This in Synthese freely available here. We introduce the Ant Colony Test (ACT) as a rigorous reverse test for consciousness. We show that social insect colonies, though disaggregated collectives, fulfill many of the prerequisites for conscious awareness met by humans and honey bee workers. However only a small fraction of neurons in the brain might be…
Here is my review in the Southern Literary Review of Jessica Hooten Wilson’s excellent two books (the original and my preferred version is here): Walker Percy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and the Search for Influence. The Ohio State University Press, 2017 Reading Walker Percy’s Novels. Louisiana State University Press, 2018 aestheticsCatholicismDostoyevskyjessica hooten wilsonphilosophical literatureWalker Percy
Born on this day — a true gentleman in every sense. If ever Wiggins was miffed that I preferred to talk to him about his metaphysics rather than his ethics, he never let on. Sameness and Substance Renewed (2001) and its two precursors, 1967’s Identity and Spatio-Temporal Continuity and 1980’s Sameness and Substance, jointly remain one of my favourite reads. See discussion of…
The producers have released some clips via their Kickstarter page also published here on YouTube. Ali RizviAyaan Hirsi AliislamMaajid Nawazregressive leftsam harris
In “The Victim of Thought: The Idealist Inheritance,” David Boucher examines the relationship of this theory of knowledge or experience to philosophical—and especially British—idealism. He makes two fundamental points about this relationship. First, he argues that although idealism was on the wane in Britain the 1920s and 1930s, Oakeshott’s brand of idealism was hardly as…
Just published. Hopefully this will be a cracking and informative read. Surprisingly, it’s published by a university press. aestheticsAlessandro De RosachessEnnio Morriconefilmmusic
Open access article. complexitycomputational intelligencedistributed knowledgeSelf-organizationsocial epistemologyspontaneous ordersStigmergy
Released today. OffBeat interview. Branford MarsalisJazznew orleanssaxophone
Coming soon to C+T Conservatismcosmos & taxisLiberalismPolitical philosophyRoger Scruton
What about his private, intimate life? This brings us to the first essay in this volume, Robert Grant’s “The Pursuit of Intimacy, or Rationalism in Love.” As the title suggests, this essay is concerned with Oakeshott’s love life, which he considered to be not merely peripheral but in many ways the main business of his…
manwithoutqualities 