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Tag Archives: climate change
The Growth Illusion
Although I have gone to some effort to try and get folks to address the wider picture of the Levitt & Dubner attack on efforts to curb carbon emissions, I have only just received the first comment on it or any of the follow-up posts. Thanks to NelC for engaging–it is supposed to be the [...]
Posted in topical Also tagged conservatism, Enlightenment, ethics, global warming, liberalism, Marilynne Robinson, Michael Sandel, modernity, philosophy, rationalism, religion, Romanticism, Rousseau, Rowan Williams, secularism, virtue ethics 2 Comments
Free Will, Super Freakocide and Mansfield Park
(See below for updates.)
Horgan on Free Will
On his blog at the Centre for Science Writing ,John Horgan has been looking at Free Will, ethics and science, his latest post skewering an Einstein quote using a quintessential classical physics analogy (lunar orbits) to suggest that Free Will is an illusion.
I agree with John’s broad thesis, about [...]
Posted in topical Also tagged Buddhism, Christianity, ethics, Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, philosophy, Rowan Williams Leave a comment
Climate Science, Science and Humility
John Quiggin has just posted on the thoroughgoing mess the Australian conservative opposition is getting itself into over climate change in Delusionist disaster down under, which set me thinking about what is going on with the climate change thing. Anyone following this blog will know that I am not only aware of science getting some [...]
Posted in topical Also tagged controversy, ethics, intelligent design, irrationalism, philosophy, religion, science Leave a comment
Not There Yet
James Balog on Time-lapse proof of extreme ice loss (h/t: Chris Bertram). The stop photography is aimedet at demonstrating graphically the effects of climate change happening right now, to try and make it real instead of abstract argument over computer models predicting bad stuff in the future.
Paul Krugman’s column today suggests that principle opposition to [...]
A Return to Rationality
The more I dig into contemporary intellectual discourse the more I see that Hume was dead right that reason is and must always remain ‘the slave of the passions’. (As I said, Kant was more subtle, but the bottom line is the same.) Everywhere I look the same pattern turns up over and over again: [...]
Posted in 1 philosophy, topical Also tagged atheism, David Hume, ethics, irrationalism, Michael Behe, neo-Darwinism, philosophy Leave a comment
Irrationality in Science
It seems I will never cease to be astonished at the sheer irrationality of so many scientific discussions, often being carried out by such brilliant minds. It is pleasing to see someone making an honest effort to understand and think about science philosophically and test the limits of conventional thinking.
John Horgan and George Johnson
Posted in 1 philosophy Also tagged global warming, intelligent design, irrationalism, Michael Behe, peer review, philosophy, science Leave a comment
What Price Philosophy?