An Interactive Theory of Meaning Theories of meaning are apt to emphasize one or other aspect of what is conceived as a polarity: either meaning is constituted by features of the mind (the subject, the brain) or it is constituted by features of mind-independent reality (objects, the environment). Thus we have internalist […]
Another Philosopher’s Day[1] Wake from a dream (that might be reality) Penetrate the veil of perception Check that one is not a brain in a vat Receive the given Will one’s right arm to rise Harness mind to body by tinkering with the pineal Quantify over a few numbers Imbibe some wisdom […]
There is another interview with me on YouTube, this time with Thom Jump. It’s about the mind of God.
Godless Matter Berkeley’s philosophy is built around the insight that the existence of matter and the existence of God are incompatible.[1] If God exists, then matter does not; if matter exists, then God does not. This incompatibility is not obvious: offhand it appears that matter and God are compatible entities—a world could […]
Best At Doing Philosophy I found myself wondering who is the best at actually doing philosophy—the activity, the skill. I mean as judged by such criteria as cleverness, ingenuity, argumentative power, intellectual penetration, insight, polemical punch, sheer philosophical IQ. This is independent of correctness or quantity of output. Here is my answer: Descartes, […]
Psychologist Here is an extra oddity: I was originally trained as a psychologist not a philosopher. And I don’t mean a philosophical psychologist but an experimental psychologist. I used to be a scientist. I got my B.A. in psychology from Manchester University in 1971 (first class) and went on to do an M.A. […]
One thing is clear: Roger Federer loved tennis, and still does. He loves his wife for letting him play; he loves his friends for playing with him; he loves to hold a racket in his hands. That’s why he cried: because he was leaving tennis behind. It’s what gave his life meaning. Roger is tennis.
If I Tell You If I tell you that I love you Will you say you love me too? If I tell you that I need you Will you promise to be true? Or will you walk away? Will you break my day? Will you leave me here to bleed? And report […]
Best Philosopher Ever Who is the best philosopher that ever lived? I am going to argue that I am. This claim may be met with some incredulity: surely I don’t believe I’m a better philosopher than Plato or Aristotle or Descartes or Kant or Russell! Actually I am claiming that, but the claim […]
When Elizabeth II died I thought: She wasn’t a bad old bird–these very words went through my mind. I remember singing God Save The Queen to her at Saturday morning pictures (movies for kids) back in the 1950s when I was 8 or 9. I am no royalist but at least she gave people something […]