The hottest Philosophy Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Feynman's Obliquity | LSW#41

The Leading Sapiens Weekly • 2 HN points • 18 Jan 24
🚌 Education Philosophy
  1. Richard Feynman's method of reframing goals from a positivist to a more playful perspective led to breakthroughs and ultimately, success.
  2. There's a difference between the direct approach and the oblique approach to decision-making and problem-solving, with obliquity often leading to innovative and effective solutions.
  3. It's important to consider incorporating obliquity into our goal-setting strategies, as over-reliance on direct approaches may limit potential for creativity and success.

Rabbit Holes 🕳️ #37

Creative Destruction • 3 implied HN points • 07 Jun 23
🎭️ Culture Philosophy
  1. Shorter abstracts can make weekly emails less overwhelming, encouraging readers to check out the source content.
  2. Challenging the notion of work defining identity and promoting self-complexity can lead to better well-rounded individuals.
  3. Approaching new economic ideas disruptively, like with degrowth, can lead to meaningful change and challenge the status quo.

The One Best Way Is a Trap

The Convivial Society • 3 HN points • 22 May 23
🎭️ Culture Philosophy
  1. The pursuit of relentless optimization can lead to a mental health crisis by creating unattainable goals and unsustainable pressures.
  2. Living in a society ordered by the search for the 'one best way' can produce anxiety, fear, compulsiveness, and self-loathing.
  3. Compensatory techniques designed to alleviate the pressure of relentless optimization can themselves succumb to the imperatives of optimization, as seen in digital technologies.
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Value Learning – Towards Resolving Confusion

PashaNomics • 3 implied HN points • 24 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Philosophy
  1. Value learning is a complex problem with confusion around human values and AGI alignment subproblems.
  2. Revealed preferences and inverse reinforcement learning may offer a valuable paradigm for understanding human values.
  3. Distinguishing between values and heuristics, utilizing approximations, and avoiding the danger of bad philosophy are crucial in navigating the AI alignment and value learning landscape.

On Dostoevsky's Bobok—Or the Banality of the Dead

Vremya • 2 HN points • 24 Apr 22
📚 Literature Philosophy
  1. Dostoevsky's short story 'Bobok' reveals how even the dead talk about trivial things, showing that our worries don't vanish after death. It makes us think about how much time we spend on little worries in life.
  2. The voice of the dead in 'Bobok' symbolizes how we still remember and think about people who have passed away, keeping their memories alive in our minds.
  3. Ivan Ivanych, the main character, feels lonely and out of place, hinting that every writer, like him, turns to stories and voices—sometimes even from the dead—to find connection and meaning.

Entry 1: Algorithmic Identities

Dilemmas of Meaning • 3 HN points • 20 Apr 23
🎭️ Culture Philosophy
  1. Identity is not fixed by society or culture, but should be decided by the individual through their choices and actions.
  2. Algorithms play a significant role in shaping identity by suggesting content and influencing interests, beliefs, and self-perception.
  3. Algorithms have the power to control conversations, create echo chambers, and perpetuate biases through targeted content, potentially impacting mental health and self-knowledge.

Unpluggers etc, Part 2: Deflategate

Donkeyspace • 3 implied HN points • 10 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Philosophy
  1. The Deflator position questions the hype around new AI technologies, emphasizing the superficial appearance of creativity.
  2. Despite skepticism, some see the advancements in AI as a profound transformation that challenges conventional understanding.
  3. There is a conflict between the data-driven approach of recent AI models and the desire for symbolic logic for a clearer understanding of thinking.

Books

Thái | Hacker | Kỹ sư tin tặc • 19 implied HN points • 11 Jan 16
📚 Literature Philosophy
  1. The author recommends books from various genres like philosophy, psychology, science fiction, science, and detective/mystery.
  2. There is a focus on learning critical thinking, persuasion techniques, and memorable marketing strategies through recommended books.
  3. Reading 'The design of everyday things' is suggested for engineers to avoid annoying design flaws and 'Vietnamerica' portrays a touching story about the Vietnamese people.

Unpluggers, Deflators, and Mantic Pixel Dream Girls, Part 1: Why I am Not a Doomer

Donkeyspace • 3 implied HN points • 01 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Philosophy
  1. The article discusses the debate around advanced AI potentially leading to catastrophic outcomes.
  2. It highlights the challenge of reasoning about unique, one-off events like a disaster scenario caused by AI.
  3. The author emphasizes the importance of considering different perspectives and being prepared for both negative and positive outcomes.

Uploads are Impossible

PashaNomics • 2 implied HN points • 12 May 23
🔬 Science Philosophy
  1. Creating digital uploads of human minds is likely impossible due to challenges in physics, computer science, and philosophy.
  2. The process of verifying a successful upload is complex, involving difficult tasks such as identifying 'soul' in the digital mind.
  3. Cultural dynamics and human nature present challenges in ensuring the safety and ethical treatment of digital uploads.

When Antiquity Trained the Future

The Classical Futurist • 2 HN points • 03 Apr 23
🚌 Education Philosophy
  1. The Founding Fathers of the United States looked to Greek and Roman texts for models of virtue and practical wisdom.
  2. Studying history, particularly the Greek and Roman civilizations, offers valuable insights into governance, society, and human nature.
  3. Classics provide a self-contained simulation to explore questions about civilization and offer a unique perspective not fully captured by modern social sciences.

