A Response to Philip Goff’s ‘Limited God Hypothesis’

In his latest book Why? The Purpose of the Universe, and in his defence of a heretical form of Christianity, the philosopher Philip Goff makes a case for the ‘limited God hypothesis’. This is the idea that a god with limited abilities best explains what we observe in the universe. The hypothesis, therefore, challenges the…

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Should We Act Virtuously When Interacting With Non-Sentient AI?

A while back I was talking with a friend about a new client who asked me to use ChatGPT to write articles (which I’d then edit and improve). I mentioned how it felt strange to give prompts to the AI writing tool without the pleasantries of ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’. I would give it the…

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High Sensitivity Can Help Explain the Willingness to Switch to Veganism

When we consider the factors that explain why some people become vegan but not others, or why some find it easier to make the switch than others, one factor that is sometimes overlooked is personality. Vegan activists and campaigners might point to a range of psychological factors that get in the way of people adopting…

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The Ethics of Deadpan Humour: When is a Joke Actually a Lie?

A popular view on comedy is that ethics should have nothing to do with it, and trying to place comedy within the realm of ethics is a way for so-called ‘woke’ and ‘progressive’ types to moralise, police, and censor what can (and can’t) be joked about. The sentiment, from the ‘anti-woke’ crowd, is that if…

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There’s Nothing Hypocritical About Vegans Eating Fake Meat

One of the most common responses to vegans who eat fake meat is a charge of hypocrisy: Why would vegans, who oppose eating slaughtered animals, want to eat realistic fake meat? Would this not be comparable to creating fake or simulated versions of other harmful products or actions? For example, we might view someone who…

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