Sunday, September 22, 2013
Friday, September 20, 2013
Pinker v. Spelke on 'The Science of Gender and Science'
This debate was actually sparked by a comment made by Larry Summers - past Harvard President and potential candidate(?) for the Federal Reserve - see here and here
In a way, you could say that Pinker is Summer's pinch hitter for the debate and his comments on "innate mathematical ability" in women.
You can follow the debate (transcript and slide presentation) here
In a way, you could say that Pinker is Summer's pinch hitter for the debate and his comments on "innate mathematical ability" in women.
You can follow the debate (transcript and slide presentation) here
Pinker on Morality + the debate he sparked on science and the humanities
Pinker on science and the humanities:
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/114127/science-not-enemy-humanities
Wieseltier responds:
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/114548/leon-wieseltier-responds-steven-pinkers-scientism
Dennet weighs in:
http://www.edge.org/conversation/dennett-on-wieseltier-v-pinker-in-the-new-republic
Gutting gets in:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/sciences-humanities-gap/
*There are plenty others who have also weighed in on this debate between the relationship between science and the humanities. But I've only posted the ones that have seemed to merit recognition by others in the sea of academia online.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Quotes priming the Sociology of Knowledge
"It is only through the conversation of man with man that ideas come into existence. Two human beings are as necessary for the generation of the human mind as they are for the generation of the human body."
-Feuerbach
"It is not given to us to grasp the truth, which is identical with the divine, directly. We perceive it only in reflection, in example and symbol, in singular and related appearances. It meets us as a kind of life which is incomprehensible to us, and yet we cannot free ourselves from the desire to comprehend it"
-Goethe
***And....a day at the park...definitely worth it.
-Feuerbach
"It is not given to us to grasp the truth, which is identical with the divine, directly. We perceive it only in reflection, in example and symbol, in singular and related appearances. It meets us as a kind of life which is incomprehensible to us, and yet we cannot free ourselves from the desire to comprehend it"
-Goethe
***And....a day at the park...definitely worth it.
An interview with Pope Francis
Published in the magazine America: here
The Religion News Service point out a few highlights:
*Updates:
Pope Francis Excommunicates Australian Priest Who Advocated For Gay Marriage And Female Clergy
and here
What Pope Francis Thinks About Women in the Church
The Religion News Service point out a few highlights:
- “We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that … The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.”
- “A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. I replied with another question: ‘Tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person, or reject and condemn this person? We must always consider the person.”
- “My authoritarian and quick manner of making decisions led me to have serious problems and to be accused of being ultraconservative … but I have never been a right-winger.”
- “We should not even think, therefore, that ‘thinking with the church’ means only thinking with the hierarchy of the church.”
- “If the Christian is a restorationist, a legalist, if he wants everything clear and safe, then he will find nothing.”
- “I am a sinner. This is the most accurate definition. It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner.”
*Updates:
Pope Francis Excommunicates Australian Priest Who Advocated For Gay Marriage And Female Clergy
and here
What Pope Francis Thinks About Women in the Church
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Martin Stringer on Situational Belief
In an interview (Podcast) Stringer discusses his concept of 'situational belief' here
I don't disagree with Stringer's concept of 'situational belief' but it begs the question if 'belief statements' are indeed "beliefs" (in the way that the West considers them to be) or merely statements of situational acceptance and rationalizations. Furthermore, I think the interviewer is ill informed about Festinger and the theory of cognitive dissonance. Dissonance theory actually accounts for these contradictory "belief-statements" that Stringer wants to discuss. They are not incompatible at all, contrary to what both of them think in the podcast. The concept of belief is much more nuanced than just belief-statements. It's as if they've never heard of someone lying or exaggerating the truth.
Hermann Hesse wrote in both Siddhartha and Journey to the East that
"Words do not express thoughts very well; everything immediately becomes a little different, a little distorted, a little foolish. And yet it also pleases me and seems right that what is of value and wisdom to one man seems nonsense to another."
Which is also to say that we do not always convey accurately what we think to others or ensure that others will accurately understand what we mean when we say something. In this sense, I would argue that language or "belief-statements" - as empirical data - is insufficient to measure or ascribe belief to another person. There has to be more to it.
Anyway...if I keep going this goes into my thesis and that would make this blog post much longer than it intended to be. For now it is sufficient to make my point that "situational belief" is not incongruent with Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance and that 'belief-statements' are in fact insufficient markers for a fruitful and meaningful discussion of belief. Sticking to statements only plays on the surface of the iceberg as opposed to a holistic consideration.
There is a response by a Liam Sutherland to Martin Stringer at the Religious Studies Project: here
I don't disagree with Stringer's concept of 'situational belief' but it begs the question if 'belief statements' are indeed "beliefs" (in the way that the West considers them to be) or merely statements of situational acceptance and rationalizations. Furthermore, I think the interviewer is ill informed about Festinger and the theory of cognitive dissonance. Dissonance theory actually accounts for these contradictory "belief-statements" that Stringer wants to discuss. They are not incompatible at all, contrary to what both of them think in the podcast. The concept of belief is much more nuanced than just belief-statements. It's as if they've never heard of someone lying or exaggerating the truth.
