#825 Mark Coeckelbergh - Self-Improvement, Technology, and Altruism
Dr. Mark Coeckelbergh is Professor of Philosophy of Media and Technology at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Vienna. He is former President of the Society for Philosophy and Technology (SPT) and a member of the steering committee of ETHICOMP. Dr. Coeckelbergh is member of the High Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence for the European Commission, the Rat für Robotik, as well as member of the Technical Expert Committee (TEC) for the Foundation for Responsible Robotics. His work is focused on the area of philosophy of technology. He is the author of several books, including his most recent one, Self-Improvement: Technologies of the Soul in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.
In this episode, we focus on Self-Improvement. We start by talking about the philosophical history behind the culture of self-improvement. We discuss how we present ourselves on social media, and the idea of “authenticity”. We talk about spiritual narcissism, and the current popularity of stoicism. We discuss how we obsess with self-improvement, and ignore collective solutions and political and socioeconomic issues. We talk about self-improvement as a means of class signaling, and “technosolutionist” approaches involving transhumanism and self-enhancement. We discuss how neoliberalism ties to self-improvement ideas, and how obsessed we are with being productive. Finally, we talk about how we can reframe self-improvement, and a positive role for technology.
Time Links:
Intro
The culture of self-improvement, and its philosophical history
How we present ourselves on social media
The idea of “authenticity”
Spiritual narcissism
The current popularity of stoicism
Obsessing with self-improvement, and ignoring collective approaches and political and socioeconomic issues
Self-improvement as a means of class signaling
Technosolutionism, transhumanism, and self-enhancement
How neoliberalism ties to self-improvement ideas
An obsession with being productive
Reframing self-improvement, and a positive role for technology
Follow Dr. Coeckelbergh’s work!
Follow Dr. Coeckelbergh’s work:
Faculty page: http://bit.ly/3BkiSCC
Website: http://bit.ly/3Bkjatc
PhilPeople profile: http://bit.ly/3EHw1HX
Self-Improvement: http://bit.ly/3UF5dxj