SSC
A thread through the archive
philosophy
Essays tagged “philosophy”. Follow an idea across the archive.
Essays on philosophy
50 essaysSSC
No Time Like The Present For AI Safety Work
Scott argues for the importance of starting AI safety research now, presenting key problems and reasons why early work is crucial.
31 min read 4,792 words
SSC
A Philosopher Walks Into A Coffee Shop
Scott Alexander creates a series of jokes imagining how famous philosophers would behave in a coffee shop, playing on their key ideas and quirks.
10 min read 1,515 words
SSC
Five Planets In Search Of A Sci-Fi Story
Scott Alexander describes five fictional planets, each with a unique societal quirk that explores different sci-fi concepts and social commentary.
8 min read 1,160 words
SSC
What The Hell, Hegel?
Scott Alexander examines the rise and fall of Hegel's philosophical influence, contrasting his 19th-century dominance with modern dismissals, and considers the implications for philosophy and Hegel's lasting impact on modern thought.
18 min read 2,776 words
SSC
Beware Isolated Demands For Rigor
Scott Alexander explores the concept of 'isolated demands for rigor' across philosophy, politics, and science, criticizing the selective application of rigorous standards.
18 min read 2,716 words
SSC
Getting Eulered
Scott Alexander explores the concept of 'Eulering' and strategies for dealing with complex mathematical arguments in non-mathematical debates.
19 min read 2,821 words
SSC
Map-Territory Distinctions
Scott humorously describes his frustrating attempts to dispose of an oversized trash can, exploring various communication strategies with garbage collectors.
3 min read 385 words
SSC
Fermat’s Last Stand: Soundtrack and Adventure Log
Scott describes a philosophical role-playing game adventure called 'Fermat's Last Stand', featuring puzzles, debates, and original songs.
49 min read 7,587 words
SSC
On first looking into Chapman’s “Pop Bayesianism”
Scott Alexander defends Bayesianism as a valuable epistemology, contrasting it with absolutist and nihilistic approaches, and argues for its usefulness in complex reasoning.
14 min read 2,110 words
SSC
I Myself Am A Scientismist
Scott Alexander defends 'scientism', arguing that scientific thinking provides valuable tools for addressing non-scientific questions and avoiding common cognitive biases.
18 min read 2,643 words
SSC
The What-You’d-Implicitly-Heard-Before Telling Thing
Scott critiques Chesterton's 'truth-telling thing' argument, suggesting that religion's apparent coherence stems from cultural conditioning rather than inherent truth.
8 min read 1,166 words
SSC
Arguments From My Opponent Believes Something
Scott Alexander outlines and criticizes ten fallacious argument styles that misrepresent an opponent's beliefs, demonstrating how they can be used to unfairly attack any position.
6 min read 806 words
SSC
Overheard In The Box, Part II
Mike humorously recounts grounding morality in IHOP's waffles after a meta-ethics discussion, highlighting the challenges in reaching agreement on such topics.
1 min read 75 words
SSC
Raikoth: History, Religion
The post describes the fictional world of Raikoth, its origin story, and its unique religion that combines aspects of Truth and Beauty.
8 min read 1,100 words
SSC
Raikoth: Laws, Language, and Society
Scott Alexander presents Raikoth, his fictional utopian society, which strives for perfection in language, government, and population through unique systems and practices.
20 min read 2,956 words
SSC
Utilitarianism for Engineers, Part II
Scott Alexander creates an amateur utility measurement test to explore the feasibility of comparing utilities in utilitarianism, inviting readers to participate despite its limitations.
2 min read 273 words
SSC
Read History Of Philosophy Backwards
Scott argues for the value of studying historical philosophy by 'reading it backwards' to unlearn assumptions and broaden perspective, even when past ideas seem obviously wrong.
6 min read 916 words
SSC
RPG emergency!
Scott Alexander urgently seeks a new 'Apologist' player for a Dungeons and Discourse game session happening within five hours.
2 min read 217 words
SSC
My Thoughts On The First 40 Pages Of Alastair MacIntyre’s “After Virtue”, Expressed In The Form Of A Slightly Modified XKCD Comic
Scott Alexander presents his thoughts on Alasdair MacIntyre's 'After Virtue' through a humorous modified XKCD comic, highlighting the complexity of philosophical debates.
1 min read 6 words
SSC
Fermat’s Last Stand Coordination Thread
Scott Alexander is organizing a new 'Dungeons & Discourse' philosophical role-playing game campaign, seeking players and DMs with specific preferences and philosophical knowledge.
4 min read 477 words
SSC
Dungeons and Discourse Third Edition: The dialectic continues
Scott Alexander releases the Third Edition of Dungeons and Discourse, a philosophy role-playing game, detailing numerous improvements and changes.
6 min read 776 words
LW
King Under The Mountain: Adventure Log + Soundtrack
Fiction by Scott Alexander
44 min read 6,776 words
LW
Dungeons and Discourse implementation
Scott announces his implementation of 'Dungeons and Discourse,' a philosophy-meets-fantasy RPG, and seeks players for an IRC campaign, particularly those with diverse philosophical views.
2 min read 264 words
LW
Philosophers and seeking answers
Scott explores whether philosophers genuinely seek answers or prefer endless debate, noting that while philosophy generates many solutions to problems, it lacks mechanisms like scientific experimentation to settle which solutions are correct.
3 min read 387 words