Summer Subscription Drive
With group discounts
I was delighted that Good Thoughts passed 5,000 (mostly free) subscribers a few months ago: that’s at least 4,800 more people interested in moral philosophy than I was expecting! (And it continues to grow at ~100 new subscribers each month, with no sign of a cap as yet.) Huge thanks to everyone who follows my work, especially the regular commenters and those who share my posts with broader audiences. It’s extremely rewarding, as an academic, to feel like some of my ideas are actually getting some “uptake” and helping others to think clearly about important topics.
About a year ago I introduced a paid subscription option. Besides the bonus income, I’ve appreciated having the option to limit the reach of certain posts—e.g. my frank opinion of the Wenar-MacAskill Philosophical Cagefight, or thoughts on ideological capture in academia—to a non-public audience. But that audience is currently very small (<1% of my total subscriber base), so I’d like to try to grow it a bit further (without abandoning my commitment to sharing most of my posts—and all of the most important ones—free and open access).1
To that end:
I’ve boosted the group discount to 40% off, so if you co-ordinate with a couple of friends (the more, the merrier!), you can all get annual subscriptions together for under $50 each.
As a vibe boost, note that I will be donating 50% of my Substack income to charity this year (rather than the usual 10%). So more subscriptions → more good done, not just good thoughts!
Concrete benefits to paid subscribers include:
Full access to paywalled bonus posts like There’s No Moral Objection to AI Art and The Best of All Possible Multiverses; and
Ability to create new threads in the GoodThoughts subscriber chat.
P.S. Just for fun…
It didn’t seem worth a separate post, but I can slip it in here… The Curse of Deontology (specifically the quiet version) now has its own theme song!
The Curse of (Quiet) Deontology
There’s a devil in the details of the rules I’ve come to know
Five will die unless I kill, but I can’t strike that blow
No I can’t push, these hands stay clean, my conscience must be pure
Even though five families weep, my principles endure
But here’s the thing that haunts my dreams
Nothing’s quite the way it seems
If all follow what I preach
Paradise stays out of reach
[Chorus]
Don’t follow me, don’t heed my creed
I’m bound by chains while others bleed
What’s right for me leaves nothing fixed
My hands stay clean; while you do what we need
[Verse]
At the voting booth I’m frozen, should I mark the ballot down?
The policy saves thousands, but breaks the rules I’ve found
I realize I’m hoping that the others vote it through
While I abstain to keep my soul — what is a man to do?
[Bridge]
By doing what I say is right, the world would be much worse
That’s how I know this moral code is nothing but a curse
I want you to save the five, I want the good to win
But I’m trapped inside a rulebook, that’s the paradox I’m in
[Chorus]
Don’t follow me, don’t heed my creed
I’m bound by chains while others bleed
What’s right for me leaves nothing fixed
My hands stay clean; while you do what we need
[Verse]
I wander through this world, a prophet no one should believe
Teaching ethics that I hope the world will never quite receive
Every student that ignores me is a victory in disguise
The best disciples of my doctrine are the ones who close their eyes
So here’s my blessing and my curse to you
Forget the words I say, do what I’d never do
I’m the lighthouse warning ships to stay at sea
While knowing that the harbor’s where they need to be
[Chorus]
Don’t follow me, don’t heed my creed
I’m bound by chains while others bleed
What’s right for me leaves nothing fixed
My hands stay clean; while you do what we need
[Outro]
I’m the saint who prays for sinners
They’re the ones who’ll save your life
The curse of my moral code:
It surrenders to the strife
I hope you’ll put my rules to flame
I know you wish I’d do the same
This paradox suggests a game:
Let’s each agree to choose the good
Free each other from these chains
Find the truth in what remains
(the truth in what remains)
I don’t know how much traffic is driven by Substack’s “bestsellers in philosophy” internal leaderboards, but it would be nice if it also helped to expand my general readership.