Professor of Philosophy. I write about philosophy and logic – sometimes seriously, sometimes with a touch of humour.https://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.euhttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3mze3ybo5h22pToday, my students and I discussed whether you need to know German to understand German philosophy. Good translations are enough for a general understanding, but serious research requires the original language. Yet philosophy is not philology: it is also about questioning and developing ideas02 Nov 2026 19:52 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3mze3ybo5h22phttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3mzdv4gleqc2wEven philosophers may soon be replaced by AI! Graham Clay is developing Pensatura, designed “to do philosophy better than humans”. He also wants to make it profitable. Perhaps AI is philosophy’s only chance to become profitable! :) #philosophy02 Nov 2026 17:49 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3mzdv4gleqc2whttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3mzampt6kfs2iOn November 1, 1755, an earthquake devastated Lisbon, killing tens of thousands. Voltaire challenged Leibniz's optimism, Rousseau blamed human choices, and Kant sought natural explanations. Disasters make us question the nature of the world; wars make us question human nature.01 Nov 2026 10:41 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3mzampt6kfs2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3mz6lkvfwcs2qAsimov’s Three Laws of Robotics seem clearer than today’s AI guidelines. Though imperfect, they could be a starting point for AI regulation. We still need to clarify harm, human freedom, conflicting interests, and truthfulness. Science fiction has become a real ethical challenge.31 Oct 2026 15:15 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3mz6lkvfwcs2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3mz5xc5mnvk24David Durman, a secular humanist at the University of Kentucky, has been granted an exemption from using AI at work on the grounds of his beliefs. He argues that AI undermines independent thinking, creativity, and moral autonomy. Should refusing AI be a protected right?31 Oct 2026 09:12 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3mz5xc5mnvk24https://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3mz247eacyk2jŽižek wrote today that Russia’s actions and rhetoric pose an existential threat. He argues: “We must fully embrace the paradox of our situation: no abstract pacifism, no platitudes such as ‘it takes two to fight a war’. We must be prepared to risk death in order to avoid a fate that leads to death”29 Oct 2026 20:29 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3mz247eacyk2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3myx5yzkvb22tErasmus foresaw the populists of the 21st century 500 years ago: “The less educated a person is, the more pleased they are with themselves, and the more people admire them.” On Erasmus’s birthday, let’s revisit his "Praise of Folly." A remarkably relevant book! ))28 Oct 2026 16:24 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3myx5yzkvb22thttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3mys3av25bs2vIn 1759, J. Heymüller portrayed Philosophy as a man in his prime. An owl symbolizes wisdom, books represent knowledge, and a raised hand calls for all that is transient to fall silent. Entitled Allegory of Philosophy or Contemplation, the sculpture evokes silent reflection on the eternal #philosophy26 Oct 2026 15:51 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3mys3av25bs2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3myphckekxk2aAnother striking episode from Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels: the machine at the Academy of Lagado enabled people to produce books without any knowledge or intellectual ability. A remarkable metaphor for today’s debates about AI. Three centuries later, Swift still seems to describe our world))25 Oct 2026 14:49 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3myphckekxk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3myph7u7t5c2aNext week marks 300 years since the publication of Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. In Lilliput, high government positions went to those who performed the best tricks on a tightrope before the ruler. Hard not to see parallels with the appointment practices of some modern “great” powers.25 Oct 2026 14:47 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3myph7u7t5c2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3mypfhgvyes25Had philosopher Max Stirner published The Ego and Its Own in the 21st century, he'd be a millionaire influencer selling courses on self-interest. Instead, he died in poverty after two spells in debtors' prison. His book survived, though. Today is his birthday. Some of us still remember)) #philosophy25 Oct 2026 14:16 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3mypfhgvyes25https://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3myn4p43o2c2dOn October 15, Tucker Carlson declared that the Ukrainian nation was gone and would never recover. I examined just four sentences from his remarks and identified five logical errors. The image shows exactly where his reasoning fails. A useful exercise in critical thinking. #logic24 Oct 2026 16:34 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3myn4p43o2c2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3myknhrort22sWhen Russians claimed in 2022 that they would “take Kyiv in three days,” it resembled Marv's reasoning in Home Alone: “He's only a kid, Harry. We can take him.” But being weaker doesn't mean being easy to defeat. A classic non sequitur: the conclusion doesn't necessarily follow from the premise.23 Oct 2026 16:56 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3myknhrort22shttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3mykl3z3zhc2mOn Leszek Kołakowski’s birthday, I’d like to share one of his thoughts that I find particularly insightful: “We learn history not in order to know how to behave or how to succeed, but to know who we are.” #philosophy23 Oct 2026 16:13 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3mykl3z3zhc2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3mykfitgqyk2eSlavoj Žižek warns that the comforting belief we can understand and persuade our enemies may lead to catastrophe. I’d add: an opponent can be persuaded, but an enemy seeks not dialogue or understanding, but to harm, destroy, and inflict suffering. That is what makes