Thanks for watching, please comment and subscribe. We want to talk to you; that's what philosophy is all about!Technology Ethics, Artificial Intelligence and Anthropology with Dr. Steven Umbrello60 Second Philosophy2024-10-09 | I was fortunate to have a discussion with Dr. Steven Umbrello, the Managing Director at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies.
We discuss his new book, "Technology Ethics- Responsible Innovation Strategies", as well as his thoughts on the future of Artificial Intelligence, as well as why technologies such as A.I. will never be human.
Many fear that AI will one day surpass humanity in every way. But there are many reasons to believe some core elements of our humanity cannot ever be replicated by machines.
00:25 Intro 10:20 Why the term atheism? 17:40 Naturalism 23:45 Incomprehensibility 38:15 Charismatic theology/ Miracles 46:50 Socrates, supernatural events in ancient times 59:57 WOOOAAAAAHHHHH 1:07:00 How to decide what miracles actually happened 1:16:30 Back to Socrates, and the Bible 1:23:30 Morality 1:43:41 Doxastic Voluntarism 1:45:32 Finally getting the question correct! 2:03:13 How could I be confident that God is telling me something? 2:11:00 One way we might know how things really are 2:15:36 Prabale from Brother's KaramazovWriting Tip: How Use Adverbs in Fiction60 Second Philosophy2024-04-01 | Check out my novel! https://a.co/d/d8gPQ74
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.com Some advice on the use of adverbs in fiction. Not all adverbs are bad! Don't be pressured into removing them from your writing.
Transcript: If you have been writing for long, you have probably heard the admonition: Don’t use adverbs!
Or, my favorite: “The road to hell is paved with adverbs,”
Perhaps you have heard it in a more constructive way, but often, the advice is:
Open your document Press Ctrl+f “ Search for “ly” Delete all
Following this advice will likely make your writing worse. Further, it won’t rid your work of all adverbs. Let’s break this down.
What are adverbs?
Adverbs are simply words that describe a verb.
This can be HOW the verb is being carried out:
“Punch wildly”
“Lounge slothfully”
It can be WHEN a verb takes place:
“Shopped yesterday”
“Feast soon”
It can be WHERE a verb is happening:
“Walked out the door”
“Bowed before the king”
Note that not all of these adverbs end in LY.
When should I avoid adverbs?
Adverbs are to be avoided when they are redundant, when they support a weak verb or when they simply make no sense. They are also not ideal to use in dialogue tags or to display emotion.
Redundant Adverbs
An adverb is redundant when it says the same thing that the verb does. For instance, to say someone “ran quickly” is not adding any helpful information for the reader. We already get a sense that if someone is running, they are doing so quickly. Similar culprits include “whispered softly”, “thrashed wildly” and perhaps even “stared blankly”. In all these instances the verb and the context should be sufficient. Drop the adverb.
Adverbs that support a weak verb
Here we have something a little different. Perhaps your adverb is helping to clarify something about the verb. In this case, we must ask: Is there a better verb?
Take, for example, these verb + adverb combos and their fixes.
“She drank ravenously” - She gulped
“He said loudly” - He shouted
“he looked around” - He surveyed
This is, in fact, an excellent opportunity to use your “Ctrl+F” function and find all of your adverbs. Instead of deleting them, however, ask yourself “is there a better verb? Sometimes the answer is no- then let the adverb stay! It’s not a crime.
Adverbs that make no sense
This happens more than you might expect. In fact, you may not even realize it when you read it. Often this happens when a writer is attempting to describe two things at once- how a character is feeling and what they are doing.
“He cleaned the kitchen sullenly.”
What this is supposed to mean is that this guy cleaned the kitchen and he was sullen. It’s not a great sentence anyway, it’s just what I thought of as I was writing this! But you can’t actually clean something in a sullen way- it has no bearing on the verb at all. In this case, it is better to give some visual or sensory clues about the state of the character as he cleaned the kitchen.
“He cleaned the kitchen with his head hung low.”
Rule of thumb: don’t use adverbs to convey emotions.
Adverbs in dialogue tags
This one is as close to a hard rule as they come in my book. There are very few reasons that an adverb is appropriate after the word “said” in a dialogue tag.
