In my previous post about panpsychism, I talked about postulates that allow us to engage in knowledge-making in certain domains. For instance, the assumption that the laws of nature that operate around our neighborhood operate everywhere: While this postulate is required for us to engage in science, it can’t be proved by science — for […]
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Performing language
I’ve had a few questions about my Pronouns post, and I want to take a moment to clear up a possible confusion about “performing.” In English, the word perform has various connotations, of which we can differentiate two main themes. When actors perform a part, they are, to be crude, pretending to be someone they […]
Continue ReadingWhat Panpsychism tells us about Method
I recently read an interesting article about panpsychism: https://www.salon.com/2021/07/23/panpsychism-the-idea-that-inanimate-objects-have-consciousness-gains-steam-in-science-communities/ Briefly, panpsychism is the claim that “consciousness is inextricably linked to all matter.” If you’re trying to get your head around this idea, read Pullman’s His Dark Materials (one of my favorite works of fiction, incidentally). Pullman has created a world in which consciousness is thoroughly […]
Continue ReadingPronouns
You’ve probably seen a “preferred pronouns” notice in people’s email signatures and elsewhere. This practice is a frequent topic of conversation, and I’m often asked questions like, Is it a fad? or What’s wrong with pronouns the way they are? What’s the big deal? Aristotle rightly pointed out that, of all the ways we interact […]
Continue ReadingKant Got This Right
As I often say, the mistakes of a great philosopher are worth the philosopher’s weight in gold. Kant said plenty of things to object to, but one thing Kant got right is that we can’t get free will and the laws of nature to play nicely together (at least not the current laws of nature […]
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A few weeks ago, I decided to install a new light fixture and a dimmer in my bathroom, so I did what any philosopher would do: I researched light fixtures and switches to find exactly the right ones. The fixture was relatively easy, because — aside from accommodating dimmable bulbs — the issues were mostly […]
Continue ReadingMy Favorite Things
As a kid, I didn’t respond well to the expectation to have favorites — a favorite color, favorite dish, favorite holiday, favorite thing. In a word, I thought it was dumb, and of all the things I found difficult to deal with growing up, dumb expectations were among the worst. But it was an almost […]
Continue ReadingThe Limits of Revision
My recent posts about the narrative self have generated some interesting conversation about the philosophical underpinnings of my approach to the narrative self. In “Mosaics and Bundles,” I quipped that the narrative self is “self-assembling,” to make the larger point that we are capable of self-reflective growth — which means we can revise. And if […]
Continue ReadingMosaics and bundles
A philosopher friend of mine asked an astute question about my mosaic metaphor, so I thought a bit of our conversation would make a good post. In my post Philosophy and the Narrative Self, I talked about the narrative self as a collection of stories we tell ourselves and others about who we are. I […]
Continue ReadingPhilosophy and the Narrative Self
The term “narrative self” refers to the idea that the sense of the self is mediated through narrative. In other words, you experience your “self,” your identity, through the stories that you tell about who you are. That collection of narratives includes stories you have told about your own abilities and experiences, but also stories […]
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