Transcendental pessimism; On extinction; The new language of AI; Ideology and political belief

An essay by Ignacio L. Moya; a reading group on Ben Ware's book; events with Leif Weatherby, Jason Blakely, and Oliver Traldi

Dear all,

Some quite heavy vibes this week, with an essay on pessimism and a forthcoming reading group on extinction. The events, however, are less obviously heavy on the vibes front (although, to be fair, both could be read that way if you’re in that kind of mood). Anyway, let’s proceed…

Your Sunday Read
“Transcendental Pessimism”
Ignacio L. Moya

For many notable philosophers, from Bertrand Russell to Bryan Magee, pessimism is not a philosophical system but a mere temperament. In response to this attitude, Ignacio L. Moya builds his essay around the question, If philosophical pessimism is to be seen as something more than a “mere” temperament or attitude, what might this be?

Looking to 19th century Germany and the philosophical movement shaped by Arthur Schopenhauer, and subsequently enriched by thinkers like Eduard von Hartmann, Olga Plümacher and Agnes Taubert, Moya outlines the four key philosophical positions defended by those he calls “transcendental pessimists”. You can read his essay here.

Monday Event: 11am PT/2pm ET/7pm UK
“Capture and Generate: The New Language of AI”
Leif Weatherby with Audrey Borowski

2023 was the year of GPT. As hype, and then panic, swept the public sphere after the release of ChatGPT, questions of policy, regulation, bias, and even apocalypse dominated the conversation. This talk focuses on the “T” in GPT: the Transformer architecture. Leif Weatherby will separate the hype from the genuine leap forward that has occurred, and argue that only a computational structural theory of language is suited to grasp what the “G” in GPT – generative – means as it goes from an algorithmic capacity to a general cultural condition. You can find out more and register here.

Tuesday Event: 4pm PT/7pm ET/9am (Wed.) AET
“Ideology and Political Belief”
Jason Blakely and Oliver Traldi with Anthony Morgan

Anyone who’s had an argument about politics with a friend may walk away wondering how this friend could possibly hold the beliefs they do. A few self-reflective people might even wonder about their own political beliefs after such an argument. This conversation between a political scientist and a political philosopher will explore the reasons that people have, and could have, for political beliefs: the evidence they might draw on, the psychological sources of their views, and the question of how we ought to form our political beliefs if we want to be rational. It will focus in particular on the nature of ideology as a particularly charged form of political belief. Why has ideology in the modern era become so divisive, and how can we better orient ourselves amidst the confusing and disorientating terrain of competing ideologies? You can find out more and register here.

“On Extinction” Reading Group
This group will read and discuss Ben Ware’s recently published book, On Extinction: Beginning Again at the End (Verso, 2024). It will be facilitated by Nishok G U and Kate Warlow-Corcoran, and it is free to join.

Dates and Times:
Weekly from Tuesday 28 May to Tuesday 25 June 2024
10am ET/3pm UK/4pm CET/7:30pm India (on Zoom)
Each session will last 90 minutes
In the final meeting on Tuesday 25 June, we will be joined by the author for a Q & A session.

About the Book:
On Extinction takes us on a breathtaking philosophical journey through desperate territory. As we face ‘the end of all things’, Ben Ware argues we must face our apocalyptic future without flinching. In fact, extinction is the very lens through which we should examine our current reality.

Radical politics today should not be concerned with merely averting the worst but rather with beginning again at the end. To think about the future in this way is itself a form of liberation that might incubate the necessary radical solutions we need.

Combining lessons from Kant, Hegel, Adorno, and Lacan, as well as drawing on popular culture and ecology, Ware recasts the most urgent issue of our times and resolves that we can only consider our collective end by treating it as a starting point.

Find out more and sign up here.

Ending
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Wishing you all a lovely Sunday, wherever you are.

Anthony Morgan
Editor