250 years later, someone had to point this out. Adam Smith has a famous theory of money, right? Barter, inconvenience, money — there’s a theory there, right? Nope! Not a theory, and really just following Hume. I wrote an article arguing so. Should be accessible below.

In “Money as 𝘙𝘦𝘴 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢,” @aaronjames.bsky.social proposes a conception of money as “common credit.” Private banks‘ powers of lending (and hence money creation/allocation) must be held in trust and subject to regulations in the service of public purposes to be legitimate.

#poliphil #PolTheory

Nice to be featured. Thanks!

Without philosophy Einstein said he would have "contributed nothing" | Massimo Pigliucci

Without philosophy Einstein said he would have "contributed nothing"

Why Einstein credited philosophy for his scientific revolution | By Massimo Pigliucci iai.tv/articles/wit... #Einstein #physics #philosophy #philsky

Banks have been slow to increase green lending and continue to finance high-GHG-emitting activities. Why? Based on 88 interviews, in our new @trace working paper, we argue that there are three main reasons: bankability, business model, and regulations. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Sparkling, brother!

Revisiting the Plutocratic Insurgency A decade on, I think I got the basic contours right

I just posted a new substack on the plutocratic insurgency, with appreciative shout-outs to @quinnslobodian.com and @aaronjames.bsky.social. open.substack.com/pub/nilsgilm...

Reminder: Perry Mehrling will join us TOMORROW, Wed Jan 22, to talk about his "Financialization and its Discontents." 1:30 Eastern. As ever, contact joseph.tinguely//AT//usd.edu for the Zoom link. See you there! #philsky

Thank you! A little secret: a killer writing sample opens doors.

Very very excited for our next discussion, when Perry Mehrling joins us to talk about his "Financialization and its Discontents." Wednesday, Jan 22, 1:30 Eastern. As ever, contact joseph.tinguely//AT//usd.edu for the Zoom link. See you there!

Also on the list: @nickriggle.bsky.social's *On Being Awesome* and *This Beauty*.

A few years ago, I gave my then 14 year old nephew @aaronjames.bsky.social's *Assholes: A Theory*. So that is already on my list.

04f. Republican Money Public and Private Money: Some Basics, Graham Hubbs Money as a Res Publica, Aaron James Republican Capital and the Future of Work, Joshua Preiss Moderator: Prithviraj Datta

@aaronjames.bsky.social @grahamhubbs.bsky.social and Joshua Preiss will be discussing republican conceptions of money this Thursday at the PPES annual meeting in New Orleans. Come by if you're there!

app.swapcard.com/event/eighth...

The wave commons: toward a (Rousseauvian) theory of entitlement and its rationalization Surfers both cooperate and compete around a scarce natural resource – ocean waves suited for surfing – often with a fraught mix of motives and feelings, pro-social and anti-social. Much as surfers ...

First 50 free: urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.tandfon...

The wave commons: toward a (Rousseauvian) theory of entitlement and its rationalization Surfers both cooperate and compete around a scarce natural resource – ocean waves suited for surfing – often with a fraught mix of motives and feelings, pro-social and anti-social. Much as surfers ...

I got fed up with crowd surfing. So of course I wrote an academic paper about it (:

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0094870...

Dr. Aaron James | Brain Uploads, Deepfakes, Misinformation, Universal Income, Meaning of Life & AI In this episode, Naja Faysal is joined by Dr. Aaron James, professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy at UCI. Dr. James, a bestselling author known for works such as "Assholes: A Theory" and "Surfing with Sartre," shares his insights on the profound implications of AI on our lives. The discussion touches on several fascinating and relevant topics: Key Takeaways: - Brain Uploads: The futuristic concept of uploading human consciousness to digital platforms, raising philosophical and existential questions about identity and the nature of being. - Deepfakes: The rise of deepfakes and their potential to spread misinformation, disrupt social trust, and influence political elections. - Online Behavior: The impact of AI on our online interactions and behaviors, often leading to more aggressive and less accountable actions due to the anonymity provided by digital platforms. - Misinformation: The pervasive issue of misinformation fueled by AI technologies and its impact on public discourse and political integrity. - Universal Income: The potential of universal basic income enabled by AI advancements, and how it could transform the economic landscape and provide financial security in a rapidly changing job market. - Life's Meaning: Reflections on the importance of finding meaning in life through genuine human experiences, using surfing as a metaphor, and how AI might alter or enhance these experiences. A thought-provoking discussion that bridges philosophy and technology, offering insights into how AI is reshaping our world. #philosophy #philosophyofscience #philosophyoftechnology #ai #Deepfakes #misinformation #universalincome #surfing #meaningoflife

Me rambling about a bunch of fun topics

https://youtu.be/0KmFB66NrMc

From the Desk of the Chair: Money. Power. Virtue. Really? Study philosophy for money? Well, yes. Learning to think pays. Turns out that philosophy majors are paid over $80,000 as the median starting salary. Ten years out they earn incomes comparable to engineering and finance. They fare better than accounting and all humanities majors.

Whilst sitting in the Chair, here I give three good reasons to study philosophy (some better than others)
www.humanities.uci.edu/news/desk-chair-money-po...

Leif Wenar on EA: a way to maximize looking clever. www.wired.com/story/deaths-of-effectiv...

Aaron James - The Variety of Assholes | STM Podcast #204 On episode 204, we welcome Aaron James to discuss assholes, who they are and how they think, the difference between a regular asshole and someone with narcissistic personality disorder, whether all politicians are narcissistic and if regular people ever seek power, if assholes understand and care about the rules, how narcissists use the cover of autism to hide their bad behavior, using entitlement to disregard others’ feelings, the messiah figure and our pull toward it, why people love Donald Trump, the inherent complexity of those figures and why some people continue to love them, whether we can live with them, if humanity can tolerate a world with no good and bad guys, and a better narrative to good vs evil and how it can shape our national identity. Aaron James holds a PhD from Harvard and is professor of philosophy at the University of California, Irvine, Aaron was awarded the Burkhardt Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies, spending the 2009-10 academic year at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University He is the author of Fairness in Practice: A Social Contract for a Global Economy, the bestselling Assholes: A Theory, Assholes: A Theory of Donald Trump, Surfing with Sartre and numerous academic articles. His latest book, co-authored by Robert Hockett is called Money From Nothing: Or, Why We Should Stop Worrying About Debt and Learn to Love the Federal Reserve. | Aaron James | ► Website | https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/150710/aaron-james/ ► Faculty Website | https://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=4884 ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/OnAssholes ► Assholes: A Theory Book | https://amzn.to/49oANWX Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast ► Patreon | patreon.com/user?u=32208666 #assholes

Back on asshole patrol …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86loVb-HkCc

Should go with a second AND (:

Trying this out: Why study Philosophy in college? Power and virtue. It makes you smarter, better at arguing, better at understanding, and richer if you want money. Or if you go for virtue, it can instill intellectual curiosity, humility, tenacity, and integrity.

I’m in this article sounding like I might well be calling decision theory bullshit. Just to be clear, I mean, not decision theory, but the performative use of it in EA reasonings, to look like a smart guy, and maybe convince yourself

Looks cool!!

as a satirist I do not approve of the current trend of terrible people being so comically overstated in their awfulness, it doesn't leave me a lot of room to work

Who is the asshole? Women should be allowed to manspread, too

Is “manspreading” an asshole move? I’d say: Yes when an inconsiderate use of scarce space. But not necessarily otherwise. A nice discussion….
https://unherd.com/2023/07/who-is-the-asshole/

Tomfoolery here