Ex nihilo - Martin Burckhardt

Ex nihilo by Martin Burckhardt explores the intersections of philosophy, technology, and society, critically examining modern challenges such as sustainability, the impact of digitalization, and the influence of historical events and figures on contemporary thought. The Substack offers reflections on personal experiences, societal transformations, and the philosophical underpinnings of modern issues.

Philosophy and Society Technology and Digitalization Sustainability and Climate Change Historical Events and Personal Experiences Critical Media Analysis Political Theory and Movements Education and Parenting Economic Critiques and Capitalism Psychology and Human Behavior Creativity and Imagination

The hottest Substack posts of Ex nihilo - Martin Burckhardt

And their main takeaways

Moral breadth

107 implied HN points • 10 Jan 24
📖 Philosophy Morality Human nature Perception Ethics Self-awareness
  1. Seeing people with moral breadth means understanding they can be both good and bad.
  2. Not acknowledging moral breadth can lead to negative consequences like overlooking bad behavior.
  3. Balancing moral breadth involves recognizing both the good and bad in people, without minimizing either.

A brief note on Newcomb's problem

28 implied HN points • 02 Mar 25
📖 Philosophy Ethics Logic Epistemology Metaphysics Decision Theory
  1. Newcomb's problem involves two boxes: one potentially holds more money than the other based on what an oracle predicts you will choose. Choosing both boxes might seem smart since it guarantees some amount, but there's a deeper philosophical debate about the best strategy.
  2. Some people strongly believe that just picking the blue box (the one with the most potential money) is obviously the best choice, but it's unfair to call those who pick both boxes 'stupid' since their reasoning also makes sense.
  3. Ultimately, this problem raises important questions about decision-making and what it means to want something, suggesting that understanding our desires and decision strategies is complex and varies from person to person.

A bear is confused about desire

92 implied HN points • 22 Feb 24
📖 Philosophy Existence Desire Life Suffering Acceptance
  1. Existence involves desire and dissatisfaction, driving us to act and change things.
  2. While seeking equilibrium is important, it's crucial to differentiate between beneficial dissatisfaction that leads to growth and harmful sorrow caused by unmet needs.
  3. Striving for a balance where we can embrace life's joys and sorrows without clinging too tightly, seeking a state of desirelessness without losing the essence of existence.
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Most general advice is bad: A conjecture

92 implied HN points • 02 Feb 24
📖 Philosophy Advice Behavior
  1. General, non-specific advice can often lead people to extreme behaviors.
  2. Platitudinous advice might unintentionally encourage individuals to avoid questioning their actions.
  3. Many times, individuals who already lean towards a certain extreme are more likely to resonate with advice that supports that extreme.

Inadmissable knowledge: Introducing a concept

107 implied HN points • 11 Nov 23
📖 Philosophy Ethics Knowledge Consequentialism
  1. Inadmissible knowledge refers to information that should not be considered in certain contexts to avoid unethical decisions.
  2. In some cases, what is inadmissible in one situation may become admissible in another, depending on the impact of possible harms.
  3. Using inadmissible knowledge may create an obligation to act tactfully and with kindness, especially in exceptions to its application.

Introducing cogiatics (short)

85 implied HN points • 30 Jan 24
📖 Philosophy Thoughts Evolution Psychology Selection
  1. Cogiatics is the study of how thoughts evolve within an individual, different from memetics.
  2. Factors like fascination, emotional valence, and usefulness determine the selection of thoughts.
  3. Studying how thoughts evolve is underdone due to lack of introspection and under-theorized natural selection.

Impartial giving, a la Effective Alturism, is not a politically neutral idea (v. short)

78 implied HN points • 01 Mar 24
📖 Philosophy Ethics Political theory Right-wing
  1. Leftwing respondents were more likely to display ethical impartiality, showing a strong association between politics and impartial altruism.
  2. Effective Altruism's self-image as neutral or centrist is contradicted by the political alignment of EA survey respondents.
  3. Impartial compassion manifests differently between left and right political ideologies, with rightwing individuals more likely to reject impartiality.

Some predictions about the future of AI safety and EA if the current trajectory continues

92 implied HN points • 24 Nov 23
📖 Philosophy AI safety Effective Altruism Politics Predictions
  1. AI safety could become a left-wing issue, with corporations unlikely to sustain alliances with safety proponents in the long run.
  2. There may be a split within Effective Altruism due to relationships with corporations, leading to a 'left' and 'right' division.
  3. The AI safety field might divide into accommodationist and regulation-leaning factions, reflecting broader political trends.

I don't think there's a conspiracy among AI scientists to trick the public into thinking AI might kill everyone

121 implied HN points • 02 Jun 23
📖 Philosophy Ethics Existentialism Beliefs
  1. Senior AI scientists emphasize the importance of addressing AI risks alongside other societal risks.
  2. There are doubts about whether AI scientists have ulterior motives in expressing concerns about AI risks.
  3. Even if the likelihood of AI risks is low, the potential consequences are severe enough to warrant serious attention and action.

