The free will debate has been going on for millenia and, like most philosophical debates, shows little chance of being settled anytime soon. A significant part of the debate is definitional: what do we mean when we say "free will." We can argue endlessly about what the term should mean, but it turns out that what most … Continue reading Free will persists even if your brain made you do it
Category: Philosophy
The effort at healthy living should be balanced against the fact that we are all mortal.
Ezekiel Emanuel has an interesting article at The Atlantic: Why I Hope to Die at 75 - The Atlantic. Seventy-five. That’s how long I want to live: 75 years. ... I am sure of my position. Doubtless, death is a loss. It deprives us of experiences and milestones, of time spent with our spouse and … Continue reading The effort at healthy living should be balanced against the fact that we are all mortal.
What are your philosophical positions?
Tina at Diotima's Ladder put up a very cool entry: What’s Your Philosophy? | Diotima's Ladder. BLOGGING EVENT! Tell the world. Don’t be shy. Yes, we’re used to piggy-backing off the famous philosophers, and that’s why I came up with this prompt. Those well-versed in philosophy will appreciate a grassroots approach, even those who spend every … Continue reading What are your philosophical positions?
Is logic and mathematics part of science?
Last week was scientism week at Scientia Salon, and I reblogged a post by Coel Hellier on a defense of scientism, mostly by arguing that mathematics was actually part of science. As I indicated in my comment on that reblog, while I agree with Coel that both logic and mathematics have foundations that are empirically … Continue reading Is logic and mathematics part of science?
Why is there something rather than nothing? Why would there be nothing?
Amanda Gefter has an interesting article at Nautilus looking at a somewhat perennial question: How can something come from nothing? The Bridge From Nowhere - Issue 16: Nothingness - Nautilus. In science, explanations are built of cause and effect. But if nothing is truly nothing, it lacks the power to cause. It’s not simply that we … Continue reading Why is there something rather than nothing? Why would there be nothing?
Logic has empirical foundations, sort of.
Massimo Pigliucci has an interesting post at Scientia Salon on philosophical zombies. Massimo looks at David Chalmers's argument for philosophical zombie arguments and, I think, does an excellent job at showing the problems with them. But in the discussion, a distinction is made that I find interesting. Apparently, Chalmers admits that zombies are probably not naturally … Continue reading Logic has empirical foundations, sort of.
Why philosophical conclusions are not reliable knowledge
Following Neil deGrasse Tyson's wholesale dismissal of philosophy, there has been a lot of discussion on the value of philosophy. As I've said repeatedly, I think philosophy has a great deal of value, but some of its defenders are tending to overstate what it can do. I've already written a post on what I see as the … Continue reading Why philosophical conclusions are not reliable knowledge
Neil deGrasse Tyson is wrong to dismiss all of philosophy, but he may have a point on some of it
So, I reblogged Massimo Pigliucci's post responding to Tyson's remarks about philosophy, which appears to have generated some heated discussion. After reading some of it, I realized that I have a few thoughts on this. First, I suspect Tyson's blanket dismissal of philosophy is simply the result of insularity. I've noticed that philosophy's critics tend to be those … Continue reading Neil deGrasse Tyson is wrong to dismiss all of philosophy, but he may have a point on some of it
The fine tuning “problem”
An interesting article byJonathan Borwein and David H. Bailey on why science needs philosophy. When renowned scientists now talk seriously about millions of multiverses, the old question “are we alone?” gets a whole new meaning. Our ever-expanding universe is incomprehensibly large – and its rate of growth is apparently accelerating – but if so it’s … Continue reading The fine tuning “problem”
How do you separate the objective from the subjective?
So, I'm a skeptic, and I've had my share of debates on comment threads with people about purported phenomena without scientific evidence. One of the claims often asserted is that so many people have experienced it, there must be something there. It's not unusual for these debates to get mired in epistemological fights about how … Continue reading How do you separate the objective from the subjective?
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