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Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · Aug 22

Data by V-Dem. Expert estimates of the extent of voting rights, the freedom and fairness of elections, freedoms of association and expression, and the protection of rights, access to power, and distri...

ourworldindata.org

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Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · Aug 22

Also, the happiest, most stable, and least corrupt societies in the world (in Northern Europe) are those that most closely conform to Rawls’ theory.

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Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · Aug 22

Imagine saying that an economic theory is wrong because politicians aren’t following it. That’s no reason to throw the theory under the bus. If it’s a good theory, it’s just a reason to get people to actually follow it.

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Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · Aug 22

Much of what the OP describes in their post has little to do with the theory at all, but rather inaccurate straw man interpretations of it.

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Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · Aug 22

But that’s not the case here. A good theory of justice should do two things: describe an ideal society/world we should shoot for (ideal theory), and then show how to get there in a just way from where we are (nonideal theory). As I argue in my work, Rawls’s theory does both.

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Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · Aug 21

Also, you say liberals need to show why liberalism is good for people. Okay, but this isn’t that hard to show: see philpapers.org/rec/ARVFRS

Marcus Arvan, From rational self-interest to liberalism: a hole in Cofnas’s debunking explanation of moral progress - PhilPapers

Michael Huemer argues that cross-cultural convergence toward liberal moral values is evidence of objective moral progress, and by extension, evidence for moral realism. Nathan Cofnas claims to debunk ...

philpapers.org

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Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · Aug 21

That it does so is an unfortunate yet fairly common misconception. Rawls provided an “ideal theory” of a fully just society—but when the framework is extended to unjust conditions, its implications are far more non-neutral on race, gender, and many other things as well.

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Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · Aug 21

Rawlsian liberalism (“Justice as fairness”) does not, for example, support neutrality on anti-black racism (something you imply it does in your piece).

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Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · Aug 21

Your discussion here may be based on common interpretations of Rawlsian liberalism—but as I show in this published paper, those interpretations are largely wrong about how committed it is to neutrality under unjust conditions.

philpapers.org/rec/ARVAAO

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Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · Jul 8

I recently went on Academic Edgelords, a leftist podcast, to discuss my new book, Why It's OK to be a Moderate.

Much to my delight, all three hosts indicated that they enjoyed the book, and we had a fantastic discussion!

If you're curious, check it out: www.academicedgelords.com/2025/07/08/e...

EP28: Is it Okay to be a Moderate? (On Marcus Arvan’s “Why it’s OK to Be a Moderate”) - Academic Edgelords

Is moderation just fence-sitting, or is it a forgotten virtue? In this episode, we sit down with philosopher Marcus Arvan to discuss his new book…

www.academicedgelords.com

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Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · Jun 21

Yes, when you click Donate on the GoFundMe page, it gives that as an option.

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Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · Jun 21

I am devastated to learn of my dear friend and fellow philosopher Helen De Cruz’s passing.

With Helen's blessing, her husband Johan and I agreed to circulate a GoFundMe on their children’s behalf.

Please feel free to share and circulate widely.

www.gofundme.com/f/support-he...

Donate to Support Helen's Children After Her Passing, organized by Marcus Arvan

Help provide Helen De Cruz's children with a better start in life after her un… Marcus Arvan needs your support for Support Helen's Children After Her Passing

www.gofundme.com

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Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · May 29

marcusarvan.substack.com/p/the-ai-saf...

The A.I. Safety Embarrassment Cycle

Explaining the repeated failures of AI safety research and development

marcusarvan.substack.com

Reposted by Marcus Arvan

Stefano Gualeni @gua-le-ni.com · May 12

"How to do philosophy with (science) fiction"

Here are some reflections on writing weird novels as scholarly outputs (with thanks to @marcusarvan.bsky.social).

