My Honest Views I think David Lewis was off his rocker, I think Donald Davidson was far too impressed by elementary logic and decision theory, I think Willard Quine was a mediocre logician with some philosophical side-interests, I think Daniel Dennett never understood philosophy, I think Michael Dummett was a dimwit outside of his narrow […]
A New Theory of Knowledge Knowledge is the conscious impingement of the world on the soul. I don’t think we can do better than this after all these years: it captures the essence. Knowledge is the (conscious) impingement of the world on the soul. These are its conceptual ingredients. Forget true justified belief, or acquaintance, […]
John Searle, Philosopher I will give my personal opinion (i.e., the truth) about John Searle as a philosopher. He was clearly a brilliant and clever man, not to be tangled with; he was also a lucid and bracing writer. He was right about a great many things (I intend this as high praise). He was […]
007 Beautiful Bond-girl to Bond: “So, 007, what is your name?” Bond: “Bond, James Bond”. Girl: “Ah, James Bond”. Bond: “No, Bond James-Bond”. Girl: “I see. Hello Mr. James-Bond. Or should I call you Bond?”. Bond: “Bond would be fine. And what is your name?” Girl: “Pussy, Pussy Galore”. Bond: “Interesting—Pussy Galore”. Girl: “No, it […]
Biography of Nabokov I have just finished reading the first volume of Brain Boyd’s magisterial (there is no other word) biography of Nabokov. At 500 pages it covers only his years in Russia and other European countries. I have never felt so steeped in the great man, and I have been seriously steeped. I now […]
Inside the Baseline Most serious tennis players start their practice session with a few minutes of mini-tennis, i.e., hitting the ball softly within the service area. This gets you used to controlling the ball. I like to supplement this with what I call aggressive mini-tennis: hitting the ball as fast as you can within the […]
Morality, Relativism, and Supervenience I find it hard to believe that the point I am about to make has not been made before, so I state that it must have been. If so, this may serve as a welcome repetition, for the point is a good one. It is that moral supervenience and moral relativism […]
Is Stupidity Innate? This is a question people are too polite to raise. We can just about ask whether intelligence is innate, wholly or partly, but please don’t ask whether some people are born stupid! Can it be responsibly maintained that some people are condemned by their genes to a life of stupidity? And here […]
Law and Morality In a morally ideal society, there are no laws. Everyone does what they should out of the goodness of their heart not fear of legal consequences. The whole apparatus of law does not exist—police, courts, lawyers, prisons, etc. It sounds wonderful: no one steals, murders, rapes, cheats on their taxes, speeds, or […]
Romantic Overtures We really need to get tougher on romance, especially at universities. As things stand, people can make romantic overtures to other people and face no consequences. They can even make declarations of love and get away with it! This can lead to all sorts of discomfort and loss of focus on one’s studies, […]