Last updated: July 2025

I think philosophy has an essential public component, exemplified by Socrates’ marketplace interactions. I also think there are moral and nonmoral reasons to engage, and as such I’ve tried to engage as best I can with my surroundings. Below are some of my activities in Beirut and elsewhere:

How can we be good allies as bystanders during war? I wrote this piece for the Blog of the APA in response to the many wars of 2023-24. Its aim is to help push forward a pacifist viewpoint. Though pacifism faces many challenges, my unfortunately many experiences living through war convince me that pacifism is the position we should accept. I hope to work on a more complete defense in the future.

The 2020 Beirut Explosions: I lived through the Beirut explosions, experiencing the blast from roughly 3 kilometers/ 2 miles away. It was still incredibly destructive, and I was unsure whether or not our building would collapse. Luckily I was unharmed, though many I know were not so lucky. There are many reasons to be both deeply sad and angry about what happened, locally and with the international response. I documented the events of the following days in various ways, including VR videos, an animation, and an interactive VR experience. Below is a short video of my VR experience, which was also entirely made in VR. You can also play it on a Playstation 4/5 in Dreams here. 

 

The 2019 Lebanese Uprising: The Lebanese uprising was long overdue. I wrote this as it started, and was interviewed on a podcast here. I also gave my first Arabic talk, ‘Life After the Civil War: Psychological & Existential Factors’, to protesters in downtown Beirut, part of an effort to raise the wider population’s awareness:

Partly because of my interest in VR, I also filmed various stereoscopic-180 and 360 videos documenting the protests. The playlist below contains some of these videos, starting with some of the wall art that appeared and disappeared during the uprising.

Religion in Lebanon: Lebanon is largely divided along religious sectarian lines. Though a democracy, political positions are constrained by religious denomination. This was meant as a transitory structure after the civil war but unfortunately remained in place for national and international reasons. This has had a terrible impact on the culture as a whole, but most of all the youths. The below panel was one of several efforts to help students at the Lebanese American University better disentangle religious from political ideas. The panel features myself, an atheist philosopher, a priest, and a sheikh. It was hosted by the philosophy and debate student clubs, and won the award for best club event of 2019. The event is largely in Arabic, but I offer a brief introduction in English, starting at minute 11.

Philosophy for Lebanese and Contemporary Society: Philosophy is not particularly well-understood in culture as a whole, and Lebanon is no exception. The country’s troubled history, an outdated educational system that conflates philosophy and the history of ideas, and the translation of the word ‘philosophy’ to Arabic early on all contribute to misunderstanding philosophy. I’ve given a number of talks on the value of philosophy in Lebanon, and hosted an informal discussion group called ‘Philosophy Cafe’ for students and recent graduates. Below is a TEDx talk, using a modern metaphor for philosophy’s place in culture.

 

Edinburgh stand-up philosophy: I somehow managed to remain serious sandwiched between two philosophical comedians at an event called Stand-Up Philosophy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. Scotland remains one of my favorite countries, so I was happy to offer something back. Below is one of the talks: