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A Phil-for-an-ill Blog
Alexander Prusss
Bhagwad Gita Blog
Bleeding Heart Libertarians
Leiter Reports
Logic Matters
Richard Brown
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Thinking Christian
Thoughts Arguments and Rants
A Phil-for-an-ill Blog
- The Toxic Legacy of Machiavelli’s The Prince 2014-04-30“…if a Prince succeeds in establishing and maintaining his authority, the means will always be judged honourable and be approved by every one.” (Chapter XVIII) Founded on the above dubious moral axiom, which may be translated as, The end justifies the means (A), in the 16th century Niccolò Machiavelli formulates the classic dissertation on how […]Philip Jonkers
- Killing Iraqi Civilians, Like a Video Game – 2007 Baghdad Civil Massacre Perpetrated by Trigger Happy US Troops (Wikileaks) 2010-04-20Short Version Long Version Related Reading: Killing Baghdad civilians and Reuters journos from the air! Neo-Cons Defend Massacre Of Iraqi Journalists, Children Attack Video Reveals Why Pentagon Wanted To “Destroy” Wikileaks In early April Wikileaks released into the public domain specific unreleased footage documenting a tragic event that could be considered as a severe incrimination […]Philip Jonkers
- Dark Knight (2008) – Excusing the Rude & Stoic Strongman Crime Fighter 2010-03-24http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/ – What is Predictive Programming? – Alan Watt – Predictive Programming; Theory and Practice – Vyzygoth Interviews Phillip and Paul Collins – Invoking the Beyond (Predictive Programming) A decent synopsis can be read on the corresponding Wikipedia page. Police State/Martial Law Scenery Let’s start with the police state scenery shown in the movie: Not […]Philip Jonkers
- Bill Gates Admits Vaccines Are Used for Human Depopulationx 2010-03-01Bill Gates Admits Vaccines Are Used for Human Depopulation In the video above are two short excerpts from a recently filmed TED presentation (Feb 2010) by none other than Bill “Microsoft” Gates. At the heart of Gates’ address lies the central Global Warming dogma, which dictates that Co2 emitted by human beings are the primary […]Philip Jonkers
- Robocop (1987) – Promoting the Militarization of Police 2010-02-11http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093870/ – What is Predictive Programming? – Alan Watt – Predictive Programming; Theory and Practice – Vyzygoth Interviews Phillip and Paul Collins – Invoking the Beyond (Predictive Programming) A decent synopsis can be read on the corresponding Wikipedia page. According to a Police magazine, “Police officers working in patrol vehicles, dressed in urban tactical gear […]Philip Jonkers
- Some questions regarding Mary K. Baxter’s “A Divine Revelation of Hell” 2010-01-14From divinerevelations.info we read: Mary Katherine Baxter was chosen by God to let the world know of the REALITY of Hell. Jesus Christ appeared to Mary Baxter on 40 consecutive nights and took Mary on a tour of Hell and Heaven. She walked, with Jesus, through the horrors of Hell and talked with many people. […]Philip Jonkers
- Commentary to the “What is Ego?” Video 2010-01-13What is Ego? (Andrew Cohen) Self-confidence can only be regarded as an attribute of the ego if the ego uses it to put other people down and tries to feel better than other people. This particular manifestation of self-confidence is called pride. On the other hand, if self-confidence is used to humbly tow other people […]Philip Jonkers
- Is it “Love vs Hate” or “Love vs Fear”? 2009-12-16In this short blog I examine the question which is a more fundamental antagonist of love: fear or hate. Hate is a strong aversive emotion connected to the subject or object of hate. The strength of hate derives from a former affection or love for that subject or object. In other words, what is hated […]Philip Jonkers
- The Downside of Talking People Down 2009-12-16There’s a risk involved in talking people down or acts of depreciation in general. If you speak negative about a certain person you’ll likely generate feelings of guilt towards that person, although the strength of these feelings depends on whether one believes that person deserves it or not. If there’s no intention of reconciliation, upon […]Philip Jonkers
- When Does Psychopathy Flourish? (Musings on Psychopathy II) 2009-12-03“Insanity – a perfectly rational adjustment to an insane world.” R.D. Laing What is a psychopath? Etymology: Psychopath psyche 1647, “animating spirit,” from L. psyche, from Gk. psykhe “the soul, mind, spirit, breath, life, the invisible animating principle or entity which occupies and directs the physical body” (personified as Psykhe, the lover of Eros), akin […]Philip Jonkers
Alexander Pruss's Blog
- Actual result utilitarianism implies a version of total depravity 2024-10-22Assume actual result utilitarianism on which there are facts of the matter about what would transpire given any possible action of mine, and an action is right just in case it has the best consequences. Here is an interesting conclusion. Do something specific, anything. Maybe wiggle your right thumb a certain way. There are many—perhaps […]
- There is no canonical way to define a regular comparative probability in terms of a full conditional probability 2024-10-19I claim that there is no general, straightforward and satisfactory way to define a total comparative probability with the standard axioms using full conditional probabilities. By a “straightforward” way, I mean something like: A ≲ B iff P(A−B|AΔB) ≤ P(B−A|AΔB) or: A ≲ B iff P(A|A∪B) ≤ P(A|A∪B) (Pruss). The standard axioms of comparative probability are: Transitivity, reflexivity and totality. Non-negativity: ⌀ ≤ A for […]
- Restricted composition and laws of nature 2024-10-18Ted Sider famously argues for the universality of composition on the grounds that: If composition is not universal, then one can find a continuous series of cases from a case of no composition to a case of composition. Given such a continuous series, there won’t be any abrupt cut-off in composition. But composition is never […]
- More on full conditional probabilities and comparative probabilities 2024-10-16I claim that there is no general, straightforward and satisfactory way to define a total comparative probability with the standard axioms using full conditional probabilities. By a “straightforward” way, I mean something like: A ≲ B iff P(A−B|AΔB) ≤ P(B−A|AΔB) or: A ≲ B iff P(A|A∪B) ≤ P(B|A∪B). The standard axioms of comparative probability are: Transitivity, reflexivity and totality. Non-negativity: ⌀ ≤ A for all […]