them an enemy.23 Oct 2026 14:33 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3mykfitgqyk2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3myhscbndcc2vLuciano Floridi argues that a text’s value depends not only on its content but also on who created it: a human or AI. But there’s a deeper problem. As we delegate more human activities to machines, the sphere of what is uniquely human shrinks. Are we becoming replaceable? #WSocialPhilosophy22 Oct 2026 13:44 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3myhscbndcc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3myhqba3ybk26AI is increasingly treated as an omniscient and neutral authority, an arbiter in disputes. Yet its knowledge is limited, and its responses may reflect biases. Perhaps AI's authority is closer to expert consensus: broader knowledge and fewer individual biases, but no guarantee of truth or neutrality22 Oct 2026 13:08 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3myhqba3ybk26https://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3myh5gmcpos2cPlato believed that true knowledge reaches beyond the changing world of experience to eternal realities. Aristotle, by contrast, believed that knowledge begins with observing the concrete world around us. Who was right – Plato, Aristotle, or is there a better way to understand knowledge? #philosophy22 Oct 2026 07:31 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3myh5gmcpos2chttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3myfg5d7doc2lToday, my postgraduate students and I discussed fear in modern ethics. From climate change to AI, moral arguments increasingly appeal to fears of catastrophe. Are we moving from an ethics of the good to an ethics of survival, focused more on what to fear than on what makes life worth living?21 Oct 2026 15:01 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3myfg5d7doc2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3myfezoy7rs2lOn his birthday, let’s recall Coleridge’s warning: material progress without attention to intellectual and moral questions is dangerous. Society needs not only wealth and technology but also worthy goals—and thinkers who can identify these goals and explain their value to others.21 Oct 2026 14:41 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3myfezoy7rs2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3mychrwld622vToday, my students and I discussed Carnap’s critique of Heidegger. A question arose: which philosophical path is right, Plato’s or Aristotle’s? Raphael placed them side by side in his fresco. Western intellectual culture thrives through their coexistence, rivalry, and interaction. #philosophy20 Oct 2026 10:53 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3mychrwld622vhttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3mycgfghvz22eOn John Dewey’s birthday, three ideas are worth recalling: education is part of life, not merely preparation for it; we learn by doing; and thinking begins when we face problems without ready-made answers. His ideas profoundly shaped modern education. #philosophy20 Oct 2026 10:28 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3mycgfghvz22ehttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3mycexxjrns2oIf there were a competition for the best insults in philosophy, Arthur Schopenhauer would have a pretty good chance of taking first place))) #philosophy20 Oct 2026 10:02 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3mycexxjrns2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3myakouksbs27Anthropic plans to put 5% of its shares into a public benefit fund. David Sacks questions whether this will truly serve the public good. But what exactly is the public good, and who gets to define it? A company, the state, intellectuals? We all claim to serve it, but mean different things.19 Oct 2026 16:39 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3myakouksbs27https://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3myaj7bgdx227On Marsilio Ficino’s birthday, a curious legend: he and a friend agreed that whoever died first would report on the afterlife. After Ficino’s death, his friend supposedly saw him on a white horse, shouting, “It’s true!” A true philosopher shares his findings even after death. In person!))19 Oct 2026 16:13 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3myaj7bgdx227https://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3my5q37fwic2qOn Henri Bergson’s birthday, I’d like to recall his advice to philosophers: “The motto I would propose to a philosopher, and indeed to everyone, is the simplest of all: one should act like a person of thought and think like a person of action.” #philosophy #WSocialPhilosophy18 Oct 2026 13:38 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3my5q37fwic2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3my5pa7gfrs22Balaji Srinivasan envisions “network states”: online communities that establish physical settlements and negotiate with governments. A modern-day Thomas More or Campanella? Perhaps. But how open would these societies be if joining them required money and freedom of movement?18 Oct 2026 13:23 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3my5pa7gfrs22https://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3my5nrg5juk2yI watched Digger. Pros: Cruise gives a strong performance, the film raises important issues, and its aesthetics are intriguing. Cons: the director reduces a complex problem to a generational conflict and once again adopts an America-centric worldview.18 Oct 2026 12:56 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3my5nrg5juk2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3my2osi6rmc2kWhat will happen if the ideas of tech billionaires like Elon Musk are put into practice? Thomas Piketty describes this vision of the future as technonationalist, arguing that it entails deepening hierarchies between societies and individuals and would ultimately lead to a dystopia.17 Oct 2026 08:37 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3my2osi6rmc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/oleksandrkulyk.wsocial.eu/post/3mxybzw4zd22yWhat I liked about Timothy Snyder’s recent interview was his argument that freedom is more than the absence of obstacles. It means having real opportunities to become who we want to be. Education, healthcare, and effective government can help make freedom possible. #philosophy #WSocialPhilosophy16 Oct 2026 09:43 +0000at://did:plc:36kkj7nktjvumpyw52jeecti/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxybzw4zd22y