Dennett and the “Little People” #3

Here (#3) below is the David Hamill piece from the Free Thought Prophet blog that triggered the two … previous (#1) … posts (#2) as well as a lot of comments and tweets. Most of my earlier thoughts concerned the Jerry Coyne post given as a reference and the linked Dan Dennett Big Think video. … Continue reading “Dennett and the “Little People” #3″

Dennett and the “Little People”

I came across a twitter thread of Free Thought Prophet (FTP, otherwise anon) recommending a blog post by John Hamill (Atheist Ireland National Committee) about Dennett’s position on free-will. FTP I know as a knockabout humorous commentator in the space occupied by the four horsemen. As a rationalist, atheist, humanist myself, “free-thought” is the traditional tag … Continue reading “Dennett and the “Little People””

The Google Gender & Diversity Furore

So much UK media traffic this morning. The basic “tech” news story. All the original story links below. Lots of social media feeding the PC side of it that the the guy that wrote it must have had a sexist / racist agenda. Some, but not so many including myself, pointing out he has some … Continue reading “The Google Gender & Diversity Furore”

Dennett – Does He or Doesn’t He?

Is he a scientist or is he a philosopher? He’s a philosopher. His contributions to science (and anything else) are philosophical. He’s learned a great deal from science and is very pro-science. Some, but not so many, scientists appreciate philosophical input or explicitly concern themselves with the philosophical underpinnings of their subject. Is he a “four … Continue reading “Dennett – Does He or Doesn’t He?”

Vive La Différance, Again.

Vive La Différance – or a white swan in the hand is worth more than risking a few black feathers in the bush. I’ve regularly used the Derridan version of difference (différance) ironically and usually when talking about gender differences. That minefield of: what differences there really are between men and women (specifically archetypically, but … Continue reading “Vive La Différance, Again.”

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants – Dreaming of Enlightenment

When it comes to Anthony Gottlieb’s “Dream of Enlightenment“, my anticipation would be an understatement. When in 2004 I read and loved his earlier “Dream of Reason” (Greeks to Renaissance) and noted a second volume was in the pipeline, I was on pre-order lists with the publisher, and retail outlets, I even followed-up with enquiries about forecast … Continue reading “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants – Dreaming of Enlightenment”

Me & My Free Will

I gave a very brief presentation (total 15 minute slot including Q&A) at Teesside’s Skeptics in the Pub (SitP) open-mike night last Thursday. Since it was my first such outing I gave a couple of minutes intro to what I’m doing here in and around Psybertron, before choosing to major on Free-Will. A PDF of the presentation MeAndMyFreeWill is … Continue reading “Me & My Free Will”

X-Plane – the Liminal Layer

Vaguely (subconscious irony) aware of David Gray’s upcoming Liminal Thinking publication, and reminded today by a Facebook post from Johnnie Moore (which itself has a hat tip to Jon Husband) that set me thinking – a riff linking some thinking, rather than any deep reading of the references (yet). Johnnie’s trigger was “Tyranny of the explicit” which … Continue reading “X-Plane – the Liminal Layer”