Evil is not the most comfortable subject to consider. Apart from its inherently unsettling nature, a short effort at reflection quickly reveals some serious problems in trying to conceptualise the phenomenon. In the literature there are two main contentions. 1) Evil is a deficiency of goodness. In the human moral sphere it is the failure to act well. Sins […]
On Evil by Adam Morton Read More »
Neuroscience and discussions about the brain and consciousness are powering ahead at a fomidable pace. It’s hard to keep up without being involved full time in the research. Here, though, is a book from 2014 which will take you to the cutting edge. Stanislas Dehaene (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislas_Dehaene and http://www.college-de-france.fr/site/en-stanislas-dehaene/#|m=#course|) describes the pioneering work his lab and the labs
Consciousness and the Brain by Stanislas Dahaene Read More »
Existentialism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism) was fashionable in the 1960s. Much of this is to do with the fact that its ideas were presented and consumed in theatre, literature, and popular culture. It insists that thinking begins with the human subject—not as a disembodied exercise in reason, but the acting, feeling, living human being. This chimed with the zeitgeist, and
Six Existentialist Thinkers by Harold Blackham Read More »
In my view Epicurus was the real deal among the ancient thinkers. He got more right than any other about the human condition and sits behind the great humanistic tradition in Western thought. First point to make is that Epicurus does not recommend sybaritic excess! Forget delicatessen jars full of fine and exotic foods. Although he is
Epicureanism by Tim O’Keefe Read More »
There are a number of premises in the town centre of Lanark in which one may place a bet. The bookie seems to be a stable presence on our High Street whilst the activity on online gambling is enormously popular. Both bookies and their clients deal in probabilities, or if you like ‘odds’. What, for
Probability by Hugh Mellor Read More »
Nothing is more natural than to believe we have conscious control over our own choices. Indeed most of social behaviour including the criminal justice system is predicated on that conviction. What, though, if that presumption is simply not true? Professor Dick Swabb (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Swaab) argues that everything we think, do, and refrain from doing is determined by our
We Are Our Brains by Dick Swaab Read More »
Have you ever wondered how the 3.3 pounds of gelatinous material inside your skull generates the amazing magic lantern show that humans call ‘consciousness’? This, in philosophy, is known as the ‘hard problem of consciousness’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_problem_of_consciousness). Experimental science, undaunted, is having a go at finding out the answer. You may be surprised to learn just how long
Headhunters by Ben Shephard Read More »
Few works of economic and political analysis are worth reading 60 years after publication. The Opium of the Intellectuals (1955), by French intellectual Raymond Aron (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Aron) is one of them. The author shows how noble ideas can slide into the tyranny of secular religion and emphasizes how political thought has the profound responsibility of telling the
The Opium of the Intellectuals by Raymond Aron Read More »
One of my favourite contemporary philosophers is Simon Blackburn (http://www2.phil.cam.ac.uk/~swb24/). A lot of this is to do with his willingness to address his books to a popular audience. He is never less than lucid and informative. I feel a wry but honest smile behind much of his commentary. His is a cool, powerful, analytical mind.
Mirror, Mirror by Simon Blackburn Read More »
