Sep
10

A Book Review and Some Philosophy of Science

Charles Darwin was 200 years old this February–or, rather, he would have been 200 years old if he hadn’t been ejected from the gene pool in 1882. ?Moreover, the 150th anniversary of the publication of his magnum opus, On The Origin of Species, is right around the corner: it was first published on November 24,… Continue reading »

Sep
03

Bertrand Russell: Leaping Tall Proofs in a Single Bound Variable

Back when I was a human larva, Bertrand Russell was one of the first philosophers I ever discovered, let alone read in any depth. I was raised moderately Catholic, but by the time I was 11 or 12, I was wrestling with nascent feelings that Catholicism–and indeed, all of religion–might be terribly inadequate. One day,… Continue reading »

Aug
26

Penn & Teller: More Good Than Harm?

As you probably have heard if you follow our news feed, the Catholic League is calling for Penn & Teller’s Showtime show?“Bullshit!” to be cancelled after an (as-yet unseen) season finale attacking Catholicism. ?For those who haven’t had the pleasure of seeing “Bullshit!”–which, as you might be able to tell already, I quite enjoy–I suppose… Continue reading »

Aug
25

The View From the Trail: Introducing Natural Philosophy

Who am I?? Why am I here?? It seems only appropriate that a philosophy blog begins with these questions; Dan Dennett says that it’s an occupational hazard of the profession that we philosophers get asked to define the meaning of life over dinner (or over the Interwebs, as the case may be).? That’s not what… Continue reading »