Author: mcherry

My Latest Piece: Drug Abuse and our Biased Compassion

Here is my latest piece at Huffington Post, “Drug Abuse and our Biased Compassion.” Visit here to take a read and please join the conversation on the site. Below is an excerpt. I am not arguing that we should treat rich white men and their drug problems like we inhumanely treat the poor and people […]

Oppressed Majority: (clever short film on sexism)

    On what seems to be just another ordinary day, a man is exposed to sexism and sexual violence in a society ruled by women… (10 minutes) With Pierre Benezit, Marie-Lorna Vaconsin, Marie Favasuli, Céline Menville…    

Oxytocin: The “Moral Molecule”

Yesterday I shared a video of neuroscientist Paul Zak explaining how stories can change our brains and our behavior. In this video, Paul Zak delivers a TED talk where he argues that “oxytocin (he calls it “the moral molecule”) is responsible for trust, empathy and other feelings that help build a stable society.”

Anita Hill Documentary Trailer

Against a backdrop of sex, politics, and race, ANITA reveals the intimate story of a woman who spoke truth to power. Directed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Freida Mock, the film is both a celebration of Anita Hill’s legacy and a rare glimpse into her private life with friends and family, many of whom were by […]

How stories can change our brains & behavior

I am so intrigued by empathy as well as neuroscience. In this video, neuroeconomics pioneer Paul Zak, with the help of editor & director Kirby Ferguson and animator  Henrique Barone, takes us inside his lab, where he studies how people respond to stories. What he found was: “Stories are powerful because they transport us into […]

Jesse Prinz on How Atheists Can be Spiritual

“When you stand before an art work, you lose yourself to something great but you also become greater because you feel this sense of connection to other people, to other aesthetic traditions, to beauty….”–Jesse Prinz (Philosopher, CUNY Graduate Center) Awakening the Journey with Jesse Prinz from Mel M on Vimeo.

Character as Moral Fiction

Moral psychologist and Experimental Philosopher, Mark Alfano released a book a few months ago called Character as Moral Fiction. I enjoy reading interesting moral psychology and ethical stuff so I find his work fascinating. Here’s a summary of his book: Everyone wants to be virtuous, but recent psychological investigations suggest that this may not be […]

Jennifer Saul and Implicit Bias

On Philosophy Bites, philosopher Jennifer Saul, discusses the range of ways in which we are prone to implicit bias and the philosophical implications of these biases. Jennifer Saul is the executive director of the implicit bias project. To find out more about implicit bias, visit biasproject.org.  Awesome resources there. Take a LISTEN to her interview about […]

The Afterlife according to Christopher Hitchens (animated version)

The afterlife. The concept is wrapped in the idea of our immortality and the strength to confront death. For Christopher Hitchens the concept of the afterlife doesn’t sound too comforting. For one, it is as if we have to leave an amazing party that is already taken place. That doesn’t sound too good. On the […]

In My Classroom… End of the Semester Class Pictures

At the end of each semester, I like to take a class photo of my students in order to remember our experience together. Some students hate it but at least I have a visual memory 🙂 So here are my philosophy students from fall 2013. philosophy 103 Philosophy 61 Philosophy 231 9:25 Philosophy 231 10:50 […]

Empathy vs Sympathy

Here is a wonderful video animation about the difference between empathy and sympathy by Dr. Brene Brown.

Paper Presentation at SSAP

For the last three years, the Society for the Study of Africana Philosophy has been an intimate space for me to grow intellectually and get academic support from black philosophers I respect. So many people have been apart of the group such as Cornel West and Howard McGary. Ive sat there and listened to the […]

Gender, Sexuality, & Hip-Hop Conference (A look Back)

Words can not explain the wonderful and inspiring time I had at the Gender, Sexuality, and Hip Hop conference at Tulane University last weekend. I learned so much and met some awesome people. You can read the paper I presented here entitled, “Nicki Minaj and the Permissibility of Feminine Bisexuality in Homophobic Hiphop”, as well […]

My Students and I Meet Michelle Obama

This week my students and I were invited to BET studios to be a part of the studio audience of a live show dedicated to Michelle Obama. Her main focus was on explaining her 2020 Education Initiative as well as to talk about her own life and use it as a motivation for youth. It […]

Philosopher’s Cocoon Conference (Report)

A few weeks ago I presented at the first annual Philosopher’s Cocoon philosophy conference at the University of Tampa. Philosopher’s Cocoon is a community that seeks to help, assist, and support young career philosophers. I had the opportunity to meet some interesting people. It was fun and intimate and I was able to receive some […]

In My Classroom…

In my intro philosophy course our theme has been “Justice” this semester. My students just finished Nancy Hirschmann’s “Subject of Liberty” where she argues how the negative and positive liberty of women are restricted and infringed upon in cases of rape, domestic violence, and welfare. It has been an enlightening experience for me as a […]

