March 2009 Archives

Mathematicians Take on Free Will

By webmaster on March 31, 2009 5:58 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
High-powered mathematicians take on free will -- Princeton University

Ten years ago, Princeton mathematician John Conway wowed standing-room-only crowds with a series of public math lectures. Among many things, he spoke about ancient Greek geometers and his modern discovery of surreal numbers. He threw in some math tricks, too. Audiences flocked to hear the joys of math recounted by one of its masters and left enthralled by Conway's intellectual wizardry...

This time, the presentations will have one focus. Working with his longtime colleague, Princeton mathematician Simon Kochen, Conway is set on explaining to the University community and the public over six weeks the tenets of their "Free Will Theorem."

The gist of it is this: They say they have proved that if humans have free will, then elementary particles -- like atoms and electrons -- possess free will as well.

Atheism, Evolution and Morality

By webmaster on March 25, 2009 1:12 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Peter Singer on the Colbert Report

By webmaster on March 25, 2009 11:24 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Peter Singer
comedycentral.com
Colbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical HumorNASA Name Contest

It's Unethical Not to Give in Recession

By webmaster on March 24, 2009 6:41 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
It's Unethical Not to Give in Recession -- Marketplace

Kai Ryssdal: In the final stop of his trip to Africa today, Pope Benedict called on the rest of the world to share the earth's natural resources more fairly. Remembering the continent's poor was a main theme of his week-long visit. It's especially easy to forget the needy when the economy slows down. Bioethicist Peter Singer says in his latest book, "The Life You Can Save" it's called, that not only should we give more in a recession, it's unethical not to. I asked him for an example.

PETER SINGER: You're walking across a park, and you see a small child fall in a pond. The child might drown in the pond if you don't rescue the child because nobody else is around. So of course you jump in. And you jump in even if you're wearing your most expensive shoes, and you know they will get ruined..


Elisabeth's Criticisms of Descartes' Interactionism

By Jeff on March 22, 2009 10:05 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Princess Elisabeth and the Problem of Mind-Body Interaction
By Deborah Tollefsen - Hypatia 14.3 (1999) 59-77

Abstract: This paper focuses on Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia's philosophical views as exhibited in her early correspondence with René Descartes. Elisabeth's criticisms of Descartes's interactionism as well as her solution to the problem of mind-body interaction are examined in detail. The aim here is to develop a richer picture of Elisabeth as a philosophical thinker and to dispel the myth that she is simply a Cartesian muse.

Professor Tollefsen's Homepage at The University of Memphis

Julian Savulescu on the 'Yuk' Factor

By webmaster on March 20, 2009 1:58 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Julian Savulescu on the 'Yuk' Factor -- Philosophy Bites

Julian Savulescu on the 'Yuk' Factor How relevant is revulsion to moral judgements? We all have strong emotional reactions of 'yuk!' to some activities. But should we attempt to set these aside or should they be guides to our action? Julian Savulescu, Director of the Oxford University Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics discusses the relevance of moral repugnance with Nigel Warburton for Philosophy Bites. Listen to Julian Savulescu on the 'Yuk' Factor.

Listen to Julian Savulescu on the 'Yuk' Factor

Death

By webmaster on March 19, 2009 7:16 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Death -- Academic Earth

There is one thing I can be sure of: I am going to die. But what am I to make of that fact? This [Yale University] course will examine a number of issues that arise once we begin to reflect on our mortality. The possibility that death may not actually be the end is considered. Are we, in some sense, immortal? Would immortality be desirable? Also a clearer notion of what it is to die is examined. What does it mean to say that a person has died? What kind of fact is that? And, finally, different attitudes to death are evaluated. Is death an evil? How? Why? Is suicide morally permissible? Is it rational? How should the knowledge that I am going to die affect the way I live my life?

Link to Academic Earth for video lectures 2-26

Introduction to Political Philosophy

By webmaster on March 19, 2009 7:13 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Introduction to Political Philosophy -- Academic Earth

This [Yale University] course is intended as an introduction to political philosophy as seen through an examination of some of the major texts and thinkers of the Western political tradition. Three broad themes that are central to understanding political life are focused upon: the polis experience (Plato, Aristotle), the sovereign state (Machiavelli, Hobbes), constitutional government (Locke), and democracy (Rousseau, Tocqueville). The way in which different political philosophies have given expression to various forms of political institutions and our ways of life are examined throughout the course.

