What, Why & How do we Know ?
I left my review of Paul Mason at his revelation that Karl Marx is to be our saviour. Not a bombshell that Mason has serious left leanings. Even as a journalist he’s always worn his heart on his sleeve supporting the financially underpowered – most recently in doggedly sticking up for the Greeks against the … Continue reading “Economics – in Theory”
Heard Graham Bell talk again last week, this time a LAAG event entitled: “Making moral decisions: Are ‘you’ really in charge?” (With scare quotes around the ‘you’ in the original.) Obviously with that title presented that way, I was prejudiced to expect the usual “You and your free-will are illusions” line of denial. In fact, … Continue reading ““Making moral decisions: Are ‘you’ really in charge?””
On “the glorious 12th” of February Robert Ashby BHA Chair of Trustees introduced the 12th annual Darwin Day Lecture hosted by the BHA. Richard Dawkins then introduced anthropologist Dr Eugenie Scott of the US NCSE.org as the guest speaker on ‘What would Darwin say to today’s creationists?’ (Note that NCSE has a wider educational mandate, and currently … Continue reading “Dr Eugenie Scott on ‘What would Darwin say to today’s creationists?’”
The political philosopher Roberto Unger and the cosmologist / physicist Lee Smolin have jointly written “The Singular Universe and the Reality of Time” and its release last month had already been promoted as a landmark work. It’s actually two books, one by each of them, with common introduction and index. So far, in addition to … Continue reading “Cosmology in Crisis – Unger & Smolin sweeping away the metaphysical gloss.”
Michael Sandel spoke to a large audience at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster last night, an event organised by the How To Academy, and introduced by Andrew Neil. Very brief talk, max 40 minutes, introducing his latest book “What Money Can’t Buy – The Moral Limits of Markets“, in his usual minimally-scripted audience-participatory style, and therefore … Continue reading “Michael Sandel can’t buy me love.”
Been reading The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force by Jeffrey M Schwartz and Sharon Begley, at the suggestion of an exchange between Dave Morey and Harvey Taylor on FB. Other than the two title topics being part of any complete brain-mind story, the only real connection between Neuroplasticity and Mental Force … Continue reading “Brain Plasticity and Free Will – Really!”
I came to be reading Thomas Nagel’s Mind & Cosmos. because I came across this review, which was itself a balanced comparative review of Nagel alongside Max Tegmark’s mathematical take on reality, but it was clear Nagel had ruffled a few orthodox scientific feathers with his heretical ideas. Coincidentally when I ordered Mind and Cosmos … Continue reading “Panpsychic Alternative to Reductionism? Nagel’s latest recommended #mindandcosmos”
Rupert Sheldrake’s “The Science Delusion” (2012) so-called by his publisher as a pointed response to Dawkins, is called “Science Set Free” in the US. Given my agenda – alternatives to logical-positivist materialist-reductionist scientistic-dogma worldviews – it’s not possible for me to be ignorant of Sheldrake, but I’m pretty sure I’ve not read anything of his … Continue reading “Rupert Sheldrake’s Science Delusion”