It is notable that the so-called “new atheists” never did take on Putnam. Shows how lily-livered they really are, picking on the usual easy targets. Ditto for his critique of scientism. Putnam’s Mind, Language and Reality. Philosophical Papers, vol. 2. remains one of my favorite books. The Guardian obit. Martha Nussbaum on Putnam. EpistemologyethicsfunctionalismHilary PutnamJewish PhilosophymetaphysicsPhilosophy of Languagephilosophy…
Radio discussion on ABC’s The Philosopher’s Zone Self/less— a film currently doing the rounds—entertains the idea of digital immortality. It might be a work of science fiction but what it portrays is gaining serious traction in the real world. A number of philosophers, neuroscientists, and assorted futurists believe that by mid century a safe form…
Below is David Wiggins’ Preface from one of my favourite books. A tough read but well worth the effort. Here also is the Table of Contents and Preamble. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When Sameness and Substance (Blackwell, 1980) went out of print, Cambridge University Press agreed to take over the book. They suggested that the Longer Notes be dropped…
Speaking of physics . . . here is Tim Maudlin on The Nature of Reality blog. EinsteinmathematicsmetaphysicsNatural sciencePhilosophyPhysicsQuantum mechanicsrealityRichard FeynmanStephen HawkingTim Maudlin
Both time-related (metaphysical) songs from pretty much the same period (’72-’73). Thinking about time also brought to mind one of my favorite (or at least at least in the top three) philosophical papers — later picked up by Dummett. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day You fritter and waste the hours…
Speaking of Davidson, here is a two-parter from Stephen Neale (a Davidson expert) on Russell’s seminal paper “On Denoting” published in MIND in 1905 and the ensuing philosophical debate centred around it. “On Denoting” is arguably the most important philosophical paper of the 20th Century, a paper one has to tackle if one is trying to…
I chanced upon this old review of Essays for David Wiggins: Identity, Truth and Value and was pleased to find that others are aware what a treasure this man is, not only in terms of his philosophical writings, but as a person. Speaking of the former, one of my favorite reads of all time is his Sameness and…
My chum Andrew Irvine has a terrific piece “David Armstrong and Australian Materialism” along with a Reader’s Guide in the latest issue of Quadrant. Andrew mentions that Armstrong attended Oakeshott’s History of Political Thought lectures earlier on his career when he had a stint at Birkbeck. I’d forgotten this unlikely connection: Armstrong had mentioned this to…
Things Fall Apart (an aside: the man best known for this phrase). CognitionCognitive neuroscienceconsciousnessethicsmetaphysicsNatural selectionPhilip KitcherPhilosophy of mindPhilosophy of scienceReligionthomas nagelvalue
Another interesting paper by Shaun (OK, I know the image is associated with William’s classic work but I like the image and it’s salient). . CognitionCognitive neuroscienceCognitive scienceExtended MindExternalismmetaphysicspersonal identityphilosophical psychologyPhilosophy of mindShaun Gallagher
manwithoutqualities 