Riverside Church 40th Year of Fighting for the Incarcerated

This past weekend, Riverside church celebrated 40 years of fighting for and with prisoners and those formerly incarcerated. I took a few of my students to their Friday event where actor Hill Harper (who has a new book called “Letters to an Incarcerated Brother”) and Rapper, Prodigy spoke. You can check out a video stream […]

My New Article: Why Women Are Not Taken Seriously In Sports Conversations

I have a new article up on HuffPost called “Why Women are Not Taken Seriously In Sports Conversations”. To answer the question, I rely on Miranda Fricker’s concept of “epistemic injustice” and also offer up some solutions to end this type of bias treatment. You can view the full article here. Thanks to FeministPhilosophers.com for […]

Weekend Criminal Justice Conference Review

This past weekend, I attended two criminal justice conferences. One was at York college, sponsored by the Black Male Initiative. There I attended my good brother, Paul Butler’s brilliant lecture on “A hip-hop theory of justice” as well as a session on reentry. The next day I attended the “Challenging Punishment” conference at Columbia University […]

The Power of Empathy (Video)

Philosopher and author Roman Krznaric explains how we can help drive social change by stepping outside ourselves. It is a wonderful talk on the power of empathy.

The Truth About Dishonesty (Video)

Here in another animated speech, Dan Ariely, one of the world’s leading voices on human motivation and behaviour, talks about cheating. This is a great talk and it may change the way you think about cheating and dishonesty.

The Science of Persuasion (Video)

I love animated speeches. This one here provides scientific explanation on the power of persuasion. It kind of reminds me of the book, “How to win friends and influence people.” Good info to know.

Behind Bars: Life Behind Prison Panel (Pics and Audio)

I had the opportunity to participate on a panel about life in prison recently. The event was sponsored by New America NYC and The Atavist. The panel included: GARY RIVLIN: Investigative Reporting Fellow, The Nation Institute SABINE HEINLEIN: Author, Among Murderers: Life After Prison PIPER KERMAN: Author, Orange is the New Black MYISHA CHERRY: Faculty […]

John Jay Website Faculty Highlight

I was recently highlighted in John Jay College website about a few things Ive done this summer. You can check out the actual article here.

Creating A Summer Seminar in Philosophy

I created a summer seminar in philosophy for adjudicated and formerly incarcerated adults at John Jay College. The experience was amazing and fulfilling. Read more for the syllabus, resources, and lots of pics and videos from the experience.

My articles on Privilege and Sex Scandals

I published two articles in the last few days. There is an article up at Salon.com in which I analyze why privilege is so hard to give up. I also have another one at the Huffpost on the reasons we are obsessed with sex scandals. Check, Check, Check it out.

Philosophy Classes with High School Students

This summer I had the opportunity to teach a critical thinking/ethics course to High school students. For the month of July I taught philosophy everyday to students of Upward Bound at Columbia University. It was fun challenging them, exposing them to philosophy, and hearing their unique voice.

The Different Faces of Rebellion (My New Article)

I have a new article up on the Huffington Post. In it I argue: We should be careful not to dismiss subtle forms of fighting oppression, for they are no less valuable than street fights and mass strikes. Just as there are different types of artists, there are different types of rebels. The sooner we […]

White Rage (My Appearance on HuffPost Live)

I was on HuffPost Live Monday to discuss race, white anger, and white privilege. You can take a peek at the segment below along with Marc Lamont Hill, Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, Joe Walsh, and John Nolte.

106 and Park Trayvon Martin Special Pics

I appeared as a guest on BET 106 and Park Trayvon Martin Special this week. Below are pics. We had an insightful dialogue. Hoping nothing like this happens again and moral & public change soon come.

Paula Deen and Racism: Some Questions

After hearing all the intricacies tied up in the whole Paula Deen Fiasco, my mind didn’t really start thinking about the case deeply until news reported yesterday that the Food Network dropped her. I began to think about some of the same questions Bill Maher raises in the video below. 1. Should one’s livelihood be […]

Separate Church and State: The Hit Song (Video)

There is no doubt in my mind that church and state need to separate. There is good rationale behind it. Plus isn’t it written in our constitution? Well not exactly, argues Garrett Epps in the Atlantic but the idea of separation is in the constitution. At times it seems hypocritical when the phrase is thrown […]

TEXTnology In The Classroom

I had the opportunity to participate and present at the Teaching Technology Institute at Long Island University last week. My presentation was entitled “TEXTnology In The Classroom” and I shared how I use texting to enhance learning in my philosophy courses. I had a blast! (Go to the teaching menu above for ways to make […]