Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy 2026 in Manipal, India

I'm extremely excited to be traveling to Manipal, India for this year's Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy Conference!

Here's what I posted as an update on the Science Fiction and Philosophy Society website:

Society Co-founder Manjula Menon and Society President Ethan Mills will be on a panel, "Remembering Anand Vaidya," at the Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy Annual Conference in Manipal, India, May 19-22, 2026! Manjula will be reading Anand's paper, "The (In)Significanct of Sentience," and Ethan will be presenting a paper, "Robo-Buddhas, Suffering, Moral Standing: A Conversation with Anand Vaidya."

Here's an abstract for my talk:

The late Anand Vaidya (1976-2024) argued that machines can have moral standing in light of his claim that sentience is not a necessary condition for moral standing. After considering his examples of zombies, Vulcans, and robots, I focus on Vaidya’s mention of Buddhism through a deeper analysis of the role of suffering in Buddhist philosophy and whether what Mark Siderits referred to as “Robo-Buddhas” would meet Vaidya’s criteria for moral standing. Could Buddhism’s commitment to healing through ending suffering make sense without phenomenal consciousness? Are consciousness and suffering both ultimately illusory? Might Vaidya’s concept of preferentially-tied computational intelligence explain suffering—a being aims to satisfy their preferences, which fails, and suffering arises? But if the Buddhist path requires eliminating preferences entirely (the very thing that allows for moral standing), are we left with the surprising conclusion that Buddhas lack moral standing? Does the healing promised by the Third Noble Truth require eliminating one’s own moral standing? Is this form of healing worth the price of such radical transformation? Is this a reason to reevaluate Vaidya’s theory, Buddhist philosophy, or both? I sketch some possible answers to these questions; by doing so, I hope to encourage others to continue the philosophical conversations that Vaidya began.

Since I'm flying halfway around the world, I figured I'd do a bit of tourism as well. I'll spend a few days in Delhi before the conference and then head to Kolkata after the conference. I'll also head to Bodh Gaya, where the Buddha became enlightened and where I studied abroad as an undergrad many years ago.

While in Kolkata, I'll be giving a talk at Presidency University: "Rethinking 'Scepticism' with Vandubandhu and Ratnakīri" on Thurs. May 28 at 3:30pm.

I'm a bit less excited about the travel time involved, but I have some good books to keep me busy while I can't sleep on the plan (Machinehood by S. B. Divya, The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson, Selfless Minds by Monima Chadha, and A Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel). I'm excited to see what books I may find in India as well! I even get to stop in Toronto on the way there, which as a huge Kids in the Hall fan makes me happy, and Frankfurt on the way home with just enough time for a pretzel.

Monkey God in Space: Project Hanuman by Stewart Hotston

 

I saw Stewart Hotston's Project Hanuman on the new books shelf at my local library, and it seemed like very much my thing (space opera with elements of Indian mythology, and an author influenced by Iain M. Banks!). I immediately moved it toward the top of my to-read pile.

The science fictional and philosophical ideas are quite Banksian. Sometimes I just need some spacey SF in my life, and this hit the spot. It's not a perfect fit (more on that later), but overall I really enjoyed this! 

April 2026 Review of Reviews

 

Here are some reviews of some things I've read recently: The Hounds of Skaith by Leigh Brackett, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna, The Children of Men by P. D. James, The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling, Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America by Michael Harriot, and The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente.

Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? by Martin Luther King, Jr. was a re-read, but I have not reviewed it on the blog before. I also reread (for at least the tenth time) What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula, which I have reviewed before.

You can also see these and other reviews on my Goodreads.

Random Thoughts, Part 29: I've got 928 thoughts, but not being random ain't one of them

My Random Thoughts series has been running so long I'm starting to worry it's not really random. Oh, well. I did take a few months off from posting them, but that only means I have a few months of thoughts to post. And some memes and other stuff to look at just to keep it all a bit random. And now I've reached the milstone of 928 thoughts! What makes that a milestone? Nothing, really. It's just random. Enjoy!

 

February 2026 Review of Reviews, Part Two

 

At last I am continuing with Part Two of my Review of Reviews for February 2026 (see Part One here). I figured I should post this before February is over. Here are my reviews of Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke, Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett, The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan, How the World Made the West by Josephine Quinn, Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov, A Few Rules for Predicting the Future by Octavia Butler, and Driftglass by Samuel R. Delany.

Iʻm also reading Michael Harriotʻs Black AF History for Black History Month. Iʻm loving it, but alas, Iʻm not quire done, so maybe Iʻll get that in the next batch.

You can find these and other reviews on my Goodreads.

ConNooga 2026!

 

This weekend I'm heading to ConNooga! With the recent end of Chattacon (RIP), ConNooga is now one of the longer running local cons here in Chattanooga, TN. Some of the friends I met at Chattacon are even coming to ConNooga this year. It will be great to introduce them to a different kind of con in Chattanooga.

Last year the ConNooga Deep Thought track made its glorious return (I forgot to do a ConNooga post last year, but here's the 2024 post). This year I'm once again participating in some Deep Thought (I mean, how embarrassing would it be for a philosophy professor and fan of Douglas Adams to not participate in Deep Thought?). 

February 2026 Review of Reviews, Part One

 

I have been reading books over the last several weeks, but I haven't been posting reviews. In my defense, the world is a madhouse of suffering and injustice (but also resistance) and the semester started last month. This all makes me kinda tired. 

Nonetheless, out of my desire to serve you, dear readers, and to close some browser tabs I've had open way too long, I'm going to post a review of reviews in a few (two? three?) parts. We'll see where the month takes me. 

Who knows? Maybe reading books and posting reviews and generally continuing to be a person is still important in these times? 

This time I'm covering Deaths' End by Cixin Liu, Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien, and On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder (Graphic edition with Nora Krug).

If you're into that sort of thing, you can follow me and/or find all these reviews on Goodreads.