Inconsistent Perception There are two aspects to our concept of perception and hence to perception: an intentional object aspect and a causal object aspect. There has to be an object you directly perceive and an object that causes your act of perceiving. To see (say) an object x is for x to be both the […]
Certainty, Causality, and Knowledge I am going to argue that our concept of knowledge is essentially contradictory. This fact is written into the history of epistemology. It lurks just below the surface. It is both surprising and predictable, given how we use the concept. Arguably, knowledge is logically impossible–conceptually, by definition. We can still usefully […]
Stereotypes We are all too familiar with stereotypes of other people—people of other races, people of other sexes, people with other accents. We are less familiar with stereotypes of other animals, but we don’t need much persuading that they exist—say, rats. But I want to ask a stranger question: do we harbor stereotypes of ourselves? […]
Possible Worlds (Again) There are many worlds: the human world, the chimp world, the dance world, the philosophical world, etc. We can quantify over them.[1] There are also possible such worlds, such as non-actual human worlds or Martian dance worlds. There is the actual human world and various possible human worlds, e.g., worlds in which […]
Bowling It is 64 years since I first went bowling, in Gillingham, Kent, at the age of 12. It was my first exposure to the American lifestyle and I loved it: the high-gloss high-tech world of expensive leisure; the heavy shiny bowling balls; the long gleaming lanes and big solid pins. The sound of ball-pin […]
Political Philosophy Politics is largely philosophical, but is philosophy largely political?[1] Is the practice of philosophy governed partly (mainly?) by political forces? Most people would agree that science and mathematics are not seriously political subjects, being governed by scientific norms, but is philosophy as a discipline strongly influenced by political considerations? Is it more political […]
Consciousness and Subjectivity According to some, consciousness is the heart of the mind-body problem—specifically the “what-it’s-likeness” of consciousness.[1] This is held to be explained by the fact that we can’t grasp the nature of a conscious state, like a bat’s echolocation experience, except by sharing it, whereas the same thing is not true of the […]
The Inner Limits We are all blind and deaf—not totally, but partially. We can’t see behind us or inside things or see the opposite face of things or very small things or very distant things; and similarly for hearing. We all know this. We can’t even see much of what lies directly in our field […]
Paradiddles I was watching a video the other day of Ginger Baker, the famous British drummer. He was emphasizing the importance of the paradiddle, which I have neglected in my drumming life. I started practicing it again so as to become proficient in it. It is quite demanding mentally and physically: your hands have to […]
Skip to main contentAccessibility help Sign in AI Mode All News Videos Images Short videos Forums More Tools AI Arms Race – Colin McGinn colinmcginn.net https://colinmcginn.net › Uncategorized 2 days ago — AI is likely to spark an arms race between nation states, particularly China and America. This will be analogous to the old […]