- The epistemic force of beauty in laws of nature does not reduce to simplicity 2024-10-14Some people think that simplicity of laws of nature is a guide to truth, and some think beauty of laws of nature is. One might ask: Is the beauty of laws of nature a guide that goes beyond simplicity? Are there times when one could make epistemic decisions about the laws of nature on the […]
- Defining comparative probabilities in terms of conditional probabilities 2024-10-14Suppose we have a full conditional probability P(A∣B) defined for all pairs of events (stipulating that P(A∣⌀) = 1 if we wish). I've proposed two methods for defining a probability comparison using conditional probabilities: A ⪅ B iff P(A∣A∪B) ≤ P(B∣A∪B). A ⪅ B iff P(A−B∣AΔB) ≤ P(B−A∣AΔB), where AΔB = (A−B) ∪ (B−A) is the symmetric difference. In a footnote in a paper, I wrote about the second […]
- A really bad moral dilemma 2024-10-10Here would be a really bad kind of moral dilemma: It is certain that unless you murder one innocent person now, you will freely become a mass murderer, but if you do murder that innocent person, you will freely repent of it later and live an exemplary life. If compatibilism is true, such dilemmas are […]
- Proportionality and deterrence 2024-10-09There are many contexts where a necessary condition of the permissibility of a course of action is a kind of proportionality between the goods and bads resulting from the course of action. (If utilitarianism is true, then given a utilitarian understanding of the proportionality, it’s not only necessary but sufficient for permissibility.) Two examples: The […]
- Another argument on the interpretation of Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 2024-10-07Mark (10:11-12) and Luke (16:18) have rather simple and straightforward statements on divorce and remarriage: if you divorce and remarry, you’re in adultery. A standard interpretation is the Strict View: (SV) Divorce does not actually remove the marriage, and so if you remarry, you’re still married to the previous party, and hence are committing adultery. […]
- Events and the unreality of time 2024-10-02When I think about McTaggart’s famous argument against the A-theory of time—the theory that it is an objective fact about the universe what time it is—I sometimes feel like it’s just a confusion but sometimes I feel like I am on the very edge of getting it, and that there is something to the argument. […]
- Four philosophy / adjacent jobs at Baylor 2024-09-30We have four jobs in philosophy or closely adjacent areas at Baylor, with most of the deadlines coming in mid-October:Tenure-track open-area (with some preferences) position in the Philosophy DepartmentTenure-track position for a philosopher in the Great Texts DepartmentTenure-track position in social psychology or history and philosophy of science in the Baylor Interdisciplinary CoreSenior position in […]
- Special treatment of humans 2024-09-27Sometimes one talks of humans as having a higher value than other animals, and hence it being appropriate to treat them better. While humans do have a higher value, I don't think this is what justifies favoring them. For to treat something well is to bestow value on them. But it is far from clear […]
- Laws and mathematical complexity 2024-09-26Over the last couple of days I have realized that the laws of physics are rather more complex than they seem. The lovely equations like G = 8πT and F = Gmm′/r2 (with a different G in the two equations) seem to be an iceberg most of which is submerged in the icy waters of the foundations of mathematics […]
- Moral conversion and Hume on freedom 2024-09-26According to Hume, for one to be responsible for an action, the action must flow from one’s character. But the actions that we praise people for the most include cases where someone breaks free from a corrupt character and changes for the good. These cases are not merely cases of slight responsibility, but are central […]
- Humeanism and knowledge of fundamental laws 2024-09-25On a "Humean" Best System Account (BSA) of laws of nature, the fundamental laws are the axioms of the system of laws that best combines brevity and informativeness. An interesting consequence of this is that, very likely, no amount of advances in physics will suffice to tell us what the fundamental laws are: significant advances […]
- Chanceability 2024-09-24Say that a function P : F → [0,1] where F is a σ-algebra of subsets of Ω is chanceable provided that it is metaphysically possible to have a concrete (physical or not) stochastic process with a state space of the same cardinality as Ω and such that P coincides with the chances of that process under some isomorphism […]
- Culpability incompatibilism 2024-09-24Here are three plausible theses: You’re only culpable for a morally wrong choice determined by a relevantly abnormal mental state if you are culpable for that mental state. A mental state that determines a morally wrong choice is relevantly abnormal. You are not culpable for anything that is prior to the first choice you are […]
- Uncertain guilt 2024-09-20Suppose there is a 75% chance that I have done a specific wrong thing yesterday. (Perhaps I have suffered from some memory loss.) What should be my attitude? Guilt isn’t quite right. For guilt to be appropriate, I should believe that I’ve done a wrong thing, and 75% is not high enough for belief. Guilt […]
- Fun with St. Petersburg 2024-09-17A generous patron makes an offer to you. You are to pick out a positive integer n and you will get 2n units of value. You have the ability to pick out any positive integer at no cost to yourself (maybe you can engage in a supertask and name long numbers really fast). You think […]
- Animal experimentation 2024-09-13We have an intuitive line as to where the suffering in animal’s life is so great compared to the goods in it that when we are able to do so, we euthanize animals when the suffering causes the value of the animal’s life to fall below that line. On the other hand, the life of […]
Bhagwad Gita Blog
- Lord Krishna Promises His Devotees 2022-10-10Lord Krishna delivered divine teachings to Arjuna through Bhagavad Gita on the battlefield of Mahabharata war. Lord Krishna motivated His friend Arjuna to do his duty and also told him about deep relevance of devotional bhakti. 
