Click through for full sized version, and to see the red-button caption. via Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. I often wish I could draw comics. You can say a lot in a brief and humorous cartoon. I think one of the dangers we always have to be on guard against is the trap of thinking that we know … Continue reading The danger of thinking we know best
Tag: Philosophy
Stephen West and Massimo Pigliucci discuss David Hume
Stephen West, on his Philosophize This! podcast, interviews Massimo Pigliucci on David Hume. This was a big win for me. Two of my favorite podcasters discussing one of my favorite historical philosophers! It provides some good insights into Hume's skeptical and empirical philosophy. One of the questions Stephen asks Massimo is what he thinks Hume's … Continue reading Stephen West and Massimo Pigliucci discuss David Hume
xkcd: Squirrel Plan
I have to say that this is along the lines of what I think about when people confidently assert the existence of the multiverse, their favorite interpretation of quantum physics, or any other metaphysical assertion. via xkcd: Squirrel Plan.
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.
A dialogue on compatibilism
Click through for the full version. see the rest at: A Dialogue on Compatibilism - Existential Comics. This edition of Existential Comics manages to summarize most of the free will debate. I especially like the discussion on libertarian free will on the second page. As a compatibilist myself, I've often said that libertarian free will is … Continue reading A dialogue on compatibilism
SMBC: Apologies by discipline
Click through for full sized version. via Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. STRICT REDUCTIONIST: Anyway, apologies are an evolutionary survival mechanism and therefore just an illusion.
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
What is life? What is death?
This is a pretty cool video showing the illusory distinction between life and non-life. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOCaacO8wus via Sean Carroll
SelfAwarePatterns 