Readers are in for quite a few surprises in this issue’s reviews. A couple looking for a three-way relationship might select a guy robot as the addition, not a girl robot. That’s not what we’re expecting if we’ve seen the movie Her, watched the TV show Humans, or paid attention to the growing market for sex robots, but Ian McEwan creates that twist in his new novel Machines Like Us, reviewed by Carrie Jenkins. “Machines like us” is also the theme of Living with Robots, a new book on social robots and the mind – it’s reviewed by Alexis Elder.
In contrast with the standard story, Kant wasn’t actually an enemy of animals. So says Christine Korsgaard in Fellow Creatures, reviewed by Nathan Nobis. And in another departure from received opinion, Simone de Beauvoir wasn’t a non-consenting victim of Jean Paul Sartre’s incessant infidelities. Kate Kirkpatrick’s new biography of the beloved philosopher is reviewed by Jamie Lombardi.
You’ll be surprised to read that Aristotle can shed light on the end of the wildly popular TV series Game of Thrones, according to Eva Dadlez. And last but not least, you’ll be surprised to read that the fluffy but uplifting new movie Yesterday is not just good summer fun, but philosophically vexing.
Not as surprised as we predict? We still think you’ll especially enjoy this set of reviews.
