The Passionate Bertrand Russell” by Peter Stone. For more BR as seen through the eyes of Ernie, feel free to visit Ernie & The Conquest of Happiness.
The following accompanied the print article of “What are Human Rights” by Tim Dare (Issue #118, Philosophy Now). The piece discusses how far human rights claims can stretch as an outcome of social axioms & varied definitions, for example whether we consider rights as “right-based claims” or rights that exist simply by virtue of being human. It’s more complicated than one would think…
https://philosophynow.org/issues/118/What_Are_Human_Rights
Article penned by Tim Dare, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
The following accompanied the print article of “Philosophy for the Brave” by Dahlian Kirby (Issue #117, Philosophy Now). The author of this article introduces the benefit of existential counselling in what turns out to be quite a sensitively written piece. Article and cartoon link below.
Article: https://philosophynow.org/issues/117/Philosophy_For_The_Brave
Online cartoon: https://philosophynow.org/issues/117/Simon_and_Finn
The following accompanied the print version of: What would George Bataille Do? by Alexandra Tzirkoti (Issue #116, Philosophy Now). The article itself is a nice tongue-in-cheek intro to the thinking of a rather controversial figure (link below).
https://philosophynow.org/issues/116/What_Would_Georges_Bataille_Do
The following cartoon accompanied the print version of “Facts & Opinions” by Christoffer Lammer-Heindel (Philosophy Now, Issue 115). In this piece, Lammer-Heindel argues that there are important distinctions to be drawn between the two. As usual, Simon & Finn have their own take. 🙂
For further reading: https://philosophynow.org/issues/115/Facts_and_Opinions
The following cartoon accompanied the print version of Stephen Brewer’s article “The Conspiracy of Theories” (Issue 114, Philosophy Now). The piece “stealthily records a dialogue in which Freya argues that conspiracy theories are illogical, but Orin is not so sure”, proving that even the wildest of conspiracy theories can be reasonable so long as their principle axioms are consistent. Who knew!
Read more at: https://philosophynow.org/issues/114/The_Conspiracy_of_Theories
The following cartoon accompanied the print version of Robin Small’s piece on philosophy annnd – wait for it – cocktails! (“Philosophy & Cocktails” Issue 113 of Philosophy Now). In this delightful article the author explores the equally valid contribution cocktails have made to late night philosophical discussion, traditionally considered the primary purview of wine. For some easy reading on the subject, take a look at HuffPost’s New York Cocktail Philosophy: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/skye-cleary/new-york-cocktail-philoso_b_7827076.html
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