- भगवद गीता के अनुसार पापों से कैसे छुटकारा पाएं 2022-03-19हिंदू धर्म में, पाप आमतौर पर अपने द्वारा किये गए गलत कर्मो के लिए इस्तेमाल किया जाने वाला शब्द है। पाप और कुछ नहीं बल्कि ऐसे कार्य करना है जो ईश्वर की इच्छा के विरुद्ध हों, या प्रकृति के नियमों या ईश्वर द्वारा दिए गए शास्त्रों के नियमों के विरुद्ध हों। अब हम अपने पापों से […]
- माया क्या है, आओ समझे। What is Maya, Let us Understand (In Hindi & English) 2022-03-07हिंदी में:माया : उस दिन मेरा एक मित्र दार्शनिक रूप से बात कर रहा था और मुझसे कह रहा था कि यह सारी दुनिया भ्रम है, वास्तविकता में इसका कोई अस्तित्व नहीं है। हम जो कुछ भी देख रहे हैं वह सिर्फ जादू आदि है। मैं उसे सुनता रहा। फिर मैंने उसे बस अपनी आँखें बंद […]
- God hears these Prayers, प्रार्थना जो भगवान सुनता है 2021-10-06Prayer is an act of addressing the God with devotion. Prayer can be done during the worship or can be done just silently in our mind. Through prayer we have a personal experience & an intimate connection with our loving God. If we pray to God with sincerity then He shall answer to our prayers […]
- How to Motivate Yourself in depressed situations - Bhagwad Gita Perspective 2021-10-01This article deals with how you can Motivate Yourself in depressed situations of life. When you get depressed in life then its very difficult and frustrating to cope with it. With proper guidance, you can come out of depression & eventually can come out of it. To come out of depression shall not be easy but you […]
- Complete Universe exists in God 2021-09-25In Hinduism Lord Krishna is "true" Supreme Being and creator of the universe. Lord Krishna has said it many times in His discourse of "Bhagwad Gita". Lord Krishna is the ultimate God. The entire universe exists within Him."Lord Krishna / God is omnipresent and is in every atom of this Universe". But how God is there everywhere […]
- Pray to God & God will answer your Prayer 2021-09-24All the religions of the world believe in one God. We all pray to God with different types of prayers. Prayer is basically an act of addressing the God for the purpose of worship. Prayer is a way of having a personal experience and intimate connection with our loving God, through which He listens silently […]
- Lets thank God for what we have in Life 2021-09-23Lets thank God for what we have in Life. Lets be thankful to God for, whatever, we have received in our life from Him. Let us learn to appreciate what we have in life. Listen to above musical video which thanks God in every way & its lyrics are very beautiful.You should appreciate, whatever, you […]
- Peace of Mind as per Bhagwad Gita 2021-09-22"duhkhesv anudvigna-manahsukhesu vigata-sprhahvita-raga-bhaya-krodhah sthita-dhir munir ucyate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 56) "Sri Krishna said: One who is not disturbed in mind even amidst the threefold miseries or elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind."दुःखेष्वनुद्विग्नमनाः सुखेषु विगतस्पृहः।वीतरागभयक्रोधः
- Whole World exists in God 2020-08-24राम वही जो रमता सकल जहान Above Hindi line meaning is that "God is omnipresent and is in every atom of this Universe". But how God is there everywhere in the Universe?Meaning of omnipresent is that one who is present everywhere. God is one who in it's un-manifest, unseen, subtle aspect is always present all around us. This […]
- Bhagwad Gita can Change Your Life Completely 2020-05-30Reading Bhagwad Gita can Change Your Life completely. If Bhagwad Gita becomes a part & parcel of your life then it shall totally transform your life. It not only shall guide you through your life journey but shall also shape the way you live your life. If you have been reading the Bhagwad Gita, then it […]
- Quotes from Bhagwat Gita on Soul आत्मा पर भगवत गीता के उद्धरण (Quotes) 2020-05-16Here are some of the Quotes from Bhagwat Gita on Soul. Description of Soul is done beautifully by Lord Krishna in Chapter 2 of Bhagwat Gita. Here below read that illustration in detail. नीचे भागवद गीता के कुछ आत्मा पर प्रसिद्ध उद्धरण (Quotes) हैं : "na tv-evaham jatu nasam na tvam neme janadhipah na chaiva na bhavisyamah
- People who do Bad Karmas are Punished surely by the God at one time or the another 2018-09-16Sometimes we feel that those people who do Good Karmas are not rewarded & those who do Bad Karmas are not Punished by God. But it is not so. Domain of God runs for Many lives & it is not that a person is not punished by God for his bad Karmas. So here are […]
- Beautiful Mobile App for Ekadashi Vrats 2018-09-16One of the Young Creator Mr. Raghav Sharma has developed a Beautiful Mobile App for Ekadashi Vrats to be performed by Hindus all across the world. This App is very useful for the people who are interested in regular Ekadashi Fasts. The links for the said App can be found below & people interested can download […]
