Grace is currently an MA student in Philosophy at New York University. She’s particularly interested right now in the philosophy of psychiatry, bioethics, and applied ethics in general. Before coming to New York, Grace studied finance and business law in Singapore as an undergrad, only to find out that really, really wasn’t for her. In her spare time, Grace can sometimes be found playing in an orchestra, baking bread, eating her way through Flushing or writing poetry. Her latest projects are learning to draw, and learning to programme in C. Email: [email protected]
By Grace Boey Imagine the following scenario. Bob doesn’t have any opinion on whether abortions are okay. Although he could think through the issue for himself, Bob takes another route: he asks his friend Sally what she thinks. Because Bob trusts Sally, he doesn’t hesitate to believe her when she says that abortions are fine.…
by Grace Boey How should we listen to others? The social act of listening necessarily involves two parties: the listener, and the speaker. In many situations, the answer to the question depends on the comparative standing between the two. Consider, for instance, how I should listen to my doctor. I ought to place more stock…
by Grace Boey “If all Men are born free, how is it that all Women are born slaves?” “She who Marrys ought to lay it down for an indisputable Maxim, that her Husband must govern absolutely and intirely, and that she has nothing else to do but to Please and Obey.” – Mary Astell, Some…
by Grace Boey For some, hopping across countries means switching between being part of the racial majority and being part of the minority. A Chinese Singaporean living in America discusses what she's learned about her privilege from her experiences of racial alienation. This past June, my home country Singapore hosted the 2015 SEA Games. This…
by Grace Boey Want to do some good in the world? There’s a good chance that (like me) you’d at least like to try. So what should you do? There’s a bunch of reasons that might affect your answer to this question. Should you donate money, or should you volunteer time? Should you start a…
by Grace Boey Kyle Patrick Alvarez's latest award-winning film, The Stanford Prison Experiment, depicts a real-life psychology study from 1971 that went horribly wrong. What implications do the findings have for moral philosophy? This month, moviegoers will flock to cinemas to watch The Stanford Prison Experiment (or, if they don’t, the film has at least…
by Grace Boey Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about Internet trolls. I’d always been vaguely aware of their presence, and had read some articles here and there about the threats they pose to constructive debate—but I never truly realized the full nature of their pestilence until I had to deal with them myself. Since…
by Grace Boey Imagine this: someone secretly laces your coffee with meth, every morning, for 28 mornings. Over the first week, you become increasingly hyperactive, and start to bubble with confidence and energy. You feel great, but by day 7, your behaviour starts to get erratic, and you’re irritated with everyone else who can’t keep…
by Grace Boey When Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita was first published in 1955, the novel generated an enormous amount of controversy. Narrated by Humbert Humbert, a fictional literature professor in his late thirties, the tragicomedy depicts his obsessive sexual relationship with 12-year-old Dolores Haze—the eponymous Lolita. 60 years down the road, the book remains as controversial…
by Grace Boey Two weeks ago, 3 Quarks Daily ran an interview I did with Peter Unger, professor of philosophy at New York University. The candid conversation touched on several things, including Peter’s newest book Empty Ideas, and the value of philosophy. The piece caused quite a stir within the philosophical community, and generated a…
by Grace Boey Philosophy: you either get it or you don't. The field has its passionate defenders, but according to its critics, philosophy is irrelevant, unproductive, and right at the height of the ivory towers. And now, the philosophy-bashing camp can count a proud defector from the other side: Peter Unger, Professor of Philosophy at…
by Grace Boey What is it like to be a bat? Philosopher Thomas Nagel famously posed this question in 1974. As he noted, the question is one that cannot be answered: no matter how many objective, scientific facts we may discover about a bat’s physiology or neurobiology, we can never access its subjective, personal experience.…
by Grace Boey I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,And Mourners to and froKept treading – treating – till it seemedThat Sense was breaking through – And when they all were seated,A Service, like a Drum –Kept beating – beating – till I thoughtMy mind was going numb – And then I heard them lift…
by Grace Boey Last year, I decided to stop eating animal products and meat, apart from some seafood. I’d felt uncomfortable about the facts of factory farming for quite some time, and finally resolved to take the plunge. Having enjoyed meat, eggs and dairy for all my life, it was initially a challenge adjusting to…
by Grace Boey Last month, I wrote about moral uncertainty and moral hedging. The discussion was fairly abstract and ultimately rather inconclusive; it’s time to examine how real people might put some sort of moral hedging into practice now if they wanted to. First, here’s a recap (readers already acquainted with moral hedging can skip…
by Grace Boey A runaway train trolley is racing towards five men who are tied to the track. By pulling a lever, you could divert the train's path to an alternative track, which has only one man on it … If you're gearing up to respond with what you'd do and why, don't bother. It…
by Grace Boey What does the brain have to do with mental illness? The answer is – perhaps – a lot. Psychiatric drugs that affect brain chemistry have met with increasing success and acceptance over the past few decades, giving credence to the idea that fixing the brain might fix our mental problems. Growing amounts…