Philosophers want their work to matter. At least I do. This hope partially explains my website tagline, "philosophy in the world." In my first blog post, I wrote, "I seek for my philosophical work to be embedded in the world and in service to maintaining it as a space for speech and action." Philosophy can be helpful for public matters. Philosophers often clarify ambiguous or muddled concepts or phenomena. Or, alternatively, philosophers point out that some concepts are treated too … [Read more...]
From stories to policies
Can storytelling help us respond to the opioid epidemic? Since 2016, more than 9,000 Canadians have died from opioids. Countless others have experienced health complications and adverse side effects, including a reversed overdose. The Canadian opioid epidemic shows little sign of slowing. It’s time we start exploring new approaches to the problem. A 90-day consultation In Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada works with the federal government to create policies and institutions to support … [Read more...]
Addiction, isolation, and the fate of one city
The city of Cambridge, ON Cambridge, ON is a small city. I have mistakenly referred to it as a town, only to be reprimanded by those who were born and raised here (I have only lived in Cambridge a few years). In fact, the city of Cambridge is Waterloo Region’s second largest community and home to just under 130,000 people. Despite the unanimous belief that Cambridge is indeed a city and not a town, however, Cambridge is internally quite divided. There are three distinct neighbourhoods: … [Read more...]
Introducing “At Home with Arendt,” a new blog series
Welcome to “At Home with Arendt,” a special series that explores questions of home and belonging. I welcome my collaborators in sharing this digital space: Dr. Rita A. Gardiner, an Assistant Professor in Critical Policy, Equity, and Leadership Studies (CPELS) in the Faculty of Education at Western University Harshita Jaiprakash, a PhD student in CPELS at Western Janet Jones, a PhD student in Applied Philosophy at the University of Waterloo Together, the four of us will … [Read more...]
Space, the final frontier
Elon Musk announced in September 2016 that SpaceX aims to have humans colonizing Mars by 2024. I confess, I was immediately excited. Having been raised on Star Trek, expanding the reach of human exploration has been part of my imagination for a long time. However, when I stopped to think about Musk’s announcement, my excitement dimmed. In particular, I thought about Hannah Arendt's remarks on the launch of the Sputnik satellite on October 4, 1957. In the prologue to the Human Condition, … [Read more...]