- Greatness of Chapter Eighteen of Bhagwat Gita 2018-04-08Here below is explained the Greatness of Chapter Eighteen of Bhagwat Gita. Read the story below to see, how all the sinful reactions are destroyed by just reading the Chapter 18 of the Bhagwat Gita. "Lord Siva said; “My dear Parvati, Now, listen to the glories of the Eighteenth Chapter of Srimad Bhagwat Gita, which […]
- कर्मणये वाधिकारस्ते मां फलेषु कदाचन - Meaning 2018-04-01"कर्मणये वाधिकारस्ते मां फलेषु कदाचन । मां कर्मफलहेतुर्भू: मांते संङगोस्त्वकर्मणि" ।। (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 47) "श्री कृष्ण भगवान ने अर्जुन से कहा: आप को अपने निर्धारित कर्तव्य का पालन करने का अधिकार है, लेकिन आप कभी कर्म फल की इच्छा से कर्म मत करो (कर्म फल देने का अधिकार सिर्फ ईश्वर को है)। […]
- Greatness of Chapter Seventeen of Bhagwat Gita 2018-04-01Here below is explained the Greatness of Chapter Seventeen of Bhagwat Gita. Read the story below to see, how all the sinful reactions are destroyed by just reading the Chapter 17 of the Bhagwat Gita. “Lord Siva said, “My dear Parvati, Now, kindly hear the nectarian glories of the Seventeenth Chapter of Srimad Bhagwat Gita. […]
- Greatness of Chapter Sixteen of Bhagwat Gita 2018-03-25Here below is explained the Greatness of Chapter Sixteen of Bhagwat Gita. Read the story below to see, how all the sinful reactions are destroyed by just reading the Chapter 16 of the Bhagwat Gita. “Lord Siva said, “My dear Parvati, I will now tell you the glories of the Sixteenth Chapter of Srimad Bhagwat […]
- Greatness of Chapter Fifteen of Bhagwat Gita 2018-03-18Here below is explained the Greatness of Chapter Fifteen of Bhagwat Gita. Read the story below to see, how all the sinful reactions are destroyed by just reading the Chapter 15 of the Bhagwat Gita. “Lord Siva said, “My dear Parvati, now I will tell you the glories of the Fifteenth Chapter of the Srimad […]
- Greatness of Chapter Fourteen of Bhagwat Gita 2018-03-11Here below is explained the Greatness of Chapter Fourteen of Bhagwat Gita. Read the story below to see, how all the sinful reactions are destroyed by just reading the Chapter 14 of the Bhagwat Gita. “Lord Siva said “Oh, Parvati kindly hear from Me the glories of the Fourteenth Chapter of the Srimad Bhagwat Gita, […]
Bleeding Heart Libertarians
- The End 2020-06-01Back in 2011, a group of academic philosophers started a blog called “Bleeding Heart Libertarians.” The idea behind that blog was simple, but also somewhat vague in terms of its... The post The End appeared first on Bleeding Heart Libertarians.Matt Zwolinski
- Anti-Competition as the Incel Mentality 2020-06-01Observe: Incel: “Stacy choose Chad over me. I have the right to retaliate by killing Stacy and/or Chad.” Michael Fett, a guy on Facebook, justifying Guitar Center being looted: “Guitar... The post Anti-Competition as the Incel Mentality appeared first on Bleeding Heart Libertarians.Jason Brennan
- The AAAS Agrees with Magness and Me 2020-06-01New report on the state of the humanities: https://www.amacad.org/sites/default/files/media/document/2020-05/hds3_the_state_of_the_humanities_in_colleges_and_universities.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0lCu4KOkSq62KnkXdaOOaQtMBkxJN6affH61kgOctQZks7GsEJqzulHow It concurs with what Phil and I say in Cracks and our other published work: 1. Adjuncts are not replacing full-time... The post The AAAS Agrees with Magness and Me appeared first on Bleeding Heart Libertarians.Jason Brennan
- An Excerpt from *When All Else Fails* 2020-05-30Here are the concluding paragraphs of When All Else Fails. Over the past eight chapters, we’ve examined a wide range of arguments which attempted to show that government agents enjoy... The post An Excerpt from *When All Else Fails* appeared first on Bleeding Heart Libertarians.Jason Brennan
- Is It Time for Private Punishment? 2020-05-29When All Else Fails is about defensive actions, not punishment. If someone had justly and rightly shot the cops who murdered George Floyd, they would be trying to stop them... The post Is It Time for Private Punishment? appeared first on Bleeding Heart Libertarians.Jason Brennan
- The Two Big News Cases and Philosophy 2020-05-27Minneapolis police officers killed George Floyd by crushing his neck with a knee while he lay prostrate, helpless, and handcuffed. This is precisely the kind of case When All Else... The post The Two Big News Cases and Philosophy appeared first on Bleeding Heart Libertarians.Jason Brennan
- How Government Leaders Violated Their Epistemic Duties During the SARS-CoV-2 Crisis 2020-05-20Written with Eric Winsberg and Chris Surprenant, forthcoming in The Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal. Abstract: In spring 2020, in response to the COVID-19 crisis, world leaders imposed severe restrictions... The post How Government Leaders Violated Their Epistemic Duties During the SARS-CoV-2 Crisis appeared first on Bleeding Heart Libertarians.Jason Brennan
