Why are most Asian societies having a hard time justifying liberalism? — In the past few decades, many Asian societies are fighting their own government against allegedly tyranny and suppression against individual liberty. Most involve the fight for a version of the First Amendment. Most demanded some form of freedom of speech and expression. Hong Kong made headlines in 2019 in its…

On money, debt, violence, and trust — One of the things that always boggles me is why we follow certain laws and norms of society. For instance, when we dine out, we could always walk straight out of the restaurant, hoping none of the staff notices that we haven’t paid our bills. If by the slim chance…

On “prosumption,” unpaid, and gift labour I hate “group projects.” Most of it comes from my lack of patience and tolerance of people’s “working habits” — even though several whom I’ve worked with clearly didn’t even have one. Another reason why I don’t like it is that the teacher, instructor…

More on structural inequalities, the commodification of higher education, and transactional ethics — Tomorrow marks the end of the UCU industrial action here in the UK. The story, according to my sociology professor, is “complex.” So, I’ll try my best to sum it up. Educators and staff of higher education aren’t pleased with how they’re paid, so they decided to go on strike…

On the moral duties towards the unvaccinated, or the lack thereof — Let’s imagine: Two people infected with covid-19 are competing for the last spot in the intensive care unit. We can’t be sure if either of them would survive without intensive care. One of them is fully vaccinated. Though fully capable of being vaccinated, the other decided not to (one could…

On moral discrepancy and the fear of the violence — Tell me if this sounds familiar: You’re driving down the fast lane on an expressway. It doesn’t take long for you to reach another vehicle driving at the same speed as the vehicles on the left. …

On epistemic injustice and moral sanctuary — Carlson is an avid chess player. Some might call him a prodigy. He plays each of his games with remarkable sharpness and creativity. His opponents are often baffled by his unorthodox moves. But Carlson has a weird playstyle. When he’s playing as black, he never castles. As such, he has…

A philosopher’s take on the universal pursuit of happiness, and why, perhaps, it’s humanity’s most important goal. — It’s quite audacious for anyone to say that happiness should be humanity’s most important pursuit. Obviously, not everyone does things just to make themselves feel happy. Clearly, we suffer, and we find meaning in that suffering. And surely, we’ve been warned so many times about the suffering one experiences on…

The problem with escapism and the death of imagination — Imagine yourself finishing up a day’s work after dinner. It’s 9 pm, and you’re mentally drained. In your mid-20’s, you manage a part-time job while juggling schoolwork. Your life is terribly thrown off balance. You lack a healthy social life and are still single, desperately craving an intimate and genuine…