Megan J. Robinson

Franklin's approach reveals what distinguishes philosopher-builders from ordinary builders: the intellectual courage to question prevailing assumptions, the moral clarity to build for human flourishing rather than mere optimization, and the pioneering vision to shape the future rather than merely respond to it.

Maybe we just need to practice the discipline of refusing to drink from the waters of the digital stream in the first place. [7] What matters most in this regard is obviously not our capacity to recall discrete bits of information. Rather it is the practice of remembering what is deep down at the heart of things, and holding that vision before us.

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As the poet Jorie Graham said in a recent interview, “Speed allows you to bypass experience and that is probably the greatest desire of humans right now, that is, not to be touched by experience and just to be able to grasp, laugh, and to be entertained quickly.”

When we look at the quality of attention demonstrated by Heaney, Muñoz, and Hawthorne, we’re not seeing enchantment. We’re seeing an exquisite openness to the real. A sense of wonder does not require a world infused with spirit. The world as it is is sufficient. The reason the wording matters here is simple. What bedevils our perceptions today isn’... See more

this is also a perfect crystallization of how, in our hyper-digital age, it's increasingly the context and framing of information (not the content itself) that drives debates and shapes economic futures. Here, the content of the war plans was practically overshadowed by how they leaked (understandably!) - the wrong platform, the journalist, and the... See more

The principle “Life cannot be delegated” is simply a guidepost.5 It keeps before us the possibility that we might, if we are not careful, delegate away a form of life that is full and whole, rewarding and meaningful. We ought to be especially careful in the cases where what we delegate to a device, app, agent, or system is an aspect of how we expre... See more

It follows that, for Carr, “unenchanted” contemplation is not finally about the object in its independent objectivity but about the subject exercising his unfathomably creative subjective powers. Perception is turned inside out. Attention transforms into solipsism, even narcissism. What I see is ultimately about me, the one seeing, and what I choos... See more