Measuring Trust

With a ruler?

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I’m a philosopher. Alongside, ‘what’s the sound of one hand clapping?’, one of the meme-like responses I get from people when they find out what I do, is to suggest that much of what I do is ask ‘yes, but what do you mean when you say…’

You can add any word you like to the end of that sentence.

With some justification there is a perception that what philosophers do is carefully try to understand the meaning of certain words, getting endlessly and needlessly more precise.

Truth, knowledge, justice, fairness: philosophers have written thousands and thousands of words on what these concepts really are — what those words really mean.

So, yes, I can take the joke. We do ask ‘what do you mean by’ quite a bit.

But we don’t do it mindlessly or aimlessly. There is purpose! There is method in our madness. The point of this part of philosophical enquiry — and it is only a part — is to try to get clear on what words mean so that we can use them well and navigate the world around us in an effective manner.

Now as someone who works on the philosophy of trust, I’ve spent years trying to understand what it is, how it functions, and why it matters — especially in our digital, AI-mediated world. If you want to hear me talk about that, rather than just…