Issue • th quarter

Contents

ACTIONS & EVENTS

FORUM

4 From the editor 5 NewsNewprotest, New College

8 Obituaries 10 MediawatchPhilosophyandphilosophers in the mass media

12 ThreadsWorking-class heroes

14 Feature: Fighting closure Nina Power examines the strategies

17 Word of Mouse Waging cyberwar

61 An open future Alfred Mele on chance and choice

66 The problem of lucky guesses Duncan Pritchard has a solution

72 Luck and happiness John Sellars takes the stoics’ tough line

77 Luck of the draw Nafsika Athanassoulis on morality and jammed guns

82 You don’t believe in luck Darren Domsky explains why

87 Suffering misfortune Alexander Brown on social justice

THOUGHTS

19 The Interview Kit Fine’s cure for vagueness

28 Sci-PhiNicerobots finish first

31 TPM Essay Raymond Tallis on the brain

43 Illness or moral failing? Rachel Cooper on disorders

48 Letter from … Joe Friggieri in Malta

52 Pyke’s portraits Cynthia Freeland considers the faces of philosophers

THE LOWDOWN

93 Pop culture Is Superman un-American?

97 Snapshot: Thomas Reid James A Harris perceives things tpm 4TH QUARTER 2011 REVIEW

100 New books, etc Selves, poems, votes, beers and a film

114 Author Q & A Carolyn Korsmeyer on disgusting art

116 Imagine that Balloon world

119 Review of reviews What the critics said about Dworkin and

Ramachandran

LAST WORD

120 My philosophy Jesse Norman on big ideas in politics

127 The Skeptic When science is messy

The Philosophers’ Magazine, Saddler Street, Durham, DH NP, UK Tel: Fax: editor@philosophersmag.com www.philosophersmag.com

Editor James Garvey

Editor-in-chief Julian Baggini

Reviews editor Jean Kazez

Obituaries Adam Ferner

Editorial Advisory Board

Miranda Fricker, Simon Glendinning, Daniel D Hutto, Susan James,

David Papineau, Nina Power, Anthony Price, Jonathan Rée,

Richard Schoch, Barry C Smith, Jonathan Wolff

Illustrations/Graphics Felix Bennett, Adam Ferner, Gareth Southwell

Contributors

Michael Antony, Nafsika Athanassoulis, Ophelia Benson, Alexander Brown, Rachel Cooper, Darren Domsky, Luciano Floridi, Cynthia Freeland, Joe Friggieri, Wendy M Grossman, Steven Hales,

James A Harris, Alan Haworth, Robert J Howell, Mathew Iredale,

Rodger Jackson, Troy Jollimore, Jane Clare Jones, Amy Kind, John Koethe, Carolyn Korsmeyer, Alfred Mele, James O’Connor,

Duncan Pritchard, Nina Power, George Rowe, John Sellars,

Raymond Tallis, Andrew Terjesen

Contributors' Notes Contact the editor to submit proposals. Please do not send unsolicited manuscripts.

UK distribution Central Books, 99 Wallis Road, London E9 5LN Tel: 020 8985 4854

North America distribution

Source Interlink, 27500 Riverview Center Blvd., Bonita Springs,

Florida 34134 Tel: (239) 949-4450

Printed by MPG Books Group

Subscriptions

UK: +44 (0) 1442 820580

North America: 1 800 444 2419

See page 11 for full details

© 2011 Acumen Publishing Ltd and contributors

ISSN 1354-814X

All views expressed in TPM represent those of the authors of each article and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors or publisher.

Cover Original artwork by Felix Bennett

4TH QUARTER 2011 tpm 4TH QUARTER 2011 tpm