A Paradox of Objectivity and Subjectivity We normally suppose that our thoughts concern an objective world. We are capable of thinking about things outside the mind. There is a mind-independent world and we can make cognitive contact with that world by deploying our concepts. I can form conceptions of things that exist outside my mind. […]
Objective and Subjective Knowledge We must first make a firm distinction between objective and subjective facts, on the one hand, and objective and subjective conceptions of facts, on the other.[1] That is, we must distinguish the application of these terms to the world (objects, properties) from their application to mental representations of the world (perceptions, […]
Brain Specialization and Cognitive Closure Is the human brain intellectually limited? How limited might it be? Is it also limited emotionally and athletically and artistically? Suppose we ask the same question about the parts of the brain, the various functional structures gathered into a single brain—are they limited? For example, can the visual cortex perform […]
It is possible to describe humankind in the objective terms favored by orthodox zoology and biology. You can describe the human being in scrupulously behavioral terms, stressing his anatomy, physiology, and evolution. It can be quite illuminating to do so, and not untrue. For example, you can describe human sexuality this way (Desmond Morris does […]
In the history of philosophy materialism and idealism are regularly opposed to each other: they are conceived as rival metaphysical systems. Each is thought to have its appeal, with oscillation between them, but it is assumed that you cannot be both. They are logically incompatible doctrines. The world is either completely material or it is […]
Wittgenstein concludes his famous section in Philosophical Investigations on games (66) with these words: “we see a complicated network of similarities overlapping and criss-crossing: sometimes overall similarities, sometimes similarities of detail”. This he opposes to the idea that games have a single characteristic that defines them. He follows up this discussion by saying, “I can […]
According to Locke, colors are nothing but powers in objects to produce ideas in our minds. He writes: “What I have said concerning colours and smells, may be understood also of tastes, and sounds, and other the like sensible qualities; which, whatever reality we by mistake, attribute to them, are in truth nothing in the […]
Causation implies laws. A singular causal statement entails a general causal statement. If a caused b, we know that events like a will cause events like b. Thus universality is built into causation—the particular implies the universal.[1] This puts causation in a very special class of relations: it is not generally true that a singular […]
