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Archive for the 'Philosophy' Category

Manners

I have good news and bad news. I’ve been asked to give a speech
of the ‘If I only knew then what I know now’ genre. That’s the
bad news. Well, the good news is that I’m not going to give that
speech. But there’s more bad news as well: Instead, I’m going
to take a few minutes to talk about manners

Probability and Design, Intelligent or Otherwise

Last night, I drew cards from a deck. The first card was the A♦. Then came 2♦. Then 3♦, 4♦, 5♦, 6♦, 7♦, 8♦, 9♦, 10♦, J♦, Q♦, K♦. The next card was the A♠, followed by 2♠, 3♠, 4♠, 5♠, 6♠, 7♠, 8♠, 9♠, 10♠, J♠, Q♠, K♠. And then, believe it or not, the cards ran through hearts and clubs, in order again. The probability of that happening is unimaginably low.

What is Philosophy About?

What counts as evidence in philosophy?

What Good is a Philosopher?

Recently I was asked to speak to the inductees of the Philosophy Honors Society (Phi Sigma Tau) at the University of South Carolina. What follows is a rough approximation of what I said, rewritten for a wider audience.

Intellectual Honesty in the Courts

…It is possible to misinterpret the law or judicial precedent, and it is possible to do so willfully, either by ignoring relevant aspects of the law or judicial precedent, or by ignoring good arguments against one’s own interpretation. Doing so is a form of intellectual dishonesty….