- What Is Public Choice? 2020-05-14Here’s some silliness from Henry Farrell. Why is public choice specifically unhelpful here? Rather than starting from the many definitions of public choice offered by its enemies, I’ll begin with... The post What Is Public Choice? appeared first on Bleeding Heart Libertarians.Jason Brennan
- Likeville Podcast about the Quarantine 2020-05-12Here. Eric Winsberg, Chris Surprenant, and I talk to John Faithful Hamer about the quarantine, precautionary principles, political incompetence, civil liberties, the problems with the data and models policy-makers relied... The post Likeville Podcast about the Quarantine appeared first on Bleeding Heart Libertarians.Jason Brennan
- How Did the Great Recession Affect Academic Employment? 2020-05-12Here are the total number of people employed as full-time assistant professors in the United States over the past 20 years, according to the US Department of Education. The figure... The post How Did the Great Recession Affect Academic Employment? appeared first on Bleeding Heart Libertarians.Jason Brennan
Logic Matters
- Categorial progress … 2024-10-15I paperbacked my gentle introductory notes on category theory sooner than ideally I would have wished. But with routine-but-major heart surgery scheduled unexpectedly early, I thought I should at least get a beta version of the book out while I could, not knowing what the future would hold. In the last week or so, I’ve […]Peter Smith
- Book note: Kunen, Foundations of Mathematics 2024-10-07Finally, here’s the last book in my ‘must-revisit’ stack! — Kenneth Kunen’s The Foundations of Mathematics (College Publications, 2009). Now, I’m going to avert my gaze from some of the philosophical asides here. Kunen writes, for example, Presumably, you know that set theory is important. You may not know that set theory is all-important. That […]Peter Smith
- On de Swart’s Philosophical and Mathematical Logic 2024-10-05I have mixed feelings about Harrie de Swart’s Philosophical and Mathematical Logic (Springer, 2018). For this long book really is a strange mish-mash, supposedly aimed at philosophers. There are chapters (not very good) on e.g. the philosophy of language and “fallacies and unfair discussion methods”, and e.g. a section on social choice theory. Then there […]Peter Smith
- Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers 2024-10-04Such is the title of the new Van Gogh exhibition at the National Gallery in London. “Over just two years in the south of France, Van Gogh revolutionised his style in a symphony of poetic colour and texture. He was inspired by poets, writers and artists. We look at this time in Arles and Saint-Rémy […]Peter Smith
- Revisiting Bell & Machover 2024-10-02I had on my desk — or rather, standing in a row under my desk so as not to topple over — a stack of books that I wanted to read/revisit before the end of September, as preparation for revising the Study Guide (particularly the chapter on FOL). There are three books from that stack […]Peter Smith
- Two shorter book notes 2024-09-30Yuri Manin who died last year was a seriously distinguished mathematician, being — for instance — one of the first recipients of the Schock Prize for mathematics. His interests ranged very widely, from algebra and topology to quantum field theory. So A Course in Mathematical Logic for Mathematicians (1977 translation, Springer) is written by an […]Peter Smith
- “The best logic textbook ever”? 2024-09-29I was sorry to hear of the death a few days ago of Max Cresswell. In his long philosophical life he wrote widely, usually on logic-related topics. But for many of us he will always be most remembered as the co-author (with G. E Hughes) of that remarkable 1968 book An Introduction to Modal Logic. […]Peter Smith
- Revisiting Cori & Lascar 2024-09-27I’m revisiting a number of older logic books with a view to seeing if/how they should feature in the new edition of the Study Guide. Next up, the text by René Cori and Daniel Lascar, whose French original was published in 1993, later translated in two parts as Mathematical Logic (OUP, 2000). Its sub-title, “A […]Peter Smith
- Boris Giltburg, Beethoven sonatas I 2024-09-24As an interlude in the oh-so-exciting cycle of posts on various logic books old and new, here’s one of my favourite pianists, Boris Giltburg, in the first concert of his new Beethoven cycle at Wigmore Hall. He plays Sonata No. 1 in F minor Op. 2 No. 1 (starting at 8:30). Then Sonata No. 18 […]Peter Smith
- Skipping past five books … 2024-09-22I said at the end of the last post that I was going to return to discuss Smullyan’s Further Guide. But having looked at it again more closely, I’m inclined to think this book is really a bit too idiosyncratic to get more than a passing mention in the Logic Matters Study Guide. So on […]Peter Smith
Of special interest!