Some Examples:
“He said menacingly”
“She said dejectedly”
Eww.
There is always another way. Find it!
Adverbs to display emotion
This is the topic for another article, but the rule is a good one. Convey emotions to a reader through physical descriptors and dialogue. Don’t tell me that something was done or said “sadly”- tell me what someone would see to understand that the person performing the action was sad.
One important exception: Dialogue
When people talk naturally, they use adverbs frequently. It’s natural. This means that your characters are going to be speaking sentences that contain adverbs. Don’t hamstring your dialogue by removing these without reason.
Final words
Do not be afraid to have adverbs in your writing. Especially as you work through beta readers and critique groups- you will hear the rule touted often. Don’t be tempted to purge your work; but do be tempted to make sure every word you use in your writing is the right one!About my Novel: We Are Icarus60 Second Philosophy2024-03-08 | Check out my novel! https://a.co/d/d8gPQ74
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.comThe Humanities Challenge Ep.1- Plato60 Second Philosophy2024-01-29 | Check out my novel! https://a.co/d/d8gPQ74
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.com The comment with the most likes when this video gets 50 likes will be the topic for the next episode!
Thanks for watching.
I've written a Scifi novel. Check it out and more on my website: mattbwrites.comMy Novel, We Are Icarus- Coming Soon!60 Second Philosophy2024-01-24 | Check out my novel! https://a.co/d/d8gPQ74
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.com Follow me for more details.
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.com I had some thoughts as I watched the debate between Alex O'Connor @CosmicSkeptic and Ben Shapiro @BenShapiro
Here are some of those thoughts. Perhaps more to come.
How can we escape determinism? Is free will real? Is it necessary for a good life?What Makes Art Sentimental?60 Second Philosophy2023-12-03 | Check out my novel! https://a.co/d/d8gPQ74
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.com Lots of media plays on sentiment. Some of it focuses on love and romance, others on courage and bravery. How can we identify sentimentality, and is it always bad?Ayyan Hirsi Ali Converts, Atheists React!60 Second Philosophy2023-11-30 | Check out my novel! https://a.co/d/d8gPQ74
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.com Atheist YouTube is upset about the conversion of Ayaan Hirsi Ali. But do they have a point?
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.com Philosophical Dialogue as a genre is a great way to both teach and entertain. It should be used much more within fiction novels! Here's why.
Partial Transcript: Have you read Plato? Did you know he was a fiction writer?
Plato wrote a long time ago, over 300 years before Christ. He was a student of Socrates, and he was a writer. He wrote “Philosophical Dialogues”- lots of them. Each of his dialogues featured his mentor Socrates speaking to one or more other individuals from around Athens. These dialogues are almost certainly not historically accurate (though one could make the case that the earlier ones were close)- they were fiction. In fact, philosophical dialogue as a genre is almost always fictional.
Yes, there are others who have written philosophical dialogue. Augustine, Boethius, Berkeley and even some modern writers are still writing dialogue. This is because it has some incredible attributes that can make it a valuable tool in conveying truth.
Benefits of Philosophical Dialogue First, a dialogue involves two (sometimes more) voices. This helps an author to keep his own cards close to the chest. Which of the interlocutors has the opinion of the author? Do any of them? Perhaps the truth lies somewhere between the two positions being discussed- it often does.
Second, a dialogue can allow an idea to develop naturally in the reader’s mind as it develops in the minds of the interlocutors. It is a very natural way to convey information, and if done correctly, it can deliver big ideas winsomely.The Future of this Channel...60 Second Philosophy2023-11-27 | Check out my novel! https://a.co/d/d8gPQ74
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.com I'm changing the channel name... and a couple of other little things.
I want to include some of my other interests in my video content such as:
Fiction writing Literature Christian faith/theology Interviews
Under the new channel name, I will be expanding the scope of the channel to some of these topics and more.
If this interests you, stick around!How can Philosophy Help find Meaning in the Modern World? YouTubes largest Philosophy Collab!60 Second Philosophy2023-04-08 | Check out my novel! https://a.co/d/d8gPQ74
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.com Thanks to @SeekersofUnity for putting this together!
