Tag: Philosophy

Students showing up at college understanding the fact value distinction is a good thing.

Justin P. McBrayer, an ethics and philosophy of religion professor, has an opinion piece in the New York Times bemoaning the fact that students are showing up for college not believing that moral rules are facts. What would you say if you found out that our public schools were teaching children that it is not true … Continue reading Students showing up at college understanding the fact value distinction is a good thing. →

Twelve Angry Philosophers – Existential Comics

Click through for full version. continued at Twelve Angry Philosophers - Existential Comics. I think the final panels in the full version represent the end result of most philosophical debates.  Not that we shouldn't have those debates, but we should be conscious of the fact that many philosophical problems have no authoritative answer.  Some, and this … Continue reading Twelve Angry Philosophers – Existential Comics →

Religion, the Axial Age, and theoretic culture

I recently read the late Robert Bellah's 'Religion in Human Evolution: From the Paleolithic to the Axial Age.'  Although the title of the book seems to narrow it to just religion, in ancient societies, religion was just about everything, so the book ended up being about the development of cultures, which isn't too surprising given … Continue reading Religion, the Axial Age, and theoretic culture →

Zombies discussing philosophical zombies

Click through for full sized version, and philosophical explanation if you're not familiar with David Chalmer's and Daniel Dennett's positions on philosophical zombies. Philosophy Humans - Existential Comics. I can't say I've ever been too impressed with the idea of a philosophical zombie.  I could see maybe a zombie existing that behaves identically to a … Continue reading Zombies discussing philosophical zombies →

X-Men: Days of Future Past, and multiple instances of a mind

This weekend, I watched X-Men: Days of Future Past, which I enjoyed.  This post discusses some aspects of that movie, most notably the ending, so if you haven't seen it yet and don't want to be spoiled, you might consider skipping it until later. In the movie, mankind is in a devastating war with the mutants, … Continue reading X-Men: Days of Future Past, and multiple instances of a mind →

The number of senses, free will, and productive reality

Christian Jarrett has an interesting article at BBC Future on the number of senses that we have. The principle of five basic human senses is often traced back to Aristotle’s De Anima (On the Soul), in which he devotes a separate chapter to vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste. Today, the five senses are considered … Continue reading The number of senses, free will, and productive reality →