Philosophy
Short articles about philosophy, one idea in each.
- The trolley problem began with a tram driverThe runaway trolley is the best-known dilemma in ethics. It comes from a 1967 paper by Philippa Foot about abortion, and her question was not quite the one people ask now.
- If you replace every plank, is it still the same ship?The Athenians kept repairing Theseus's ship until none of the original wood was left. Philosophers have argued about what that means ever since.
- The three-page paper that broke the definition of knowledgeKnowing something seemed to mean having a true belief with good reasons. In 1963 Edmund Gettier showed, with two short stories, that this isn't enough.