This is the end of chapter 7 of my dissertation (which, God willing, I will eventually finish turning into a book). It explains my impolite, honest assessment of physicalism in philosophy of mind. When discussing the content of the first chapter of this work with others, one common response is a sort of ad …
Category Archive: Philosophy
Jun 14
Success of Philosophy Students: Selection Bias or Skill Development?
In an earlier post, I claimed that one reason to study philosophy is that it teaches valuable skills. I supplied as a piece evidence for this view the fact that philosophy majors do better on post-graduate exams than almost every other discipline. Several departments have raised this point on their web pages as a reason …
Apr 29
Self-interest and Affirmative Action: Why Employers should voluntarily adopt Affirmative Action Policies
I am uncertain how the ethical considerations surrounding affirmative action balance out as an issue of public policy. However, there appears to be an argument for private companies to adopt a policy favoring minorities and other under-represented groups in their hiring decisions that bypasses the tricky ethical issues raised in the debate. This argument is …
Jun 20
Common Sense Philosophy FAQ
What is Common Sense Philosophy? Common sense philosophy is a branch of philosophy that places restrictions on the legitimate results of philosophical investigations requiring such results to be compatible with common sense. It views the appropriate role of philosophical inquiry as the codification and gradual extension of our pre-theoretical understanding of reality, rather than as …
Mar 12
Arguments and Bias: An X-phi Experiment that should be Conducted
Despite the fact that I am a thoroughgoing rationalist, I find myself liking a lot of experimental philosophy. Since I’m an advocate of common sense, studies about what people actually believe seem like a good place to at least start in checking that we’re right when we claim that the folk think something is true. …
Mar 03
Why Waving Hands?
The title of this blog is drawn from one of my favorite philosophical arguments: G. E. Moore’s Proof of an External World. Moore gave the following proof of the existence of things outside our minds: Here’s one hand (waves his hand). Here’s another (waves other hand). Therefore, there are external objects. Moore’s proof may sound …