Existentialist Metaphysics I won’t attempt to explain, let alone justify, the existentialist philosophy laid out in Sartre’s Being and Nothingness; I will simply presuppose it. My concern is with the metaphysics that goes along with it (which Sartre completely ignores).[1] We have the in-itself and the for-itself. The in-itself is what it is; the for-itself […]
Incompatible Minds It is generally supposed that dualism is at least logically consistent, if riddled with other difficulties. There is no incompatibility between having both a mind and a body; a single thing (a person) could be both material and immaterial. One doesn’t rule out the other; you don’t contradict yourself if you say that […]
Circles of Being Let’s take analytical philosophy to a place it has never been before—into the heart of darkness. We have been up sunlit rivers into low-lying bush (necessary and sufficient conditions etc.), but now we must venture into the depths of the jungle to seek out new life and new forms, the basic structures […]
Are Women Men? The answer is a categorical no, but the question is interesting in itself. Men are women, but women are not men.[1] To establish this, we need to know the essence of men or male organisms generally. The essence of maleness is depositing sperm in the female body and not containing the resulting […]
Are Men Women? I mean this question literally: are men really women? Are they deep down, biologically, women in disguise—and a thin disguise at that? When you meet a man are you actually meeting a woman? I will give a quick proof that they are: men have nipples; anyone with nipples is a woman; therefore, […]
Is Philosophy an Ethical Subject? To hear it from Plato, you would think so. The ultimate form is The Good and we are admonished to seek it. We should search for beauty, truth, and goodness; this is our duty, our solemn obligation. Happiness will inevitably result. We should (morally) avoid the seductions of art and […]
On Imagination, Belief, and Action I was reminded recently of the importance of my book Mindsight (2004), because it brings the imagination into the center of the philosophy of mind.[1] In that book I make the point that belief presupposes imagination (chapter 10): for you can’t believe something without entertaining it first—imagining the state of […]
Action Explanation The orthodox view of action explanation goes as follows: a desire combines with a belief to cause a bodily movement; citing these explains the action in question.[1] I desire a beer and I believe that moving my body into the kitchen will get me a beer, and these together cause me to act […]
