Philosophy
I recently went to Sea World (where I took the picture on the right), and I was so impressed by the dolphins that I just had to look for something to share with everyone, and what could be better than David Attenborough explaining their incredible mental powers?
Now, I'm not going to sit around and wait for a dolphin to publish a philosophical treatise on the meaning of meaning, or a set of meditations on whether universals precede particulars or vice versa, but there is no denying that in the relatively short time they have been aquatic creatures, they have become one of the most successful species in the sea, totally kicking fish butt :)
This sudden coup has been made possible by their highly advanced intelligence, which is itself a result of their social nature and their need to communicate with one another.
As Attenborough demonstrates in this documentary, however you define intelligence, dolphins are ready to meet the challenge and prove themselves deep thinkers.
And here is a slideshow with a few of the pictures I recently took:
The day they get opposable thumbs, we're done!
.
- Debunking The "naturalistic" Argument Against Gay Marriage, Part I
As John points out over at The NonSequitur"Arguments against gay marriage tend to fall into one of two groups: (1) the slippery slope group, which alleges that if gay marriage is permitted, all sorts of outrageous consequences will follow (such as the...
- Not So Deep Tautologies
Hanno and I have written a couple of articles on how tautologies, sentences like "It's raining or it's not," can be used in conversation meaningfully. Since a tautology is always true, yes it is either raining or it isn't, it tells you nothing...
- Cameron Diaz Flirts With Sir David Attenborough
If you've been spoiled by multiple BBC documentaries narrated by Sir David Attenborough, as I have, then you've probably experienced the cringing sensation that it is watching those documentaries when they're narrated by other people, like...
- Cristoph Koch - What Makes Us Conscious?
Though neither scientists nor philosophers have a fully working theory of consciousness, the study of the brain has opened a small window into this phenomenon that is simultaneously the most familiar and the most baffling of all. Though most contemporary...
- How To Fix The Middle East... With Weapons!
It seems to be a generally true rule of thumb that a society's cultural and economic well-being improve when education is made available to women. Isabel Allende and David Attenborough have eloquently made that same point before, but for areas as...
Philosophy
Dolphins - Deep Thinkers?
I recently went to Sea World (where I took the picture on the right), and I was so impressed by the dolphins that I just had to look for something to share with everyone, and what could be better than David Attenborough explaining their incredible mental powers?Now, I'm not going to sit around and wait for a dolphin to publish a philosophical treatise on the meaning of meaning, or a set of meditations on whether universals precede particulars or vice versa, but there is no denying that in the relatively short time they have been aquatic creatures, they have become one of the most successful species in the sea, totally kicking fish butt :)
This sudden coup has been made possible by their highly advanced intelligence, which is itself a result of their social nature and their need to communicate with one another.
As Attenborough demonstrates in this documentary, however you define intelligence, dolphins are ready to meet the challenge and prove themselves deep thinkers.
And here is a slideshow with a few of the pictures I recently took:
The day they get opposable thumbs, we're done!
.
- Debunking The "naturalistic" Argument Against Gay Marriage, Part I
As John points out over at The NonSequitur"Arguments against gay marriage tend to fall into one of two groups: (1) the slippery slope group, which alleges that if gay marriage is permitted, all sorts of outrageous consequences will follow (such as the...
- Not So Deep Tautologies
Hanno and I have written a couple of articles on how tautologies, sentences like "It's raining or it's not," can be used in conversation meaningfully. Since a tautology is always true, yes it is either raining or it isn't, it tells you nothing...
- Cameron Diaz Flirts With Sir David Attenborough
If you've been spoiled by multiple BBC documentaries narrated by Sir David Attenborough, as I have, then you've probably experienced the cringing sensation that it is watching those documentaries when they're narrated by other people, like...
- Cristoph Koch - What Makes Us Conscious?
Though neither scientists nor philosophers have a fully working theory of consciousness, the study of the brain has opened a small window into this phenomenon that is simultaneously the most familiar and the most baffling of all. Though most contemporary...
- How To Fix The Middle East... With Weapons!
It seems to be a generally true rule of thumb that a society's cultural and economic well-being improve when education is made available to women. Isabel Allende and David Attenborough have eloquently made that same point before, but for areas as...