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Australian philosopher, literary critic, legal scholar, and professional writer. Based in Newcastle, NSW. My latest books are THE TYRANNY OF OPINION: CONFORMITY AND THE FUTURE OF LIBERALISM (2019); AT THE DAWN OF A GREAT TRANSITION: THE QUESTION OF RADICAL ENHANCEMENT (2021); and HOW WE BECAME POST-LIBERAL: THE RISE AND FALL OF TOLERATION (2024).

Thursday, January 13, 2011

'If Only We Were Smarter" - Philippe Verdoux on big brains - IEET countdown # 13

Ready for a bit of pessimism? Verdoux argues that getting smarter won't help us solve our problems - in fact it makes things worse. (I wonder whether he's read Kurt Vonnegut's Galapagos; he'd like it.)
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1 comment:

Necandum said...

I would disagree. The problems appear not because we're 'getting smarter' but because certain segments of the population are creating technologies that the rest cannot use sustainably or with due caution.

Just think of a world in which everyone is an academic, a scientist, a philosopher, an engineer. Surely that sort of world would be far more stable that ours and far preferable to going back to the pre-historic era?

How to get to there from here though...

14 January, 2011 11:47

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