Much has been made about Anthony Flew’s “conversion” from atheism to deism. An article in The Atlantic suggests that all might not be quite as it seems. I’m not in a position to adjudicate, but something is a bit off. (On a personal note, Flew has been a responsive and charming correspondent and an early supporter (a charter member) of the…
Motivated by a brief paragraph posted by Colin McGinn, I offer the following thoughts. Mill’s Utilitarianism in Focus (1) Utilitarianism contains two essential components: (a) an axiology, i.e. a theory of intrinsic value (a theory of what we’re to take as good in itself or good for its own sake, and (b) a consequentialist ethical theory. The two…
Steve Pyke, a NY-based photographer, has put together an impressive portfolio of philosopher’s portraits. The style is very direct with most of his subjects staring, glaring, snarling or even avoiding the camera. Section I 1988-1992 Section II 2001-2006
Robert Stickgold from the Center for Sleep and Cognition at the Harvard Medical School here lecturing on sleep, memory consolidation, sleep deprivation, and other relevant disorders from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience (80 minutes). To view click here.
Blaise Cronin’s comments that the term social epistemology has provenance going back to the 1950s library science is absolutely correct. The point that needs to be made, however, is that this “in vogue” term does not denote a unified tradition. Given the rather amorphous and diffuse nature of social epistemology its domain, approach, structure and value are highly…
A copy of my review of Andy Clark’s Natural-Born Cyborgs is now available through MindPapers.
My recent co-authored paper now available to download through MindPapers. The abstract: To know is to cognize, to cognize is to be a culturally bounded, rationality-bounded and environmentally located agent. Knowledge and cognition are thus dual aspects of human sociality. If social epistemology has the formation, acquisition, mediation, transmission and dissemination of knowledge in complex…
A journalistic take on what is essentially active externalism or the thesis of the extended mind. David Brooks (yes, THAT David Brooks) implicitly refers to notions of collaborative filtering, swarming, stigmergy, and even memetics. Of course, one suspects that Brooks has only the slighest conceptual inkling of what’s going on. Notions of the extended mind enjoy currency both in academic and popular literature: the ‘‘global…
Once again as part of its fundraising effort, the Michale Oakeshott Association is holding a raffle in support of its forthcoming conference in Jena. And once again, Imprint Academic, has put up the bulk of the prize – their full holding of Oakeshottiana which this year will include Oakeshott’s eagerly awaited The Concept of a Philosophical…
The best online mind resource just got better. Dave Chalmers, in association with David Bourget, have just launched an upgraded version called MindPapers. The announcement from Chalmers. If ever there was a project that meets the needs of a community, it is this. Chalmers has done us an immense service.
manwithoutqualities 