Animal Worship If you google “animal worship” you will get some surprising results (I did). It turns out that animal worship (“zoolatry”) was much more widespread than might be supposed. It is present in nearly all ancient religions and extends right across the animal kingdom. I made a list: bears, whales, cattle, sheep, goats, dogs, […]
Groceries The president was explaining the word “groceries” to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. He fancied himself a bit of a linguist in his spare time, because he was an expert in everything to do with word. In fact, he was an all-round expert on many subjects, including windmill and shower head (not to […]
Assertion and Command There is such a thing as speech act theory, but ought there to be? Philosophers and linguists usually distinguish assertion, command, and question: these are the three main types of speech act. Questions are often assimilated to commands (requests) because they can be construed as requests for information (“Please tell me whether […]
Bathroom Blues The president was loitering in one of the many bathrooms of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. As a construction person, he was much interested in the décor of this palatial retreat. So much fine marble! So much ornate gold! It made Mara Lago look paltry and poor in comparison. He was having […]
A Bit of History When I arrived in Oxford in 1972, after having studied psychology for the previous four years in Manchester, I was in need of a philosophy supervisor. At that time, I was enrolled in the B.Litt. program, having been deemed by R.M. Hare not qualified to undertake the B.Phil. degree. I had […]
Certainty As a topic in the philosophy of mind, as opposed to epistemology, certainty has not received much attention. I intend to put that right. What kind of mental state is certainty? What is its analysis? I will be asking a series of questions, this being a new field—certainty studies. First, what is the relation […]
The President’s Jet Reclining in his big beautiful bathroom, the president felt things were going well—really well, in fact, frankly. Even the water pressure in his gleaming shower was working well on his magnificent hair. An Arab state had officially made him the gift of a brand-new luxury jet costing a billion dollars (give or […]
