Lisa Bortolotti

It is so exciting that the very first Philosophy Museum in the world, in Milan, is hosting a new exhibition on fake news, conspiracy theories, and misinformation . I am grateful to Anna Ichino, Paolo Spinicci and Clotilde Calabi for curating this timely exhibition and inviting me to be part of it. Poster of the exhibition The exhibition will run from 5th to 22nd February 2024, and the space will be reserved to schools in the mornings and open to the public in the afternoon, free for all. It will explore the philosophy of misinformation, inviting visitors to play interactive games, watch animated videos, and reflect on what goes on in the mind of a conspiracy theorist. There will be several events accompanying the exhibition, including a debate on whether conspiracy theories are pathological with psychiatrist Lingiardi and myself on 12th February. Poster of the debate I feel privileged to have collaborated with Anna Ichino (University of Milan) and Kathleen Murphy-Hollis (Universit...

This year, World Philosophy Day was for me an opportunity to bring to young people some philosophical reflections on how we make decisions, arrive at explanations, and interact with each other in challenging contexts. In the morning I visited a primary school and talked to year 5 and 6 students about how we seek an explanation when something unexpected happens. We started by considering some definitions of philosophy and accounts of the value of philosophy ("What is philosophy for?") and then we watch two brief videos together.  The Ant and the Grasshopper  is about how we tend to blame others (especially people and institutions we don't like) when we find ourselves in a crisis; and The Fox and the Owl  is about how we often prefer to arrive at the solution of a problem by ourselves, without consulting with other people, even when they may have relevant knowledge to share. In the discussion after watching the videos, children recognised in the various animal characters di...