The freedom of speech and the freedom of contracting are analogous in that they both bolster innovation: of ways of life, institutions, goods, and services. Indeed, the freedom of speech may be moot without the freedom of contracting. The purpose of speech is to coordinate individuals on acting differently, on contracting differently.
Brennan and Jaworski make a point that is rather obvious but apparently needs to be reiterated to the self-proclaimed moral philosopher: one cannot build a theory of morality by merely consulting one's prejudice (which is culture-specific) and instinct (which is animalistic). Nor can one make factual statements without consulting facts. Moral philosophy is a branch of social science, whose scientific method it must respect lest it never rise above demagoguery.
Like most men, moral philosophers are ill-equipped to ponder trade-offs. An act is either good or evil, moral or immoral. Rawls advocated the minmax criterion, presumably, because he could not conceive of a way to trade-off one individual's wellbeing against another's. Some moral philosophers today similarly castigate some acts as being so disgusting (to the refined observer) as to warrant an unqualified ban, even if its imposition costs lives. Such a dichotomous approach to morality might have been a decent rule of thumb for the troglodyte, but the modern man is intelligent enough to afford a more nuanced approach.
19 January 2016
2 January 2016
La Gaviota
(Foro Shakespeare, 25 December 2015)
Chekhov’s plays are about craving freedom from the constricting circumstance. Contemporary American and British theatre is about coping with the freedom. The latter is more intellectually stimulating.
Chekhov’s plays are about craving freedom from the constricting circumstance. Contemporary American and British theatre is about coping with the freedom. The latter is more intellectually stimulating.
Stage Kiss
(San Francisco Playhouse, 2 January 2016)
In life, one should set out the goals that make for better McGuffins.
12 December 2015
Todo Estará Bien
(Un Teatro, 12 December 2015)
Some artists are content to pose questions without attempting answers. This is indeed the purpose of art: to nudge each viewer to seek his own answer. When attempting an answer himself, however, the artist sharpens his question.
Individuals sing to music, dance to crowds, gasp to breaths, talk over chatter, critique critics, balance on each other's shoulders to momentarily stand taller than others, not to stand momentously alone. Delacroix's La Liberté inspires by improvising on the mood of the fallen, rising, and bent, instead of seducing by a tune of her own.
By design, people fall into each other, lean, sometimes tumble. Dance is both the essence of and a metaphor for this process.
Some artists are content to pose questions without attempting answers. This is indeed the purpose of art: to nudge each viewer to seek his own answer. When attempting an answer himself, however, the artist sharpens his question.
Individuals sing to music, dance to crowds, gasp to breaths, talk over chatter, critique critics, balance on each other's shoulders to momentarily stand taller than others, not to stand momentously alone. Delacroix's La Liberté inspires by improvising on the mood of the fallen, rising, and bent, instead of seducing by a tune of her own.
By design, people fall into each other, lean, sometimes tumble. Dance is both the essence of and a metaphor for this process.
8 November 2015
"Humans Need Not Apply" by Jerry Kaplan (2015)
With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), the importance of understanding will diminish. Understanding compensates for the limited computational ability and limited data. Why understand what causes individuals to behave in a particular manner if an app can predict behaviour, read off and interpret facial expressions, determine whether someone finds you attractive, and whether someone is lying? There is some intellectual gratification in understanding, as there is in painting, but how often does one reach for a paintbrush instead of an iPhone?
In AI, emotions would be a bug. In humans, emotions are a patch that compensates for the limited computational ability and limited data. Machines will understand humans, but not emphasise. By contrast, humans may learn to emphasise with the machines' (missing) emotions, to better understand the machines. (The anthropomorphisation of machines will be hastened by granting them legal personhood, in order to limit the human liability for the machines' behaviour.)
Because emotions will remain a human prerogative, the only human endeavour that will not be fully outsourced to machines will be art. Some actors, dancers, musicians, script writers, and directors will remain human. Just as humans explore and admire through art the forces of nature, they will stage plays and ballets to explore the “emotional” and aesthetic aspects of the interaction of machines (whether localised or distributed).
Kaplan may be underestimating the importance of art patrons and playboys. Someone must explore the frontier that others would aspire to and ultimately catch up with.
In AI, emotions would be a bug. In humans, emotions are a patch that compensates for the limited computational ability and limited data. Machines will understand humans, but not emphasise. By contrast, humans may learn to emphasise with the machines' (missing) emotions, to better understand the machines. (The anthropomorphisation of machines will be hastened by granting them legal personhood, in order to limit the human liability for the machines' behaviour.)
Because emotions will remain a human prerogative, the only human endeavour that will not be fully outsourced to machines will be art. Some actors, dancers, musicians, script writers, and directors will remain human. Just as humans explore and admire through art the forces of nature, they will stage plays and ballets to explore the “emotional” and aesthetic aspects of the interaction of machines (whether localised or distributed).
Kaplan may be underestimating the importance of art patrons and playboys. Someone must explore the frontier that others would aspire to and ultimately catch up with.
“Sueño de una Tarde Dominical en la Alameda Central” by Diego Reviera (1948) y el Día de Muertos
(1 November 2015)
In a lesser theatre, the audience would occasionally laugh when a protagonist finds himself in a socially awkward situation or subject to violence. The laughter suppresses empathy and dismisses the protagonist's problem as an aberration; laugher is an escapist patch. Laughing off problems might have saved the sanity for some, but has not delivered a blueprint for a better future. By contrast, the contemplation of existential problems has given us Woody Allen and Albert Camus.
Art progresses by uncovering ever purer concepts of beauty.
In a lesser theatre, the audience would occasionally laugh when a protagonist finds himself in a socially awkward situation or subject to violence. The laughter suppresses empathy and dismisses the protagonist's problem as an aberration; laugher is an escapist patch. Laughing off problems might have saved the sanity for some, but has not delivered a blueprint for a better future. By contrast, the contemplation of existential problems has given us Woody Allen and Albert Camus.
Art progresses by uncovering ever purer concepts of beauty.
3 November 2015
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
