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Author: manwithoutqualities
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Penrose + Rogan
I highly recommend Penrose’s classic The Emperor’s New Mind and the follow-up Shadows of the Mind: A Search for the Missing Science of Consciousness. I had the pleasure of meeting Penrose via an Imperial-based collaborator/chum of mine at an Imperial College lecture soon after the release of TENM. It’s quite extraordinary that Rogan as the proverbial geezer on…
Who the Fuck is Frank Zappa?
Born on this day — the radical individualist that was FZ. Look out for the forthcoming Who the Fuck is Frank Zappa? movie and also The Bizarre World Of Frank Zappa hologram tour. Also well-worth a read is Barry Miles’ excellent biography reviewed by the redoubtable Camille Paglia in the NYT. Barry MilesCamille PagliaConservatismcultural criticismFrank Zappafree speechLibertarianismmusic
Hayek’s Speculative Psychology, The Neuroscience of value Estimation, and the Basis of Normative Individualism
Don Ross’ chapter. ConnectionismDon RossFriedrich HayekHayek in MindIndividualismphilosophical psychologyPhilosophy of mindSensory Order
John Kennedy Toole
Born on this day. Toole’s life and times is brilliantly set out in this bio on which a forthcoming bio-pic is being based. I also have an edited volume in the works dealing with several aspects of the novel and that should be published next summer or autumn. Butterfly in the TypewriterConfederacy of DuncesCory MacLauchlinhumourJohn Kennedy…
George Santayana
Born on this day: here are his SEP and IEP entries. Oddly enough neither lists Noël O’Sullivan’s nice little book, an overview by Max Teichmann here. “Catholic freethinker” was the playful label Bertrand Russell affixed to George Santayana, and a back-handed tribute to the readiness of the Spanish-American to examine, respectfully, many other systems of thought…
Hayek, Connectionism, and Scientific Naturalism
The very excellent Josh Rust won the publisher’s prize for his chapter. computationalismConnectionismFriedrich HayekHayek in MindJerry FodorJohn Searlejoshua rustnaturalismphilosophical psychologyPhilosophy of mindthe sensory orderzenon pylyshyn
Islam And The Future Of Tolerance: Now Available
On general release today. islamMaajid Nawazpolitics and religionregressive leftsam harris
Oakeshott: born on this day
For those who’ve never read that most subtle, cultivated, humane and refined of minds Michael Oakeshott’s concerns resonate as deeply as ever. For the novice, I’d recommend his mid-career Rationalism in Politics, a most elegant collection of essays. A more difficult, but for me the vital underpinning cutting across all his work, is his equally elegant and…
The Psychology of Chess
Fernand Gobet has a new book out that, as a (very rusty) chess player, has piqued my interest. As a cognitive scientist and a highly skilled player himself, there are few (if any) better placed than Fernand to write on this topic. Visitors to this site might recall Fernand’s excellent essay on Herb Simon. Here is…
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