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Thanks for watching. Don't forget to like, comment and subscribe!How teachers can tell if an assignment was written by ChatGPT60 Second Philosophy2023-01-13 | Check out my novel! https://a.co/d/d8gPQ74
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.com GhatGTP is making big waves in schools as teachers struggle to determine if a student's work is original or AI generated. Here are three steps I use to figure it out.
Side note: I believe that ultimately, teachers need to adjust their courses to require work that is beyond the scope of what AI can do. This could be a good encouragement to educators in the long run. In the meantime, students ought to be honest, and teachers need tools to create accountability.
@60SPH
Thanks for watching. Don't forget to like, comment and subscribe!What is Constructivism?60 Second Philosophy2023-01-12 | Check out my novel! https://a.co/d/d8gPQ74
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.com Script written by ChatGPT. Edited and checked for errors by me.
Welcome to the @60SPH
Thanks for watching. Don't forget to like, comment and subscribe!
Have a question on a topic in philosophy? Ask it in the comments section and we will answer it in our next Q&A video!
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.com How well can ChatGPT answer questions about a dead language? It made a few mistakes towards the end, but I was really impressed with how well it synthesized information about some rather esoteric topics!Can AI Teach Philosophy Better Than Me?60 Second Philosophy2022-12-18 | Check out my novel! https://a.co/d/d8gPQ74
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.com Two scripts explaining the same topic: Neoplatonism.
One was written by AI. One by me. Who did better?Doing Philosophy with Artificial Intelligence (ChatGPT)60 Second Philosophy2022-12-17 | Check out my novel! https://a.co/d/d8gPQ74
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.com Checking out OpenAI's new ChatGPT and seeing how well it handles questions about philosophy. I was very impressed with how accurate and detailed the answers were. I was also in awe that it could answer questions about the Greek text.
Look out for more of this sort of video- I had fun making it!
The thumbnail was made on an AI art generator.One reason people leave Christianity60 Second Philosophy2022-12-15 | Check out my novel! https://a.co/d/d8gPQ74
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.comQuestioning Human Rights (HD Reupload)60 Second Philosophy2022-12-13 | Check out my novel! https://a.co/d/d8gPQ74
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.com This is a re-upload of the same video posted last week. I noticed for some reason, that video was not HD. This one is
Welcome to the @60SPH
Thanks for watching. Don't forget to like, comment and subscribe!
Have a question on a topic in philosophy? Ask it in the comments section and we will answer it in our next Q&A video!
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.com The word "rationality" is thrown around a lot surrounding the God debate. But is that a good thing?
Sorry that my hat is a ghost... still working out the kinks with the green screen!
Welcome to the @60SPH
Thanks for watching. Don't forget to like, comment and subscribe!
Have a question on a topic in philosophy? Ask it in the comments section and we will answer it in our next Q&A video!
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.com I think I have to make one of these to be on Youtube... right?Would you press the button?60 Second Philosophy2022-12-09 | Check out my novel! https://a.co/d/d8gPQ74
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.comWould you rather? (Ethics Edition)60 Second Philosophy2022-12-08 | Check out my novel! https://a.co/d/d8gPQ74
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.comWhat would make you believe in God?60 Second Philosophy2022-12-07 | Check out my novel! https://a.co/d/d8gPQ74
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.comA Message for Christian Conservatives:60 Second Philosophy2022-12-05 | Check out my novel! https://a.co/d/d8gPQ74
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.comHuman Rights are WRONG60 Second Philosophy2022-11-30 | Check out my novel! https://a.co/d/d8gPQ74
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.com Welcome to the @60SPH
Check the channel for the HD Upload. Not sure why this only came to SD
The concept of "rights" has caused some issues in the way we talk about politics. I think it's time to move on!
Thanks for watching. Don't forget to like, comment and subscribe!
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.com Quick Response to @CosmicSkeptic Hopefully fuller explanation to come soon.
Peterson is surely not Christian by any measure of orthodoxy, but I doubt he's an atheist. #shortTrolley Problem Ft. Kittens! #shorts60 Second Philosophy2022-11-29 | Check out my novel! https://a.co/d/d8gPQ74
More info about my current projects on my website: mattbwrites.com Welcome to the @60SPH
Thanks for watching. Don't forget to like, comment and subscribe!
Have a question on a topic in philosophy? Ask it in the comments section and we will answer it in our next Q&A video!