Staying with the literature theme of a few days ago and earlier today, here is another write up on Jonathan Gottschall’s new book and an article by JG himself here and a related review article of another book by John Gray here.
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Physicists vs Philosophers
Good article from Adam Frank:
At stake is a critical question living deep inside the heart of modern foundational physics: What are the limits of science?
David Albert was having none of it. As he correctly points out: Where do the fields come from? Better yet: Where do the laws of quantum mechanics come from? These are clearly meaningful questions even if, perhaps, they fall outside the domains of physics.
Atheism and God: Review of de Botton and Scruton
Here’s a review of Alain de Botton’s and Roger Scruton’s latest book, the most recent entries into what has become a thriving publishing niche. The reviewer is rather scathing of de Botton:
He is an aggregator of ideas rather than an original thinker, but his skill is to write simply about complex ideas and he gives his fans the sensation of reading something profound with little effort.
This has resonance with the entry for Scruton in The Philosophical Lexicon:
scrutonize, v. “To conflate two disciplines at a superficial level so that dinner party conversations could continue in the spurious belief that matters of moment were being discussed while the port was passed.” – David Dunster, Architectural Design, December 1979, p. 327.
The latter is thoroughly unfair; the former (assuming it’s a fair assessment – I haven’t read de Botton) is hardly unique – there are many such “aggregators” around.
Plantinga and Noë on the science vs religion debate
Noë reviews Plantinga’s latest book.
from a naturalistic point of view, we have every reason to doubt that our cognitive faculties are reliable. Therefore we can’t seriously believe naturalism. For to believe it would be to have grounds for doubting the reliability of our own inclinations to believe it.
The Essence of Christianity
Scanning my bookshelf I chanced upon Feuerbach‘s The Essence of Christianity. Though hardly a Marxist nor indeed much of a Hegelian, I do recall that the book had an immense effect upon me (25 years ago) – and of course, translated for the Anglophonic world by none other than George Eliot – that alone impressed me. I made a point of finding her grave at Highgate on my trip to London earlier this year. I’m not sure what I’d make of the book now, but I recall that it certainly carried a heavy punch.
Christianity and the Extended-Mind Thesis
Here is a paper by Lynne Rudder Baker entitled “Christianity and the Extended-Mind Thesis” continuing the theme of extended mind and religion she wrote on for a symposium I put together a few years back – see the journal Zygon.
Oakeshott Conference: Tulsa 2011
Religion, Politics and the Future of Liberal Education:
The Tenth Anniversary Meeting of the
Michael Oakeshott Association, 2001-2011
UNIVERSITY OF TULSA
OCTOBER 13-16, 2011
2011 marks the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Michael Oakeshott Association, a group established to encourage the critical study of one of the twentieth century’s most important political philosophers. Previous conferences have taken place at the London School of Economics, Colorado College, the University of Jena in Germany, and Baylor University.
The University of Tulsa will host the Association’s meetings this year. The focus of the conference will be Oakeshott’s understanding of liberal education and the contemporary university. Also central will be the possible relationships between university education, politics and religion. Potential authors should strive both to engage Oakeshott’s work on its own terms and to locate it in broader discussions about education, religion and politics. Papers that compare Oakeshott to other relevant thinkers are encouraged.
Abstracts, no more than 500 words, should be sent by April 15, 2011 to Elizabeth_Corey@baylor.edu. Abstracts should also include: title of paper, full name(s), affiliation, current position, and an email address.
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Big Thinkers: Dennett
Here is a programme featuring Dennett that I hadn’t heretofore come across. Glad to see Dennett as busy and pugnacious as ever after his health scare a while back which he amusingly talks about here. Speaking of health, here is Dennett on Christopher Hitchens.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
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Mystery and Evidence
Philosopher of mind, Tim Crane, on religion and evidence in The New York Times.
For what it’s worth I have repeatedly said that epistemologically speaking, the concept of God does not achieve enough clarity and distinctness to be discussable. When we cite the divine attributes—omniscience, omnipotence, and so on—I do not think we have the least purchase on these ideas, which generate antinomies almost immediately.
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Of the External Senses
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Why we still need a mark of the cognitive
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Steps to a “Properly Embodied” Cognitive Science
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Intersubjectivity and Objectivity in Adam Smith and Edmund Husserl
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Epistemological Problems of Privacy and Secrecy
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Science, the Market and Iterative Knowledge
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The Goldilocks problem and extended cognition
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Is external memory memory? Biological memory and extended mind
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Brain (call) box
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A liberal arts education
