Civilised Futurism
A case for modernity with manners: embracing progress without discarding beauty, tradition, ceremony, or human character.
Philosophy
Thoughts on what we should preserve, what we should change, and what sort of future is worth building. I am interested in the principles behind how we design our lives, institutions, and surroundings: what we should preserve, what we should change, what happens when principles are forgotten or disappear, and what sort of future is worth building. Some of these essays are shaped by my own philosophy of Civilised Futurism: enthusiasm for technological and social progress while rejecting the idea that progress requires us to abandon continuity, beauty, dignity, ceremony, craftsmanship, and good manners. Others explore adjacent thoughts on values, aesthetics, institutions, and life.