Salman Rushdie has a new collection of non-fiction pieces coming out, Languages of Truth, and in The Guardian Hadley Freeman profiles him, in Salman Rushdie: ‘I am stupidly optimistic – it got me through those bad years’.
Among the titbits of interest: Rushdie is working on his first play: it's about Helen of Troy -- and: "It's written in verse
SAG/AFTRA Sign First Agreement On Social Media Influencers (What Does That Mean?)
The Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists’ national board voted to adopt its first-ever agreement for influencers—personalities and performers paid to promote products and services on networks like Instagram and TikTok, plus non-networked websites. In addition, those side hustles are no longer prohibited for current members of SAG-AFTRA. – Dance Magazine
Love Is the Last Word: Aldous Huxley on Knowledge vs. Understanding and the Antidote to Our Existential Helplessness
“All of us are knowers, all the time; it is only occasionally and in spite of ourselves that we understand the mystery of given reality.”
New report looks at the best times to post on each platform, based on insights from 20,000 users
“One SEO Company Sprout Social het published his latest listing of the best times to move to each of the company’s major social media platforms 20,000+ customer base, using the platform to schedule and post online. By analyzing this data, Sprout determined the best times to post based on when content sees the highest engagement rates – which is slightly different from the information you get from insights on the platform, as the reports are usually based on when users are active in the app. This may make Sprout’s report a more accurate indication of the best times to post for optimal engagement – but it’s always worth noting with these ‘best times’ reports that the information provided is generic and is based on a broad data set. The best times you can post are relative to your unique audience and their habits, yet data reviews like these can help you guide your messaging strategy and help you make the best use of your best cadences to get your results to improve. Here’s what Sprout found in analyzing last year’s data – and another important caveat: The times listed refer to Central Time Zone (CST). These trends are likely to apply in other regions as well, but it is worth explaining this note in advance…”
World Dance? Seriously?
Typically, it’s an intermediary—a manager, a producer, a critic—who labels something as “world dance.” The term denotes exoticness, authenticity—and it sells. It’s also problematic and limiting. –Dance Magazine
New:
- Ralph Cudworth, by Sarah Hutton.
- Understanding, by Stephen Grimm.
Revised:
- Gabriel (-Honoré) Marcel, by Brian Treanor and Brendan Sweetman.
- Definitions, by Anil Gupta.
- Susan Stebbing, by Michael Beaney and Siobhan Chapman.
- Russell’s Moral Philosophy, by Charles Pigden.
- Intergenerational Justice, by Lukas Meyer.
IEP ∅
- Scott Dixon (Ashoka University) reviews The Tools of Metaphysics and the Metaphysics of Science, by Theodore Sider.
- Patrick Toner (Wake Forest University) reviews The Nature of Human Persons: Metphaysics and Bioethics, by Jason T. Eberl.
- Tim Connolly (East Stroudsburg University) reviews Theorizing Confucian Virtue Politics: The Political Philosophy of Mencius and Xunzi, by Sungmoon Kim.
Recent Philosophy Book Reviews in Non-Academic Media
- Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism by Kathleen Stock, reviewed by Jane O’Grady at The Telegraph (paywalled)
Compiled by Michael Glawson
BONUS: doing philosophy