by Mark English The term ‘conspiracy theory’, though it no doubt serves a useful purpose when used in carefully-considered ways, is most often used in polemical contexts simply as a derogatory descriptor. I want to set down a few ideas on the problem of deciding which ideas in the political realm (and, by extension, which sources) are too crankish (or […]
by Daniel A. Kaufman __ American politics is dead, or at least, it’s so completely fucked that it would be better off dead. What we call “politics” today, when compared to the genuine article, is a little bit like UFC when compared to boxing. At some level, everyone knows that beating to a bloody pulp someone who is already down […]
E. John Winner How did we ever come to use such an expression as “I believe . . . “? Did we at some time become aware of a phenomenon (of belief)? Did we observe ourselves and other people and so discover belief? — Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1) §1. Recently, while reading Section 10 of Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations, Part […]
Note from the author: this is a non-technical, impressionistic introduction to my PhD dissertation. It doesn’t contain a mountain of technical references or jargon, and is going to be developed much further and with more rigor, when I reach those stages of the project. Think of it as an extended “Provocations” piece for now. To that end, it is broad in […]
Dear Readers, As you may know, I’m in the Philosophy Ph.D program at the University of Miami. Over the past year I’ve been developing the contours of my dissertation, and have written a non-technical, impressionistic introduction to it. It doesn’t contain a mountain of technical references or jargon, and is going to be developed much further and with more rigor, […]
by Mark English The topic of eliminative materialism (or ‘eliminativism’ as its current manifestation is usually called) has been the focus of some recent debate. What prompted this piece, however, was a brief discussion in a comment thread about a very specific kind of eliminativism which applies to language and which is known as semantic (or meaning) eliminativism. My original […]
By Daniel A. Kaufman ___ Do epithets have a place in philosophical disputes? Is it useful, productive, or even appropriate to call people “racist,” “misogynist,” or “transphobic,” when engaged in philosophical arguments about the ethics of affirmative action, or whether we are properly described as living in a “rape culture” or whether gender identity is such that trans-women are in […]
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