A Philosophical Happy Hour questioning whether informal language has erosive effects on community—and how formal articulation might aid our relations. How do we acquire language?  We perhaps first need to understand what language is—and we might presume falsely that we do.  But we may think, nonetheless, about how young children learn to speak, to communicate.  […]

A Philosophical Happy Hour reflecting on the pressure to exhibit personal authenticity in an age of hypocrisy. We hear constant calls to “be authentic”, “be yourself”, and “say what you really think”.  These imperatives are often treated as uncontroversially liberating—as though the chief moral danger of human life were merely to live under false pretenses. […]

A Philosophical Happy Hour considering whether every intentional deception is forbidden, or whether some concealment is not only permitted but required. What is a lie?  And do we often call things “lies” that aren’t, or conflate lies with other forms of concealment or deception? A difficult and uncomfortable question—but one, perhaps, crucial to ask today.  […]

A Philosophical Happy Hour on the reasons for and nature of trust, distrust, and the consequences of breaking it. Image: Christopher Plummer as Iago and James Earl Jones as Othello (Requiescant in Pace). Trust today seems a quality lacking and, yet for which there is great desire.  We do not trust our politicians and often […]