Philosophy
From a time in the past...
We are all familiar with the Descartes statement "I think, therefore I am" ["Cogito ergo sum"/"Dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum ("I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am")] but a colleague wrote that "Descartes had it backwards...'I am, therefore I think'".
- The Market Is Up On News That I Wrote This Post
Everyday we hear an interesting causal claim "The market is up(down) on news that..." How do the financial reporters make this statement? Seem like there are three possibilities: (1) They interview traders and ask them what influenced their thinking on...
- How Transparent Are Our Minds?
In a conversation last week, a gay colleague referred to an acquaintance as so deeply closeted that he (the acquaintance) never realized himself that he was gay. It struck me as an interesting thing to say -- a case of purported false consciousness --...
- Bullshit Or Not: Descartes Edition
There's an old sketch film called Amazon Women on the Moon and one of the bits is a parody of the old Leonard Nimoy show, "In Search Of..." called, "Bullshit or Not?" with the tagline "Bullshit or not? You decide." It's a line I like so much that...
- René Descartes
(1596-1650) ?If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts, but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties,? says Francis Bacon and thus begins Modern Philosophy. Given the background of centuries of dogmatic...
- Philosophy: Brain In A Vat Argument ? Truth Revealed
Brains in a vat? That sounds terrifying, doesn?t it? Brain in a vat argument is one of the newest thought experiments in philosophy of mind (discussed by John Pollock). Many people raise objection to the brain in a vat theory but are there in fact any...
Philosophy
Descartes confused?
From a time in the past...We are all familiar with the Descartes statement "I think, therefore I am" ["Cogito ergo sum"/"Dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum ("I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am")] but a colleague wrote that "Descartes had it backwards...'I am, therefore I think'".
- The Market Is Up On News That I Wrote This Post
Everyday we hear an interesting causal claim "The market is up(down) on news that..." How do the financial reporters make this statement? Seem like there are three possibilities: (1) They interview traders and ask them what influenced their thinking on...
- How Transparent Are Our Minds?
In a conversation last week, a gay colleague referred to an acquaintance as so deeply closeted that he (the acquaintance) never realized himself that he was gay. It struck me as an interesting thing to say -- a case of purported false consciousness --...
- Bullshit Or Not: Descartes Edition
There's an old sketch film called Amazon Women on the Moon and one of the bits is a parody of the old Leonard Nimoy show, "In Search Of..." called, "Bullshit or Not?" with the tagline "Bullshit or not? You decide." It's a line I like so much that...
- René Descartes
(1596-1650) ?If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts, but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties,? says Francis Bacon and thus begins Modern Philosophy. Given the background of centuries of dogmatic...
- Philosophy: Brain In A Vat Argument ? Truth Revealed
Brains in a vat? That sounds terrifying, doesn?t it? Brain in a vat argument is one of the newest thought experiments in philosophy of mind (discussed by John Pollock). Many people raise objection to the brain in a vat theory but are there in fact any...