Link to Academic Earth to access videos 2-24

Our Buggy Moral Code

By webmaster on March 19, 2009 5:53 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Link to the TED site for the original video and discussion.

Scandinavian Nonbelievers

By webmaster on March 12, 2009 3:24 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Scandinavian Nonbelievers, Which Is Not to Say Atheists - NYTimes.com

Phil Zuckerman spent 14 months in Scandinavia, talking to hundreds of Danes and Swedes about religion. It wasn't easy.

Anyone who has paid attention knows that Denmark and Sweden are among the least religious nations in the world. Polls asking about belief in God, the importance of religion in people's lives, belief in life after death or church attendance consistently bear this out. It is also well known that in various rankings of nations by life expectancy, child welfare, literacy, schooling, economic equality, standard of living and competitiveness, Denmark and Sweden stand in the first tier.

Well documented though they may be, these two sets of facts run up against the assumption of many Americans that a society where religion is minimal would be, in Mr. Zuckerman's words, "rampant with immorality, full of evil and teeming with depravity."

PsyBlog

By webmaster on March 11, 2009 1:17 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
PsyBlog

This website is all about you and me. It's about understanding how our minds work and why we think and act the way we do. Of course bookshop shelves groan with this sort of material in the self-help section, but this site has one crucial difference with much of that material: PsyBlog focuses on scientific psychology. Research covered here has been published in reputable academic journals in many different areas of psychology.

Our Secret Attitude Changes

By webmaster on March 11, 2009 1:11 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Our Secret Attitude Changes -- PsyBlog


When you change your attitude about something, do you know why? Psychologists have argued that the inner workings of our minds are largely hidden away from us. One aspect of this is the surprising finding that people are often unaware when they have changed their attitudes....

When compared to a control group who were not involved in the further discussion, neither of the experimentally manipulated groups could accurately remember their original position. What they remembered as their 'original' opinion seemed to have been significantly warped by the experimental manipulation.

First those who were anti-bussing originally recalled their pre-manipulation position as being much more pro-bussing than it actually was. Even more impressively, those who were originally pro-bussing thought they were actually anti-bussing before the experiment. Their recall of their previous position had completely turned around.

Strangely, when asked what effect the discussion had had on their views, all the participants thought it hadn't significantly changed their views. If anything, they said, the discussion had just confirmed what they already thought.


We Need R&D for Teaching With Technology

By webmaster on March 9, 2009 2:50 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
We Need R&D for Teaching With Technology - Chronicle.com

Third, we must create communities within institutions that truly engage experimentation in the context of inquiry and systematic improvement. Every campus should have its own R&D processes that nurture transformative practices. Every campus should be asking what it means to create such a space. How can structures of accountability nurture creativity?

Plato

By webmaster on March 7, 2009 6:58 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Watch parts 2, 3, and 4 below.

Continue reading Plato.

Aristotle

By webmaster on March 7, 2009 6:56 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Watch parts 2, 3, and 4 below.

Continue reading Aristotle.

John Locke

By webmaster on March 7, 2009 6:54 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Watch parts 2 and 3 below.

Continue reading John Locke.

Socrates

By webmaster on March 7, 2009 6:50 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Watch parts 2, 3, and 4 below.

Continue reading Socrates.

DNA Have "Impossible" Telepathic Properties

By webmaster on March 4, 2009 3:29 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
DNA Found to Have "Impossible" Telepathic Properties -- The Daily Galaxy

Scientists are reporting evidence that contrary to our current beliefs about what is possible, intact double-stranded DNA has the "amazing" ability to recognize similarities in other DNA strands from a distance. Somehow they are able to identify one another, and the tiny bits of genetic material tend to congregate with similar DNA. The recognition of similar sequences in DNA's chemical subunits, occurs in a way unrecognized by science. There is no known reason why the DNA is able to combine the way it does, and from a current theoretical standpoint this feat should be chemically impossible.

Test Your Awareness: Do The Test

By webmaster on March 3, 2009 2:40 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
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