Not So Naïve Realism We are usually faced with a binary choice between naive realism and sense-data theories, as if naive realism had only one strength or type. But really there is a spectrum of positions aptly so described, according to their degree of naivety. The strongest type—the most naïve—says that the objects of perception […]
Bertrand Russell and Me When I was young, I idolized Bertrand Russell—I idolized the man. It was largely because of him that I fled psychology into the arms of philosophy. But I am not the same kind of philosopher as Russell: my interests are different and always have been. I find his interests somewhat chilly […]
Tennis with Lolita and Eddy I was playing tennis with my friend Eddy yesterday, as I have done thousands of times before. We were at the Coral Gables Country Club (which is less tony than it sounds). It was a clear crisp sunny day, which is unusual for Miami (humid, hot). We were virtually alone […]
Folk Philosophy Is there such a thing as folk philosophy? We have heard of folk physics and folk psychology, but does philosophy have a folk version? Is there a determinate philosophy held by ordinary blokes (and blokettes)? Such a philosophy would have to be common to all (normal) human beings, part of human nature, possibly […]
Malcolm Budd I just found out that Malcolm Budd has died. He was my colleague and close friend at UCL when we were both there (1974-85). We had lunch and tea together every work day, sometimes breakfast. He was a person of enormous intelligence, rock-solid integrity, and great personal charm (humorous, handsome, generous). He was […]
Deception, Mimicry, and Meaning If mimicry lies somewhere in the evolutionary history of meaning,[1] and mimicry involves deception, then deception is at the heart of meaning. Language is custom-made for lying. Speech has lying in its DNA, literally. The octopus can change its color and texture to mimic its environment to an uncanny degree, the […]
Favorites Philosophy is difficult, a demanding mistress. I state the obvious. Who do I think responded best to its rigors? My top three are Thomas Nagel, Michael Ayers, and Bernard Suits—each in their different ways. They each managed to scale a high tree, swim in deep water, breathe a finer air. I won’t here summarize […]
