Dear Prof. McGinn, I hope you are well. I saw that you recently posted an open call to dialogue on your blog, which reminded me that last year I wrote an essay in reply to one of your posts. You may find it interesting. https://www.thephilosopher1923.org/post/on-cancelling-and-repair Kind regards, Mary Dear Mary Peterson, To be honest […]
Block on Searle Ned Block says: “Searle was a pugilistic philosopher, much more interested in winning than in truth”. This is a nasty comment, coming so soon after Searle’s death. It isn’t so much the imputation of a desire to win as the suggestion that this was more Searle’s interest than the truth. The clear […]
Indictments I welcome the indictments the current administration intends to bring against a list of people; not because they are guilty of anything but because they are not. In each case the allegations will fall apart, thus exposing the meritless nature of the charges. This will not look good for the prosecutors. It will also […]
This sums things up nicely (CMG): Thank you and I’m more than ready to tell you. I once told (I forget his name, but the guy who gossips all the time on the internet about Philosophy) that I could probably name some unsavory fact about anyone he mentioned, because rumors are just that—rumors. He had […]
I have permission from the writer to post this. It was forwarded to me by Tom Nagel. Let me add that I have spoken at length to other philosophers accused of this and that in the last twelve years: Peter Ludlow, Thomas Pogge, Jeff Ketland. My conclusion has been that none of these accusations has […]
Other Conceptions I have a conception of the world, commonly called my conceptual scheme. It can be investigated, probed, criticized. I also have a conception of myself, specifically my mind. This tends to be more private and more subject to philosophical and scientific controversy. Still, it is quite well-formed and available to my cogitations: I […]
George Soros The attempt to indict George Soros on some Trumped-up charge is patently absurd, but will probably happen. I wish him well dealing with this nonsense. However, I have mixed feelings about the man, who I once considered a friend. I spent many hours reading his attempts at philosophy and discussing them with him […]
Baby Finger All guitarists struggle with their smallest fretting finger: it just isn’t very strong or agile. You have to work on it. Recently I decided to go all-out on it. I began playing all my familiar licks with only that finger: Day Tripper, Wipe Out, Pretty Woman, I’ll Take You There, Walk This Way, […]
Earth Philosophy The planet we call Earth has specific properties, physically and geologically. It is reasonable to suppose that all of life reflects these properties—physiologically and psychologically. It is also reasonable to suppose that human science is imbued with these properties; on other planets with intelligent life forms the science may be quite different. A […]
A Letter from Concerned Philosophers Twelve years ago, a slew of philosophy professors was persuaded to sign a letter denouncing me for alleged “retaliation”. I am offering a cash prize for anyone of this crowd to write to me and give me their reasons for so signing. I predict there will be no takers, but […]