The usual phlegm and philosophy
- Matthias Michel Live (again!) 2024-03-28Join me for a discussion with Matthias Michel as we discuss the Perceptual Reality Monitoring theory of consciousnessRichard Brown
- Jamie Woodhouse Live! 2024-03-21Join me for a discussion with Jamie Woodhouse as we discuss all things Sentientist.Richard Brown
- Gualtiero Piccinini Live! 2024-03-05Gualtiero Piccinini joins me for a discussion of the nature and physical implementation of computation and consciousnessRichard Brown
- Steve Fleming Live (again)! 2024-02-05Steve Fleming joins me to discuss his new(-ish) book Know Thyself: The science of Self Awareness, the recent ‘IIT letter’, and a whole lot more! Steve’s blog post on IIT: https://elusiveself.wordpress.com/2023/09/09/iit-vs-gnwt-and-the-meaning-of-evidence-in-consciousness-science/Richard Brown
- Eric Schwitzgebel Live! 2024-01-30My struggle with technical issues continues! But after we work that out Eric and I have a really fun discussion about his new book The Weirdness of the World.Richard Brown
- Michael Graziano Live! 2024-01-22Join me for a discussion with Michael Graziano. Still having trouble with OBS, but slowly getting ti together for a nice discussion.Richard Brown
- Rachel Denison Live! 2024-01-11Join me for a discussion with neuroscientist Rachel Denison and to see me comically flustered. For the first thirty-minutes or so of our discussion I thought we were live-streaming when we weren’t! That hasn’t happened to me since the old days of Spacetime Mind. I must be rusty!Richard Brown
- Consciousness Live! Season 6(?!?!) 2024-01-032024 is here and I am slowly coming out of my book-writing-induced coma to return to normal daylight activities. I have submitted the manuscript and we’ll see what reviewers think. In the meantime, I am slowly getting a line up for some Consciousness Live! discussions in the New Year. I started off the New Year […]Richard Brown
- What is the Role of the PFC in Consciousness? 2023-12-12I just read this very interesting paper out in Cortex taking a novel approach to assessing the role of the prefrontal cortex in consciousness. The interesting idea in the Rowe, Garrido, and Tsuchiaya paper linked to here is the idea of looking at whether there is even enough information being sent to the PFC to […]Richard Brown
- I Did It! 2023-12-10I made it through an entire semester with no teaching responsibilities at CUNY! For the first time in 20 years! Oh, and I wrote a book! I started as a graduate student at the CUNY Graduate Center, as well as an adjunct instructor of philosophy at Brooklyn College, in the Fall of 2003. I came […]Richard Brown
- Terminal Burnout Unlocked 2023-06-18Things have just been off the charts hectic around here, and I’m not just talking about Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom! I have always taught a lot but since 2015 it has become overwhelming. I did a little number crunching on the train and found that before 2015 I was teaching about 10 classes per […]Richard Brown
- Consciousness as Representing One’s Mind: Rethinking the Higher-Order Thought Theory of Consciousness 2022-06-06Word on the street is that I am allegedly writing a book on consciousness…woah betide us, this is certainly the final indicator that we are in the most absurd of simulations! At any rate,I don’t have a contract or anything but there is ‘some interest’ in my completing a draft from a press, which is […]Richard Brown
- 2021 in Review 2021-12-22Like most people (I assume) I can’t believe that 2021 is almost over. This year has really flown by and I am feeling very burnt out. I feel like I am getting less and less done and yet at the same time being more and more overwhelmed by what I do manage to get done. […]Richard Brown
- Mark Solms Live! 2021-09-18Join me for a discussion with Mark Solms, Chair of Neuropsychology at the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital (Departments of Psychology and Neurology), as we discuss themes from his work and his recent book the Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Source of Consciousness Mark’s book: The Hidden Spring Mark’s wikipedia pageRichard Brown
- Brown on Philosophy of Religion 2021-07-15I have been thinking about the philosophy of religion lately and I noticed that I don’t really have my posts on this organized. So here are some of the things I have written on this topic. I am pretty much a layman in this area and have not published any of this stuff except as […]Richard Brown
- Lucia Melloni, Liad Mudrik, and Michael Pitts Live! 2021-07-10Join me for a discussion with Lucia Melloni, Liad Mudrik, and Michal Pitts as we discuss COGITATE -an innovative Open Science, preregistered adversarial collaboration focused on arbitrating between two leading theories of consciousness, Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and Global Neuronal Workspace theory (GNW) COGITATE project websiteRichard Brown
- The Immorality of God 2021-07-07I have been talking about my views on religion and God lately because I was recently invited to be a guest on a couple of podcasts but I have written about these things extensively over the last 10 years or so here and I have been thinking about these issues for my entire life. One […]Richard Brown
- Claire Sergent Live! 2021-07-06Join me for a discussion with Claire Sergent, a Professor at the Université de Paris, in the Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, as we discuss the neuroscience of consciousness and the Global Workspace TheoryRichard Brown
