Latest additions to the Heap…

1. “Although all these truisms about the laws of nature sound plausible and familiar, they are also imprecise and metaphorical” — Marc Lange (UNC Chapel Hill) on the difficulty of pinning down what a law of nature actually is
2. “It is commonplace in philosophy to test arguments and theories by reference to commonsense… [but] we should aim, whenever possible, to do better than rest on commonsense” — Marcus Arvan (Tampa) explains why
3. “Philosophy… should understand itself and know just what it has indeed to offer, without taking anything away, least of all cheating people out of something by making them think it is nothing” — Richard Marshall “interviews” Soren Kierkegaard
4. “Directly offering refuge to those most oppressed… is not only a humanitarian policy—it is also a powerful way to increase our national strength” — John Thrasher (Chapman) and Ryan Muldoon (Buffalo) on the value an “open society”
5. Silicon Valley Congressman says that to fix social media, Meta, Twitter, etc. should “hire 100 philosophy majors” — is this evidence that Rep. Khanna has been checking out philosophy Twitter, or evidence that he hasn’t?
6. How has technology changed friendship? How will it in the future? — Rebecca Roache (Royal Holloway) on the differences—and overlooked similarities—between friendships back then and friendships now
7. Sexiest degree at the University of London? Philosophy. — “Going on a date with these precious overthinkers guarantees you’ll learn something new,” says the London Tab

Mini-Heap posts usually appear when 7 or so new items accumulate in the Heap of Links, a collection of items from around the web that may be of interest to philosophers. Discussion welcome.

The Heap of Links consists partly of suggestions from readers; if you find something online that you think would be of interest to the philosophical community, please send it in for consideration for the Heap. Thanks!