Philosophy — Patrick Desjardins

At the bottom of a quiet hill, in a small, warm burrow, lived a porcupine named Hollis. He had a partner who wore a flower behind her ear, two little ones who never walked when they could run, and a coat of quills that stood up whenever he laughed, which was often. Beside the front door stood an old…

The technology used to transform human communication has evolved far beyond basic grammatical correction. Artificial intelligence (AI) can now alter a message’s argument, tone, and intent, raising a question that goes beyond whether AI saves time or effort. What is the receiver of the communicatio…

At the edge of the orchard stood a row of tall granary towers, built from timber and thatch, where the whole settlement kept its grain dry through winter. Every year, a pig named Bramwell was given the task of deciding which builder would move into the fine new quarters beside the millhouse, and whi…

In this essay, I argue that an artificial intelligence modeled on a specific human cannot independently preserve the human particular developmental continuity after their histories diverge. Imagine that a person provides an AI system with every available detail of their life: memories, written messa…

There is a myth that is no longer told, and that is the point of it. It begins, as these stories do, on a mountain. At the top sat the gods, in a hall of white stone open to the sky, and below them, down the long green slope, lived the mortals who did the work of the world. The gods watched from abo…

After completing four of the ten courses in my philosophy bachelor's program, I decided to move on to a master's degree. When Newlane announced its Master of Arts in Philosophy, a new graduate degree accredited by the U.S. Department of Education, I was thrilled to pursue it. . I already have a mast…

A small village sat in a valley between two long hills. The animals there were content. The badgers kept the storerooms. The marmots tended the gardens. The sparrows watched the sky. Each season followed the last, and the work was honest and slow. There was a gap in the northern hills, and through t…

In a wide valley stood a great dam built by a colony of beavers. Day after day, they repaired leaks, strengthened walls, cleared debris, and extended canals so that water reached every corner of the forest. The work was never glamorous. When storms came, the beavers worked through the night. When br…

In a vast savanna stood a prosperous village built by many animals over many seasons. Beavers maintained the waterways, ants organized supplies, owls studied the stars, and elephants remembered the lessons of years past. One day, a rhinoceros arrived to lead part of the village. The rhinoceros was s…

In this essay, I examine how Hume’s problem of induction, his argument that prediction relies on habit rather than rational certainty, explains why Large Language Models (LLMs) reproduce historical regularities and therefore struggle with genuine discontinuities. Historical regularities are stable…

In a small valley between two quiet woods, there lived a colony of field mice. They were good mice. Careful mice. Proud mice. They gathered seeds, repaired tunnels, counted berries, and kept small maps of every path between the grass and the old stone wall. One spring, the colony decided to build a…

At the edge of a busy orchard lived many animals who worked together through the changing seasons. The squirrels gathered nuts. The rabbits cleared fallen leaves. The birds warned of storms. The badgers repaired the paths. Among them was a young hedgehog named Milo. Milo was not the loudest worker,…

High on the sunlit hills of Rommock Farm, work was done the way it had always been done. At the center of it all was Theodor, an old donkey who had trod the farm’s dirt paths longer than any other creature. Theodor did not lead because he was the fastest or the wisest, he led because his name was…

In this essay, I examine how three ancient Western philosophers debated the relationship between reason and the senses as sources of reliable knowledge. First, I discuss Heraclitus, who argued that knowledge begins with observing a world that is constantly changing (Heraclitus, 500 BCE/2010). Next,…

There was once a kingdom deep in the forest called Oakridge, where animals of all kinds worked together to gather food, build shelters, and prepare for the long winters. At the center of Oakridge stood the Great Tree, where the Council of Owls made all important decisions. The owls were known for th…

At the center of a once-vibrant valley stood a garden unlike any other. It had been known for its colors. Bright lilies that bent with the wind. Wild roses that grew in every direction. Tall sunflowers that turned freely toward the sky. Every plant was different. Every corner alive. At its heart wor…

Ember was a small ant with a strong back, sharp eyes, and a habit of arriving before the dew had left the grass. She joined the Great Golden Hive on the same morning as Flicker, a lantern beetle with polished wings and a voice that carried well in crowded rooms. The Hive was famous across the meadow…

In this essay, I argue that deontology is the best ethical framework for guiding the design and behavior of artificial intelligence systems. The participation of artificial intelligence in decisions is increasing with the introduction of large language models. These models enable computers to reason…

In a quiet clearing at the edge of a forest, there lived a peacock known far and wide for his elegance and certainty. His feathers were always perfectly arranged. His voice carried authority. And above all, he believed he understood excellence better than any creature around him. One day, the peacoc…