The moral urgency of a good study on cold showers and depression & anxiety

64 implied HN points • 14 Mar 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health Alternative Medicine Research Well-being Self-care
  1. A good study on the potential benefits of cold showers for mood disorders like depression and anxiety is urgently needed.
  2. Previous studies have shown promising results, but a comprehensive study is still lacking, presenting an opportunity for significant positive impact.
  3. Running a study on the effects of cold showers could be a low-cost initiative that may potentially help millions suffering from mood disorders.

Organic & compositus belief

71 implied HN points • 21 Jan 24
📖 Philosophy Beliefs Ideologies Thinking Revision Criticism
  1. Beliefs can be organic or compositus, with different approaches to spreading and defending them
  2. Organic beliefs are more open and less defensive than compositus beliefs, making them better at adapting and working with other ideas
  3. Compositus beliefs can lead to group fragmentation under tough times, while organic beliefs are more adaptable and open to revision

Tiling the universe and 'simple' theories of wellbeing plus an update on my life

107 implied HN points • 16 Jun 23
📖 Philosophy Ethics Wellbeing Narrative
  1. Well-being theories based solely on desire satisfaction or pleasure may not fully capture what makes a life 'good'.
  2. Comparing universes with simple lives to complex lives highlights the importance of diversity, continuity, and relationships for overall well-being.
  3. Considering well-being as forming a coherent and positive narrative could provide a richer perspective than solely focusing on desire satisfaction or pleasure.

The ethical is the political

64 implied HN points • 19 Feb 24
📖 Philosophy Ethics Politics Consequentialism Research
  1. There is a strong relationship between political and ethical beliefs.
  2. Consequentialism often aligns with political views, and there is a need to debunk misconceptions about it.
  3. Philosophers should consider the impact of impartiality and partiality on political ideologies and delve deeper into the debate over consequentialism.

A general argument for the left

85 implied HN points • 24 Aug 23
📖 Philosophy Political Ideologies Ethics Social Issues Utilitarianism
  1. The main challenge is the significant polarization in politics, raising a question of reliability of conflicting propositions from different sides.
  2. Historically, movements favoring the weak have been vindicated, indicating a common theme of standing up for underdogs.
  3. Utilitarian perspective suggests prioritizing the needs of the weak over the strong for a greater good.

Against THE LITERATURE : A plea for philosophical arrogance

92 implied HN points • 25 Jun 23
📚 Literature Philosophy
  1. The importance of challenging the traditional approach to philosophy focusing on extensive content-specific expertise.
  2. Advocating for a more creative and free-wheeling philosophy that focuses on generating new ideas.
  3. Acknowledging the balance of being well-read and informed versus hyper-specialization and deference to existing academic norms.

On creativity and language models

50 implied HN points • 15 Feb 24
🔬 Science AI Creativity Language Models Philosophy
  1. Creativity involves putting things together in a new way, whether it's useful, thoughtful, beautiful, or admirable. It's all about recombining existing elements.
  2. The level of creativity depends on how new and good something is. Any new sentence can be seen as somewhat creative, but the degree varies.
  3. There doesn't seem to be a definite line between different levels of creativity; they all involve rearrangements of existing elements. It's a spectrum of newness and usefulness.

Critical Bear update: Antonia the dwarf polar bear

71 implied HN points • 18 Jul 23
🌍 World Politics Animals
  1. Antonia is a dwarf polar bear living in Germany, weighing only a third of an ordinary polar bear.
  2. She stands at 70 cm (2.33 feet) and weighs 130kg, with both the charm of a big girl and a small girl.
  3. Antonia is known as "the pygmy polar bear" and has genetic growth hormone deficiency causing dwarfism.

A defense of ethical subjectivism

71 implied HN points • 28 Jun 23
📖 Philosophy Ethics Metaethics Semantics
  1. Ethical subjectivism argues that moral statements reflect individual values or the values a better version of oneself would hold.
  2. Speaker subjectivism provides reasons for moral actions based on what a better version of oneself would want.
  3. Speaker-subjectivist semantics offer benefits like explaining moral truths, guiding moral debates, and accounting for confidence in moral beliefs.

Yelling into the storm- a protest against mental agony

71 implied HN points • 05 Jun 23
📖 Philosophy Mental health Existentialism Society Ethics Pain
  1. Sometimes, we don't have as much control over our lives as we think we do, and that realization can be scary.
  2. Mental pain is often overlooked and not given the urgent attention it deserves by society and healthcare systems.
  3. The belief that pain is character-building or insignificant unless it has noticeable effects is a harmful societal lie; we must prioritize abolishing mental agony.