Algocracy and Transhumanism Podcast

Episode #37 – Yorke on the Philosophy of Utopianism

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In this episode I talk to Christopher Yorke. Christopher is a PhD candidate at The Open University. He specialises in the philosophical study of utopianism and is currently completing a dissertation titled ‘Bernard Suits’ Utopia of Gameplay: A Critical Analysis’. We talk about all things utopian, including what a ‘utopia’ is, why space exploration is associated with utopian thinking, and whether Bernard Suits’ is correct to say that games are the highest ideal of human existence.

 

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Show Notes
  • 0:00 – Introduction
  • 2:00 – Why did Christopher choose to study utopianism?
  • 6:44 – What is a ‘utopia’? Defining the ideal society
  • 14:00 – Is utopia practically achievable?
  • 19:34 – Why are dystopias easier to imagine that utopias?
  • 23:00 – Blueprints vs Horizons – different understandings of the utopian project
  • 26:40 – What do philosophers bring to the study of utopia?
  • 30:40 – Why is space exploration associated with utopianism?
  • 39:20 – Kant’s Perpetual Peace vs the Final Frontier
  • 47:09 – Suits’s Utopia of Games: What is a game?
  • 53:16 – Is game-playing the highest ideal of human existence?
  • 1:01:15 – What kinds of games will Suits’s utopians play?
  • 1:14:41 – Is a post-instrumentalist society really intelligible?

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    Relevant Links
    • Christopher Yorke’s Academia.edu page
    • ‘Prospects for Utopia in Space’ by Christopher Yorke
    • ‘Endless Summer: What kinds of games will Suits’s Utopians Play?’ by Christopher Yorke
    • ‘The Final Frontier: Space Exploration as Utopia Project‘ by John Danaher
    • ‘The Utopia of Games: Intelligible or Unintelligible‘ by John Danaher
    • Other posts on utopianism and the good life
    • The Grasshopper by Bernard Suits
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