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My Pal, the Ancient Philosopher

How friendship with long-dead thinkers can help us live better.

For example, I found him helpful when considering a tricky professional situation some years ago in which I was being urged to not give an invited talk because the organizer had made some remarks that sounded, as reported, transphobic. In this case, I contacted people involved in the situation to learn more about it, and we reached a compromise that was acceptable to all, namely that I would give short remarks at the start of my presentation about how the state of trans philosophers in our profession could improve. With the climate spinning out of control, the fallout of a pandemic (and likely others in the making), and the rise of authoritarianism, I cannot help but feel doubts about Mengzi’s core view that human nature is good.

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