>> newworkinphilosophy.substack.com/p/giacomo-pe... <<

Giacomo Pezzano (Università di Torino) & Stefano Gualeni (University of Malta), “How to Do Philosophy with Sci-Fiction: A Case of Hybrid Textuality”

Filosofia, 2024.

newworkinphilosophy.substack.com

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Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · May 5

Whether the value is truth, morality, or whatever, there is no empirically tractable way to train these things to reliably give the right outputs. www.scientificamerican.com/article/ai-i...

AI Is Too Unpredictable to Behave According to Human Goals

AI “alignment” is a buzzword, not a feasible safety goal

www.scientificamerican.com

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Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · May 5

“As they try to tackle a problem step by step, they run the risk of hallucinating at each step. The errors can compound as they spend more time thinking.”

Your daily reminder that “aligning” LLMs with what we want them to do is a fool’s errand.

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/t...

A.I. Hallucinations Are Getting Worse, Even as New Systems Become More Powerful

A new wave of “reasoning” systems from companies like OpenAI is producing incorrect information more often. Even the companies don’t know why.

www.nytimes.com

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Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · Apr 10

philosopherscocoon.typepad.com/blog/2025/04...

We Should Disaggregate Philosophy’s Graduate Admissions, Placement, Tenure and Promotion, and Publishing Data by Mother/Parent Status (Guest post by Maja Sidzińska)

By Maja Sidzińska How well do mothers fare in graduate admissions in academic philosophy relative to fathers and those who aren’t parents? How well do they fare on the academic job market in philosoph...

philosopherscocoon.typepad.com

Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · Mar 27

philosopherscocoon.typepad.com/blog/2025/03...

Reading suggestions for an undergraduate interested in epistemology and existentialism?

I have a bright undergraduate student who has taken a couple of philosophy courses who asked if I have any recommendations for readings in epistemology and existentialism. I'd really like to provide t...

philosopherscocoon.typepad.com

Reposted by Marcus Arvan

Joe @josephfgough.bsky.social · Mar 26

I made a video for New Work in Philosophy on mind and self, from Descartes to the anti-Cartesians. Thanks @marcusarvan.bsky.social for the invite! youtu.be/tPXbnketu8I

Joseph Gough (Oxford), "The embodied, relational self: extending or rejecting the mind?"

YouTube video by New Work in Philosophy

youtu.be

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Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · Mar 26

A fun, short interview at "Why Philosophy?" on my path into philosophy, what philosophy means to me, etc.

Many thanks to Céline Leboeuf for the invitation. It's a great series, and I highly recommend subscribing to her substack!

celineleboeuf.substack.com/p/why-philos...

Why Philosophy? Marcus Arvan

Good philosophies make our lives and the world better.

celineleboeuf.substack.com

Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · Mar 26

New podcast interview with Reid Blackman on whether AI control and alignment are possible. Thanks so much to Reid for having me on--it was a fun discussion! open.spotify.com/episode/5rdh...

AI is Uncontrollable

Ethical Machines · Episode

open.spotify.com

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Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · Mar 21

Hope some of you decide to check it out and enjoy it, and if so, please do share the word!

Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · Mar 21

More information on the book's contents, including a chapter-by-chapter summary and some advance endorsements, are available here: www.marcusarvan.net/my-books

My Books | marcusarvanphilo

www.marcusarvan.net

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Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · Mar 21

He makes this case to you, showing that whatever your reasonable political ideology may be, things tend to go best politically when radicals and moderates effectively complement each other’s virtues while counterbalancing the other’s vices."

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Marcus Arvan @marcusarvan.bsky.social · Mar 21

I am excited to report that my new book, "Why It's OK to be a Moderate", is now available for purchase ($24.99 paperback / $14.74 Kindle). www.amazon.com/Why-Its-OK-B...

From the book's jacket synopsis: "Arvan shows that it’s OK to be a moderate precisely because not everyone should be one...

Why It's OK to Be a Moderate

Amazon.com: Why It's OK to Be a Moderate: 9781032613864: Arvan, Marcus: Books

www.amazon.com

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