Are Colors Actions? We think of colors as attributes, like shapes or natural kinds: to be red is like being square or a cat—a property that something has, not an action it does. I will argue that colors are really more akin to actions than attributes. A color is an action of an object on […]
Table Tennis Story I was over at the Biltmore tennis center on Saturday, hoping to hit against the wall. As it happens, a kid’s tournament was underway and the wall was occupied by kids. I noticed one young lad who seemed particularly proficient, especially with his two-handed backhand. A friend of mine there, a coach, […]
Relational Realism There has long been a skeptical attitude towards material objects. People have doubted that they exist—from idealist philosophers, to phenomenalists, to free-thinking physicists. Some have regarded them as mental entities not material; others have identified matter with mind; others have jettisoned them in favor of energy or some such. Thus, we get anti-realism […]
Philosophy and Writing There is a strong correlation between good philosophy and good writing. Good philosophers write good prose. These are separate abilities, but they are correlated—connected, we might say. I don’t know of a good philosopher who writes ineptly. And if the writing is good, good philosophy is apt to follow. Russell is perhaps […]
The Empty Vessels That was the name of the band my brother and I formed circa 1964. I played drums, my brother Keith played rhythm guitar, Paul Taylor played lead guitar, Andrew Highley sang (with backup from Keith and Paul), and we had revolving bass players. We rehearsed in spaces around town, arranged by my […]
Beatles’ Covers The orthodox view is that the Beatles recorded covers before they came into their full powers and wrote their own songs, which made for much better records. This is completely wrong: their covers were magnificent, their originals not always that great. They should have continued to record covers throughout their career; it might […]
Mistakes and Rules Yesterday I was talking to a guy over at the tennis center; we were discussing the idea of changing the size of the service area so as to reduce the dominance of the serve. The guy, Antonio, was born in Cuba, moved to the USA at an early age, and now lives […]
Dark Mind It is a melancholy thought that one’s internal organs live out their life in complete darkness.[1] They never see the light of day or feel the warmth of the sun upon them. Sunlight is unknown to them; no photons reach their surface. The brain is only centimeters from the sun-bathed head but it […]
Solutionism I will define solutionism as the doctrine that all philosophical problems have solutions that are in principle available to us. It is the opposite of mysterianism. It characterizes an attitude or mindset with respect to the problems of philosophy—the solubility attitude or assumption. It deserves to be called an ideology. I can best explain […]
Philosophy Summarized Philosophy is a human construction with a human history, like art and politics. It has origins, antecedents, revolutions, and counterrevolutions. It evolves. I am going to describe this history from Descartes to the present day. The brush will be broad but hard-edged. It is all about Descartes and reactions to him. He had […]