Nobel prize-winning physicist Albert Einstein was of course deeply interested in (and concerned with) the implications of splitting the atom, viz. nuclear fission. Philosophers on the other hand, not only consider such things, but can also go on to wonder : What about splitting Albert himself? Such a scenario is examined by Dr. Wolfgang Schwarz […]
Tag: philosophy
“Is Death Bad for a Cow?”
Professor Ben Bradley is chair of the Department of Philosophy at Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, US. The professor asks the question “Is Death Bad for a Cow?” In fact he has asked several times – once at West Virginia University, US, in 2007, and again at the University of Reading, UK, in 2008, then at […]
Conceivabilism, inconceivabilism and someone with 200 arms and legs
Sometimes, philosophers like to construct highly exaggerated imaginary scenarios in order to test the validity of theories – conjuring up, for example, human bodies with a pair of spare eyes in their shoulders. Since there’s no very little limit on how exaggerated such propositions might be, some take on outlandish proportions. Such ideas can push […]
20th Nov. Today is World Philosophy Day
To mark the event of World Philosophy Day 2014, Oxford University Press is making available a selection of free downloads of notable philosophical works. May we recommend ‘Just go ahead and lie’ Analysis (2012) 72 (1): 3-9, by Jennifer Saul, who is head of the Philosophy Department at the University of Sheffield. “The view that […]
‘WIILTBA’ (bat! rat! rock!) questions – a partial listing
This month it’s (roughly) the 40th anniversary of the publication of Professor Emeritus Thomas Nagel‘s now-famous philosophical essay entitled : What Is It Like To Be a Bat? ( Philosophical Review, 83, no. 4 ) Since then, a considerable number of other academic writers, researchers and philosophers have paid tribute to professor Nagel’s bat paper […]
Life – the mystery continues
Over the millennia, many have asked themselves (and others) ‘Life – What exactly is it?’ But (definitive) answers came there none. As is confirmed in a 2012 paper by Edouard Machery, who is Associate Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh, US. ‘Why I Stopped Worrying about the Definition of […]
Philosophy? Tedious?
In his Presidential Address at the 53nd [sic] Annual Meeting of the Florida Philosophical Association, professor David McNaughton, of Florida State University, US, revealed that he had been inspired by a 2007 Guardian article by Jonathan Wolff (head of philosophy at University College London) which began: “Why is academic writing so boring?” Professor McNaughton refined […]
Holes in doughnuts – the philosophical implications (part 1)
Achille C. Varzi, who is Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University, New York, is interested in the philosophical implications of holes and voids, prompting a unique investigation into a special subset of hole-bearing entities – namely doughnuts (that’s ‘donuts’ US). “A doughnut always comes with a hole. If you think you can come up with […]
Lying — what is it, truly?
Perhaps it’s not all that widely appreciated that many philosophers have serious problems with lying. For it seems that despite the rampant ubiquity of lying, there isn’t as yet a general agreement amongst philosophers as to exactly what it is. As the authors of a new paper in the journal Philosophical Psychology point out : […]
To Is, and Not To Is
Where is that about On What There Is? There, by Greach. (HT @robertcottrell) BONUS: This is On What There Is BONUS: This is What There Is BONUS: What Is Is BONUS: What Is Is? BONUS: What Is, Is BONUS: What Is Ain’t BONUS: What-not, and ha-ha