Examined Life

Philosophical reflections

  • Saints, Monsters, Morality, and the Good Life

    Philosophy of The Good Place, Part 1 Suppose you are walking through a park and notice a small child thrashing about in the shallow pond beside the path. She surfaces, goes under, surfaces again, and the intervals are getting precariously longer. If you wade in, you save her life. Your shoes and clothes will be… Continue reading

  • A Proper Life

    Opening address to the Social Science Research Society alumni gathering We seem to live in an age where the word “life-changing” gets used rather freely. Life-changing restaurant, life-changing film, life-changing book. When I see people who use this phrase often, they’re generally not people who’ve lived very long. When “life-changing” is thrown around too casually,… Continue reading

  • How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read

    Review of Pierre Bayard, How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read I I used to live in a small one-room apartment in Mangwon-dong. I eventually moved somewhere more spacious — two bedrooms, a proper living room — and the reason was books. The apartment was barely ten pyeong (33m2) including the loft; and yet… Continue reading

  • What is the Difference Between Having a Child and Taking Drugs?

    Disclaimer. I regret to report that I no longer espouse the argument hereunder set forth, if one could call it that. I wrote this long rant at night after a drunk conversation with a friend. I re-read it the day after, thought it through, and concluded that the argument does not work structurally, and the… Continue reading

  • On Abortion

    In April 2019, Korea’s Constitutional Court ruled that the provisions of the Criminal Code and the Mother and Child Health Act — which criminalized abortion without regard to gestational age — unconstitutionally infringed upon pregnant women’s rights to self-determination. At the time, I expressed my support for the decision, framing the central issue as “a… Continue reading

  • In Defense of Oxford Philosophy

    Review of N. Krishnan, A Terribly Serious Adventure To those with no particular interest in philosophy, the phrase “Oxford philosophy” will mean very little. But among those who do care about philosophy, it conjures a distinct impression—one not unlike, perhaps, the impression that cocktails and jazz might have made on the young crowd at Woodstock… Continue reading