By Debbie Passey, The University of Melbourne | – (The Conversation) – Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without algorithms. So, we’ve all heard of them, but where does the […]
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Philosophy
Piety and Sexuality: The Subaltern Poetry of Mir Taqi Mir
Mir Taqi Mir (1723-1810) is recognized as one of the greatest poets of the Urdu language. He is claimed by Pakistan as one of the premier poets who helped to shape the language and its literature. Of course, he is hardly known in the West. So, we hear him as a subaltern voice. A new […]
The film ‘Dune’: Techno-Orientalism, and Intergalactic Islam
“Based on Herbert’s 1965 science fiction classic, “Dune” is a tale of a rising duke, intergalactic power struggles, a precious spice, and lethal spaceworms. The story, which deals with religion, politics, myth, destiny, heritage, environmental decay and colonialism resonates as much with audiences today as it did when the novel was first published.” ( TRT […]
The “Cerberus” Heat Wave and the Closing of the Parthenon: Why the Climate Crisis Evokes Cosmic Mythology
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – High daytime temperatures in the Mediterranean basin are disrupting life in many ways, in Spain, Morocco, Greece, Turkey and elsewhere. Tourists in Greece suffered frustrations on Friday when government authorities abruptly closed the Parthenon from midday until evening. There were fears that the tourists up there would have a heat […]
A Malignant Contagion: Trumpism’s Mindlessness on Coronavirus and Albert Camus’ ‘The Plague’
Chicago (Special to Informed Comment) – Albert Camus’ The Plague evokes the malign contagion of Trumpism — the mindless death cult that contaminates America with its disdain for facts, science, experience, democracy and human life. In Camus’ 1947 novel, the plague begins with infected rats invading the Algerian city of Oran. Like the Nazis who […]
In Ancient Greek Thought, Plagues Follow on Bad Leadership
By Joel Christensen | – In the fifth century B.C., the playwright Sophocles begins “Oedipus Tyrannos” with the title character struggling to identify the cause of a plague striking his city, Thebes. (Spoiler alert: It’s his own bad leadership.) As someone who writes about early Greek poetry, I spend a lot of time thinking about […]
Did Plato’s Republic warn Democracies about Trump 2,394 Years Ago?
By Matthew Sharpe | – Western philosophy is a series of footnotes to Plato, the old saying goes. And The Republic (c. 375 BCE), featuring Plato’s teacher Socrates in dialogue with several friends, is unquestionably central to Plato’s thought. There are few subjects that Plato’s masterpiece does not touch or play on: political theory, education, […]