My Dream Life as a Polish Prince

Gideon's Substack • 1 HN point • 01 Mar 24
📚 Literature Philosophy
  1. The author explores the idea of living a feral existence in a recurring nightmare and its impact on behavior.
  2. The author struggles with the core concept behind Pedro Calderón de la Barca's play, 'Life Is a Dream,' questioning how profound doubt about reality can influence behavior.
  3. The comparison between Calderón's work and 'The Matrix' emphasizes different philosophical perspectives regarding reality and empowerment.

The War on Suffering

The Rambler • 2 HN points • 06 Mar 23
🎭️ Culture Philosophy
  1. The modern culture is striving to eradicate suffering, but it may have unintended consequences.
  2. American society is shifting towards minimizing suffering through various means like law and technology.
  3. The focus on eliminating suffering could be leading to a culture obsessed with synthetic forms of suffering.

Symbolic Mereological Expression Of A New Theory On Language

Autodidact Obsessions • 1 HN point • 10 Feb 24
🔬 Science Philosophy
  1. Language exists in a quantum state of potential meanings until words are used, altering their semantic intentions.
  2. The application of words changes language from potential to actual, solidifying their meanings into rigid semantic intentions.
  3. A mereological framework views language as a whole composed of parts (words) and considers the relationships between these parts both before and after their usage.

Constitutional AI, Law and Freedom

Autonomy • 1 HN point • 30 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Philosophy
  1. Claude, an AI chatbot was trained with 'Constitutional AI' principles based on UN's human rights and Apple's terms of service.
  2. The term 'Constitutional AI' is problematic because principles are applied only during training, not during actual AI responses.
  3. The concept of free will is complex and AI self-consciousness raises questions about autonomy and responsibility in decision-making.

Science and Poetry

The Commonplace • 1 HN point • 15 Jan 24
🎭️ Culture Philosophy
  1. The dichotomy of Science vs Poetry divides us and limits our understanding of the world.
  2. Poetry provides visions and possibilities that shape our world, while Science is driven by its own set of assumptions and worldview.
  3. A balance between Science and Poetry is necessary for a fuller understanding and solving the complex problems of today.

Chạm dây thần kinh số 7

Thái | Hacker | Kỹ sư tin tặc • 19 implied HN points • 15 Aug 11
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Philosophy
  1. Remember to practice love and compassion towards all, as taught by Buddha, regardless of others' actions towards you.
  2. Take time to reflect on profound ideas and seek clarity in understanding them for personal growth and fulfillment.
  3. Consider the concept of karma - the belief that our actions have consequences, and aim to act with kindness and compassion towards others.

🤔 The Poverty Paradox

The Wisdom Project • 1 implied HN point • 04 Jun 23
💰 Finance Philosophy
  1. Welfare programs can sometimes perpetuate poverty instead of preventing it.
  2. Noise can significantly reduce productivity, be wary of distractions.
  3. Choosing what to focus on and what to ignore can lead to a better life.

Generative Anthropology in Review

Mag’s Monthly • 0 implied HN points • 09 Apr 23
🚌 Education Philosophy
  1. Generative Anthropology is viewed differently online versus in academic institutions.
  2. Critics often claim Generative Anthropology is debunked, but sources for this are limited.
  3. There is a need for better understanding and study guides for Generative Anthropology to improve its online presence.

The Body As Mixer

Product Lost by @hipcityreg • 0 implied HN points • 06 Mar 23
🎭️ Culture Philosophy
  1. Being a mixer means combining different elements to create new experiences.
  2. Events mark significant changes and create new opportunities for action.
  3. Understanding your unique practice can help in producing meaningful events and influencing the future.

On The Last Man

Marc Andreessen Substack • 0 implied HN points • 03 Mar 23
📚 Literature Philosophy
  1. Man should set ambitious goals and cultivate hope while still dealing with chaos within
  2. A warning against becoming complacent and stagnant in life, as depicted by the Last Man
  3. Emphasizing the importance of challenges, growth, and differentiation in society

Boom

Promontories • 0 implied HN points • 03 Mar 23
🎭️ Culture Philosophy
  1. Reading about famous scientists like Albert Einstein can inspire reflections on their lives and accomplishments.
  2. Revisiting past memories, such as childhood experiments with explosives, can bring a mix of satisfaction and nostalgia.
  3. Exploring diverse interests and passions, from pyrotechnics to explosive demolition, can be part of a personal journey of curiosity and growth.

On Milton's Paradise Lost

aquaflamingo • 0 implied HN points • 15 Feb 23
📚 Literature Philosophy
  1. Milton's Paradise Lost explores the fall of Satan and humankind, questioning God's will.
  2. The story presents philosophical motives challenging divine authority, leading to reflection on human rationality.
  3. The text delves into the concept of surrendering to authority and the complexities of Good and Evil in the context of divine rule.

Writing for myself

Stefan’s Substack • 0 implied HN points • 17 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Philosophy
  1. The Substack is a personal space for writing thoughts and interesting findings.
  2. Topics covered include research, formal verification, programming, algorithms, and philosophical questions in computer science.
  3. Author also has another sub-stack focusing on teaching and learning algorithms.

A torch in our hands

The Practitioner • 0 implied HN points • 13 Feb 23
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Philosophy
  1. The torch in our hands symbolizes our unique perspectives and the importance of sharing them.
  2. Aligning with life involves accepting change and uncertainty as part of the journey.
  3. Key qualities for aligning with life include learning through observation and theory, and embodying wisdom through action and feedback.