Blog

How many anti-trans laws were proposed last week?
They‘ve been counted, but let’s also reflect on what they mean. We all need to be amplifying the news and the message. Support the trans people and cis allies who are doing the work.

Yet 10 *more* ways trans people are told we shouldn’t exist
Now my list is up to 30. More than one transphobe engages with these ideas. If you read them, you’ll feel the force of the repetition. The message: Trans people shouldn’t exist.

10 *more* ways trans people are told we shouldn’t exist
Truly, there are a lot of ways. Here are items 11–20. Trans people have a relevant perspective here. When we hear anti-transgender statements, we know that the true meaning is ‘trans people shouldn’t exist’.

10 ways trans people are told we shouldn’t exist
Here’s why transphobia sounds like an eradication campaign. If someone were denying your gender, would you understand them as literally telling you to stop having your gender? Comply, and everything will be OK?

Do we shine a light into the dark ages…
…or does it illuminate what we know of ourselves? Gabriele and Perry’s ‘Bright Ages’. We might see a time that isn’t “isolated, savage, primitive,” but “messy and human.” Studying medieval Europe can teach us more about ourselves.

What do we talk about when we talk about vaccines?
The 2014 book ‘On Immunity’ by Eula Biss. ‘On Immunity’ reflects on the human immune system and on vaccination. There are broad philosophical implications: balance, safety, interdependence.

3 things I learned from ‘The Disordered Cosmos’
Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein’s 2021 book on physics and identity. Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein shares meta-insights about how science and society can prevent us from asking questions and obtaining insights. Who’s included?

Does Moll Flanders know whether her mother is cheerful?
The Gettier problem in Daniel Defoe’s novel. Moll’s justified true belief (“My mother was a mighty cheerful, good-humoured old woman”) wasn’t knowledge. The novelist put an irony there.

Toward a better epistemology: Why do we care about what we know?
A reaction to the ‘Gettier problem’. Maybe there isn’t just one definition of knowledge. Maybe every type of knowledge is related in a “family resemblance.” Some are propositions. Some aren’t.