Mind = Brain?

A review of I Am Not a Brain, by Markus Gabriel Freedom I begin this review where Gabriel ends his book: on the subject of freedom. Quoting Friedrich Schelling, Gabriel observes that “the alpha and omega of all philosophy is freedom.” By “freedom,” Gabriel does not refer merely to unbridled subjective autonomy, nor political freedom […]

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It’s the Moon, Stupid

The natural world has a goal-directedness to it.  There is an element of purpose.  This is what is meant by the word “teleological,” a word used by philosophers for centuries to describe the apparent purposefulness of material things. Getting to a full understanding of teleology takes some ramping up in the form of understanding Aristotle’s final causes, […]

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Lane Encroachment

In Science and Anti-science, we looked at two theses.  One:  that exclusion of any possibility of the supernatural is bad science.   Two:  that some atheists depart from science altogether, subverting its principles, by attempting to brand their opponents “anti-science.” An astute comment to that post occasions this expansion of it.  The suggestion is made that theists […]

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Philosophy Presented as Science

More Confusion about “Nothing” In the post First Cause, we mentioned a book by Lawrence Krauss, A Universe from Nothing, (Free Press 2012). The basic point of the post was that Krauss seemed not to have adequately grasped what “nothing” is, when he argued that material things came from nothing. One has to read more […]

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Evolution and Atheism

We often skip a step in our thinking about macro-evolution. If the theory is true, we feel, then there must be no God. If we think in such simple terms, then we’ve missed something important. Overwhelming Evidence of Design The strongest advocates of Evolution (capitalized here to signify macro-evolution) agree that the evidence of design […]

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