Philosophy
Posted by Andrew Dilks on January 28, 2013 “What is the meaning of human life, or of organic life altogether? To answer this question at all implies a religion.
The Untold Genius of Einstein
Marek Kohn – Us and them
We come into the world with open minds, ready to tune in to whatever language or culture surrounds us.
(Photo by Zorin Denu ) Fantasists and zealots can be found on both sides of the debate over guns in America.
The Riddle of the Gun
The Meaning of Life
First published Tue May 15, 2007 Many major historical figures in philosophy have provided an answer to the question of what, if anything, makes life meaningful, although they typically have not put it in these terms. Consider, for instance, Aristotle on the human function, Aquinas on the beatific vision, and Kant on the highest good. While these concepts have some bearing on happiness and morality, they are straightforwardly construed as accounts of which final ends a person ought to realize in order to have a significant existence. Despite the venerable pedigree, it is only in the last 50 years or so that something approaching a distinct field on the meaning of life has been established in analytic philosophy, and it is only in the last 25 years that debate with real depth has appeared.The Stone is a forum for contemporary philosophers on issues both timely and timeless. The Stone is featuring occasional posts by Gary Gutting, a professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, that apply critical thinking to information and events that have appeared in the news. Could science prove that we don’t have free will? An article in Nature reports on recent experiments suggesting that our choices are not free. “We feel that we choose,” says the neuroscientist John-Dylan Haynes, “but we don’t.” The experiments show that, prior to the moment of conscious choice, there are correlated brain events that allow scientists to predict, with 60 to 80 percent probability, what the choice will be.
Science and Free Will
Time
Time is what clocks measure. The three key features of time are that it orders events in the sense of placing events in sequence one after the other; it specifies how long any event lasts; and it specifies when events occur. Yet despite 2,500 years of investigating time, many issues about it are unresolved.
Scientific proof of god's non-existence
There were a couple of interesting (anonymous) comments in response to my post on what constitute rational and irrational beliefs .
Mark Rowlands - Animal morality
When I became a father for the first time, at the ripe old age of 44, various historical contingencies saw to it that my nascent son would be sharing his home with two senescent canines.
Debunking an urban legend: "Evil is a lack of something" | The Rational Response Squad
Thanks to Martin at http://www.blogicandreason.blogspot.com/ for reformulating an argument of mine that I've given in the past. I'll use his reformulation: Now for the story:
Posted by Ted Heistman on October 8, 2012 Alexis de Tocqueville Public Domain Alexis de Tocqueville was amazingly observant and had an outsider perspective of American democracy.
The Prescience of Tocqueville
Could a Computer Ever be Conscious
Could a Computer Ever be Conscious? Steven Pinker Steven Pinker is Professor and Director of the Center for CognitiveDavid Deutsch – On Artificial Intelligence
It is uncontroversial that the human brain has capabilities that are, in some respects, far superior to those of all other known objects in the cosmos.Philosophy is a subject everyone practices, even if they do not always realize or admit to it. No matter its level of understanding, it drives everyday discourse and leads to mental, psychological, technological, and even biological evolution. Many in academia embrace the fact that their knowledge and perspectives ought to be shared with the entire world rather than kept within a small, insular community. The internet provides a wonderful opportunity for them to break down the barriers of elitism and enrich the public with their groundbreaking ideas, spreading innovation, intelligence, and intuition like a virus. In the following lectures – all of them inspired by a diverse background of subjects and experiences, including psychology, sociology, technology, healthcare, and even the culinary – anyone who pines for knowledge and understanding beyond the four walls of a classroom are freely given insightful material to help them begin forging their own personal philosophies. 1.