Only a Game

Café Américain: Information Is Not Truth

I'm back in Café Américain this week with an essay entitled "Information Is Not Truth". Here’s an extract:

If we reduce “truth” to mere factual statements, we eliminate not only any hope of touching upon the profound truths that lie at the heart of arts and philosophies, but also the sense of truth that each of us can express through our discourse. That we must try to discover the worthwhile truths was once the central tenet of the sciences, and perhaps the very reason that religion came to be viewed as their opponent, since truth within Christian traditions was supposedly 'revealed'. Truth is not information in any substantial sense, for while informational statements may be factually true, and may provide evidence for or against some truth, information itself is merely data until it is transformed by human practice into reality. 

You can read the whole thing over at Café Américain.

June Speaking Gigs

If you happen to be in the UK, I have two speaking gigs in June, as follows:

• The New Normal (Café Américain Launch Event)
  Friday 21st June 2024 at Verdurin, 2 Clunbury Street, London N1 6TT
  A panel discussion about censorship, in which I rather expect to be the most left-leaning of the panellists! Should be a good discussion.

• “Adventures in Moral Horror”
  Philosophy in Pubs National Annual Conference
  Saturday 29th June 2024, 2-5 pm, Empire Room, Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool
  An afternoon of drinks and philosophy! I am thrilled to return to the Philosophy in Pubs annual conference, which is always a pleasure, and this year I’ve geared my topic expressly to foster interesting conversations at the tables.

I note that, despite now living in the United States, I have still not been invited to talk about philosophy here, except the aesthetics of videogames (I did a university tour, “The Meaning of Play”, back in 2017). If you would like to invite me to something, I’m always in favour of talking! I’ve given talks and keynotes on four continents, and would be especially thrilled to give a talk in Antarctica, if any penguins are listening...