A New Proof of the External World It would be nice to be able to prove the existence of the external world (it would also be nice if there were a heaven). I am going to consider an argument that purports to do just that, not because I think it is sound, but because I […]
Analysis of Perceptual Knowledge Suppose I see a bird in the sky, thereby coming to know there is a bird in the sky (of a certain shape and color). I don’t form the belief that there is a bird in the sky; I simply know by perceiving. I might not be a believer at all, […]
Beatle-Philia Why were the Beatles so good, so beloved? Why do they stand out from everyone else? You might think it was because they were super-talented: each of them was really good at what they did. I think the opposite is true: they were that good because they were not all that talented or accomplished. […]
Dinosaur Evolution I saw my first dinosaur skeleton in the late 1950s at the Natural History Museum in London on a family trip. I remember it as huge, alien, and dead; but undeniably impressive. I have seen many more such skeletons since. It has always seemed to me that a lot of evolution separates us […]
Sent from my iPhone It’s like a sculpture you can use.
This Boy I have a personal relationship, a history, with the song “This Boy” by the Beatles. It was released in November 1963, when I was thirteen, as the B-side of “I Want to Hold Your Hand”. I heard it then. I recall the Beatles being interviewed on the BBC’s Tonight by Cliff Mitchelmore in […]
Seeing as Knowing Knowing may or may not be a type of seeing, but seeing is a type of knowing.[1] I mean this as an identity theory: seeing is knowing. Necessarily, if you see, you know, because seeing is in itself a type of knowing. The knowing isn’t something added to the seeing; it is […]
Sent from my iPhone
Moral Metaphors A solid moral vocabulary would seem essential to sound moral judgement and action. Yet we are signally lacking in that regard. Our language doesn’t aid the cause of morality. Can it be revised and improved? Are we conceptually lacking in our moral attitudes? These are important questions, especially in a time of moral…moral […]