- The Argument for Simulation via Traditional A Posterori Arguments for God’s Existence 2021-07-03I had a fun and interesting discussion with Canadian Catholic on his Global Skeptics podcast the other day. In the course of our discussion something clicked that has been loosely kicking around in the back of my mind. I have previously suggested that the argument from design is an argument for simulation and that the […]Richard Brown
- Cevin Soling Live! 2021-06-23Join me for a discussion with Cevin Soling, a filmmaker, philosopher, musician, music producer, and artist, as we discuss his defense of solipsism -the metaphysical view that there is only one mind and that mind is Cevin Soling Cevin’s websiteRichard Brown
Tom Gilson
- How Your Church Can Thrive in This Strange New World We Live In 2024-10-10You may have seen the signs, or maybe you have one installed at your own church for people to see as they exit: “You are now... The post How Your Church Can Thrive in This Strange New World We Live In appeared first on Tom Gilson.Tom Gilson
- An Open Letter with Eight Hard Questions for Progressive Christian Apologist Randal Rauser 2023-04-20Dear Mr. Rauser, You and I have been trading videos, articles, and tweets over the past several weeks. The latest round, other than tweets I’ve sent,... The post An Open Letter with Eight Hard Questions for Progressive Christian Apologist Randal Rauser appeared first on Tom Gilson.Tom Gilson
- Follow-up on My Exchange with Randal Rauser 2023-02-27Last week I got involved in what I would have hoped to be a dialogue with Randal Rauser regarding a handful of tweets he’d put up... The post Follow-up on My Exchange with Randal Rauser appeared first on Tom Gilson.Tom Gilson
- How Not to Do Apologetics: Dark Example from the ‘Tentative Apologist’ Randal Rauser 2023-02-23A video from the self-styled “Tentative Apologist” Randal Rauser has roused me to wake up this website again. I think he thinks he’s defending progressive Christianity.... The post How Not to Do Apologetics: Dark Example from the ‘Tentative Apologist’ Randal Rauser appeared first on Tom Gilson.Tom Gilson
- The Very Alien Question of Marriage (from The Stream’s Pastors’ Corner) 2022-03-25(Also published at The Stream.) What is marriage? What is it for? Why does marriage matter? Ten years ago, those were the hottest questions on the... The post The Very Alien Question of Marriage (from The Stream’s Pastors’ Corner) appeared first on Tom Gilson.Tom Gilson
- Find Your Authentic Self, or Find an Authentic View of God? 2022-02-08Everyone’s in a rush to find their “authentic self.” We’re going about it the wrong way, though. We find our true selves by giving up false... The post Find Your Authentic Self, or Find an Authentic View of God? appeared first on Tom Gilson.Tom Gilson
- Pastors’ Equipping Series: Sample Sermon on Christian Exclusivism vs. Pluralism — Christmas Themed! 2021-12-14Christians aren’t supposed to say we have the one truth, right? So goes the opinion around our culture, anyway. We’re supposed to be “humble” about our... The post Pastors’ Equipping Series: Sample Sermon on Christian Exclusivism vs. Pluralism — Christmas Themed! appeared first on Tom Gilson.Tom Gilson
- Pastors’ Equipping Series: Sample Sermon on the Faith-Science Challenge (Special Focus on the Virgin Birth) 2021-11-05Faith vs. Science: It feels like David approaching Goliath, with no sling and no stones. Or at least, that’s the way a lot of people want... The post Pastors’ Equipping Series: Sample Sermon on the Faith-Science Challenge (Special Focus on the Virgin Birth) appeared first on Tom Gilson.Tom Gilson
- Alisa Childers: ‘Reading Through Your Book Was … Exciting’ 2021-10-07Alisa Childers, gifted speaker, former ZOEgirl singer, and author of the outstanding book Another Gospel?: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity, graciously invited... The post Alisa Childers: ‘Reading Through Your Book Was … Exciting’ appeared first on Tom Gilson.Tom Gilson
- Pastors’ Equipping Series: A Sample Sermon on Critical Race Theory 2021-09-30Updated: See the summary explainer article at The Stream! Critical race theory: Could you preach on it in church? Teach it in a small group? How... The post Pastors’ Equipping Series: A Sample Sermon on Critical Race Theory appeared first on Tom Gilson.Tom Gilson
- So You Think Critical Race Theory Is a Useful Analytical Tool? 2021-09-13I was with my new friend Howard that afternoon, and he was pumping me with questions about some of my projects so he could do some... The post So You Think Critical Race Theory Is a Useful Analytical Tool? appeared first on Tom Gilson.Tom Gilson
- At Last! Moving Forward Into the Heat to Light Pastors’ Equipping Series! 2021-08-30The time has come, at last, tell some of the story, and then very soon to launch the new church-equipping initiative that I’ve been building toward... The post At Last! Moving Forward Into the Heat to Light Pastors’ Equipping Series! appeared first on Tom Gilson.Tom Gilson
- Cincinnati Apologetics Conference with Alisa Childers September 10-11! 2021-08-11I’ll be speaking as well. Kudos to Tim Waugh, pastor of Faith Community United Methodist Church, who wants to be a light for the truth of... The post Cincinnati Apologetics Conference with Alisa Childers September 10-11! appeared first on Tom Gilson.Tom Gilson
- Creative Common-Sense Apologetics — Video Here! 2021-07-21They say you can’t use the Bible to prove the Bible; it’s circular reasoning. Yes. Except… there are exceptions. Valid ones, not fallacious. The Bible actually... The post Creative Common-Sense Apologetics — Video Here! appeared first on Tom Gilson.Tom Gilson
