Right. Cynics say that McConnell was having a bet each way - not voting for impeachment so as not to antagonise the Trump base, but then declaring Tru...
I figured you might. That's why I mentioned Dennett. But it's not specific to him - it's a general observation. I've just learned an interesting phras...
:up: I notice you do explicitly mention 'scientism' in that option. Also I was going to suggest that 'normative' might be a better term than 'prescrip...
‘And then you bring in all these things I hadn’t thought of and writers I haven’t heard about which criticises this view. How condescending! You’re ju...
Anyone else notice that Mitch McConnell's speech, directly after the acquittal, saying that it was undeniable that Trump was responsible for incitemen...
That is simply a paraphrase of: Isn't it? Did I read it wrong? I'm generally critical of the way that biological evolution has become a 'theory of eve...
Obviously you don't understand my criticisms, but I assure you, they are not made in bad faith. In every interchange, I'm making an effort to explain ...
The problem with that, again, is that if the 'biological determines the intellectual', then it undermines the sovereignty of reason. If reason depends...
Parapsychology research does depend on demonstrating odds of greater-than-chance over trials using various mechanisms, like cards with symbols on them...
Meaning what, exactly? There is no single authoritative source or oracle by the name of 'science'. Science is multi-faceted, always evolving. I think ...
'What it means' is that humans can contemplate 'what if....'; they can undertake different courses of action; they can consider the outcome of those c...
Right - but that can only ever amount to either utilitarianism or pragmatism. And 'intellectual' is in a different category. If you're a predator, you...
that's an opinion piece from Tom Toole, the WP's editorial cartoonist. It points out that Clinton had won the popular vote and Trump's overal margin w...
:up: That's an interesting idea. The problem with Darwinism as an ethos, is that there is no inherent purpose other than propogation. Due to the histo...
And once again the political finesse/stinking hypocrisy of McConnell is on full display. Gives a damning speech, more or less fessing up that ‘Trump d...
No obvious warrant, or short-term reward. But Christians will talk in terms of their 'heavenly reward'. There's a rationale behind religion, even if i...
I'm saying, there's a strong presumption of religious belief being unwarranted. So I'm trying to focus on the question, what would warrant it? I suppo...
When I said 'of course it does', I meant 'Heisenberg's discovery of uncertainty tends to undermine the causal determinism that is implied LaPlace's 'd...
The question I raised is, what would be the warrant for religious belief? What makes it different from belief in Russell's orbiting teapot, or the fly...
What does 'evidence' consist of, in this context? You see, typically, we will start with the presumption that the sacred texts of the religious tradit...
Anyway, as predicted, the GOP Senate has clearly demonstrated once again the fact that it's been taken over by Trump, with the notable exception of th...
Agree. Wittgenstein's Forgotten Lesson I agree that Wittgenstein never crossed paths with Buddhism but there are clear parallels. I would characterise...
From my perspective, you don’t understand what I’m talking about, whilst I think I have at least an inkling of your point. In any case, please don’t l...
I know it's a big topic. Before this thread, were you aware of Thomas Nagel and the subjects he writes about? Have you read philosophy of science? Kuh...
Is that so? I didn't realise Descartes was cowed by the thought of upsetting religious authority. But I also fail to see the relevance to the philosop...
Yes, religions often lead to evil, but saying that religion is intrinsically evil, like Dawkins does, is another thing altogether. I think for a lot o...
The point is that in Trumpworld, facts don’t matter. The fact that Trump is obviously guilty has no bearing on the outcome of the trial. Nothing that ...
The fact that the Republicans are likely to acquit is almost more disgusting than Trump’s behaviour. Although I suppose you have to make allowances fo...
Tychism (Greek: ????, lit. 'chance') is a thesis proposed by the American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce that holds that absolute chance, or indet...
I’ve never encountered this reading of history before. The orthodox account is that Cartesian algebraic geometry was a crucial foundation for the ‘new...
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