- Update on Pastor Equipping Ministry: ‘Heat to Light: Guiding Your People Through Cultural Conflict to Spiritual Transformation’ 2021-07-01It’s coming together in ways I never expected, and that’s a good thing. If you’ve been following me here on the blog or the podcast, you... The post Update on Pastor Equipping Ministry: ‘Heat to Light: Guiding Your People Through Cultural Conflict to Spiritual Transformation’ appeared first on Tom Gilson.Tom Gilson
- Apologists and Pastors Connecting for Ministry: Stories of How You Can Do It 2021-06-26(Hear more of the story at the Thinking Christian podcast.) Apologists need to connect with pastors, and vice versa. We need each other. Pastors need the... The post Apologists and Pastors Connecting for Ministry: Stories of How You Can Do It appeared first on Tom Gilson.Tom Gilson
- RELEASED TODAY ON KINDLE! Too Good to be False: How Jesus’ Incomparable Character Reveals His Reality 2021-06-17It came a day or two earlier than I expected, so I’m scrambling to catch up — but I’m very excited to announce the release at... The post RELEASED TODAY ON KINDLE! Too Good to be False: How Jesus’ Incomparable Character Reveals His Reality appeared first on Tom Gilson.Tom Gilson
- Apologists and Pastors, Here’s How We Can Finally Work Together (And We’d Better Get To It!) 2021-06-13I met a pastor from my home town at a conference a couple years ago, actually a pastors’ pastor, who ministered to dozens of others in... The post Apologists and Pastors, Here’s How We Can Finally Work Together (And We’d Better Get To It!) appeared first on Tom Gilson.Tom Gilson
- Pastor, Your Job Is About Cross-Cultural Missions Now. Could You Use Some Help? 2021-06-01The world has changed, and the pastor's job description must, too. It's cross-cultural missions and ministry now wherever you may be. The post Pastor, Your Job Is About Cross-Cultural Missions Now. Could You Use Some Help? appeared first on Tom Gilson.Tom Gilson
- A Conversation with Gay/Progressive Leader Brandan Robertson 2021-05-10I had a most interesting conversation on Thursday with Brandan Robertson, who’s a leading spokesman for gay and progressive Christianity, on everything from the character of... The post A Conversation with Gay/Progressive Leader Brandan Robertson appeared first on Tom Gilson.Tom Gilson
Thoughts Arguments and Rants
- Value and News in Evidential Decision Theory 2018-05-11A discussion of what desirabilities in Jeffrey's theory of decision ultimately mean.Brian Weatherson
- Absolute Value 2018-05-11An objection to the version of Desire as Belief that Stephen Daskall defended in "Absolute Value as Belief".Brian Weatherson
- Over Time, Citations Get More Uneven 2017-05-18In an earlier post, I compared the distribution of citations within Journal of Philosophy, 1976 and Philosophical Studies, 2009. And I noted that although the two ended up in similar places, they got there in different ways. Journal of Philosophy was largely relying on some hugely cited papers; while the distribution of citations in Philosophical […]Brian Weatherson
- Citations are Getting More Evenly Distributed 2017-05-12I claimed yesterday that citations within journals are getting more egalitarian. To verify this, I pulled the citation data for two prominent years: The Journal of Philosophy, 1976 and Philosophical Studies, 2009. I couldn’t find an easy way to get just the citations in Arts & Humanities, so this table includes all the citations in […]Brian Weatherson
- Two More Graphs 2017-05-11Just as a follow up to the previous post, here are the graphs for six more journals. First their citations in the other 31. Then their citations in the whole of Web of Science Arts and Humanities. (Note that this sometimes severely understates how many citations they have elsewhere in the academy, especially for philosophy […]Brian Weatherson
- Changes in Who is Cited 2017-05-11The dataset of citations I’m looking at starts in 1976. And I can break down not just which journals are cited, but which years of those journals are cited. (And which years they are cited in, but I’m setting aside that data for now.) So as well as asking which journal is the most cited […]Brian Weatherson
- Citation Graphs, One Journal at a Time 2017-05-10The big graphs I posted earlier have so much information, that much of it gets lost in the mess of lines. So I’ve broken down the data to create a graph just involving each journal’s interactions with the other 31. Here are the graphs. (As always, click on each for a larger image.) British Journal […]Brian Weatherson
- Citation Graphs and Methodology 2017-05-04Last week I posted some graphs showing how often various journals cite other journals. Here is one of those graphs, just to remind you what they looked like. I didn’t say particularly clearly how I got the data, or even exactly what the graphs meant. So here’s the long methodology post showing how I ended […]Brian Weatherson
- Citations of History Journals 2017-04-27Yesterday I posted some data about how often journals cite other journals. And one of the things that jumped out was how rarely generalist journals cite various specialist journals. I suggested an inference from that: generalist journals are not as generalist as they are often thought to be. And I think that’s largely correct, and […]Brian Weatherson
- Citation Patterns Across Journals 2017-04-26I’ve been interested for a while in the different things that get attention in different philosophy journals. Part of what got me interested in this was looking at the ways that different well known articles get cited, or not, in different journals. Below is a table showing how many times (according to Web of Science), […]Brian Weatherson