Hermann Hesse wrote in both Siddhartha and Journey to the East that
"Words do not express thoughts very well; everything immediately becomes a little different, a little distorted, a little foolish. And yet it also pleases me and seems right that what is of value and wisdom to one man seems nonsense to another."
Which is also to say that we do not always convey accurately what we think to others or ensure that others will accurately understand what we mean when we say something. In this sense, I would argue that language or "belief-statements" - as empirical data - is insufficient to measure or ascribe belief to another person. There has to be more to it.
Anyway...if I keep going this goes into my thesis and that would make this blog post much longer than it intended to be. For now it is sufficient to make my point that "situational belief" is not incongruent with Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance and that 'belief-statements' are in fact insufficient markers for a fruitful and meaningful discussion of belief. Sticking to statements only plays on the surface of the iceberg as opposed to a holistic consideration.
There is a response by a Liam Sutherland to Martin Stringer at the Religious Studies Project: here
Tolstoy on Crisis
"I felt that something had broken within me on which my life had always rested, that I had nothing left to hold on to, and that morally my life had stopped. An invincible force impelled me to get rid of my experience, in one way or another. It cannot be said exactly that I wished to kill myself, for the force which drew me away from life was fuller, more powerful, more general than any mere desire. It was a force like my old aspiration to live, only it impelled me in the opposite direction. It was an aspiration of my whole being to get out of life...
I could give no reasonable meaning to any actions of my life. And I was surprised that I had not understood this from the very beginning. My state of mind was as if some wicked and stupid jest was being played upon me by someone. One can live only so long as one is intoxicated, drunk with life; but when one grows sober one cannot fail to see that it is all a stupid cheat. What is truest about it is that there is nothing even funny or silly in it; it is cruel and stupid, purely and simply...
What will be the outcome of what I do today? Of what I shall do tomorrow? What will be the outcome of all my life? Why should I live? Why should I do anything? Is there in life any purpose which the inevitable death which awaits me does not undo and destroy?"
-Leo Tolstoy, My Confessions 1904, pp. 20-22
Anecdotal sidenote:
I remember when my father told me that depression didn't exist when he was growing up - very poor, just after the devastation of the Korean War. People were too busy living to get depressed! He basically told me that depression is a bourgeoisie ailment. lol. Poor working folk don't have the time nor do they concern themselves with existential questions that give rise to such angstiness. This isn't to say that people didn't commit suicide, but that it was primarily a result of radically different reasons.
SO, my question is then, is depression and existential crisis symptomatic of modern society? Broad question I know. Is it primarily a western bourgeoisie phenomenon that has trickled down into the people's psyche with the gradual development of society such that persons can now - with private property (to be Marxist) - effectively live in alienation, isolation, and stress individuality, authenticity, originality etc.?
I would be willing to bet, and would love to do the research even more, that the reasons and the nature of the suicide note has changed considerably since the early 1900s and now. Or even just looking at Korea, within a 50 year timeframe, from 1953 - the armistice - to 2003. The reasons for suicide have probably changed.
I could give no reasonable meaning to any actions of my life. And I was surprised that I had not understood this from the very beginning. My state of mind was as if some wicked and stupid jest was being played upon me by someone. One can live only so long as one is intoxicated, drunk with life; but when one grows sober one cannot fail to see that it is all a stupid cheat. What is truest about it is that there is nothing even funny or silly in it; it is cruel and stupid, purely and simply...
What will be the outcome of what I do today? Of what I shall do tomorrow? What will be the outcome of all my life? Why should I live? Why should I do anything? Is there in life any purpose which the inevitable death which awaits me does not undo and destroy?"
-Leo Tolstoy, My Confessions 1904, pp. 20-22
Anecdotal sidenote:
I remember when my father told me that depression didn't exist when he was growing up - very poor, just after the devastation of the Korean War. People were too busy living to get depressed! He basically told me that depression is a bourgeoisie ailment. lol. Poor working folk don't have the time nor do they concern themselves with existential questions that give rise to such angstiness. This isn't to say that people didn't commit suicide, but that it was primarily a result of radically different reasons.
SO, my question is then, is depression and existential crisis symptomatic of modern society? Broad question I know. Is it primarily a western bourgeoisie phenomenon that has trickled down into the people's psyche with the gradual development of society such that persons can now - with private property (to be Marxist) - effectively live in alienation, isolation, and stress individuality, authenticity, originality etc.?
I would be willing to bet, and would love to do the research even more, that the reasons and the nature of the suicide note has changed considerably since the early 1900s and now. Or even just looking at Korea, within a 50 year timeframe, from 1953 - the armistice - to 2003. The reasons for suicide have probably changed.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Charting Culture
These are always a bit dubious and cries for a non-essentialist critique...
But this is the proposal from Lewis according to Slate:
Lewis plots countries in relation to three categories:
But this is the proposal from Lewis according to Slate:
Lewis plots countries in relation to three categories:
Linear-actives—those who plan, schedule, organize, pursue action chains, do one thing at a time. Germans and Swiss are in this group.
Multi-actives—those lively, loquacious peoples who do many things at once, planning their priorities not according to a time schedule, but according to the relative thrill or importance that each appointment brings with it. Italians, Latin Americans and Arabs are members of this group.
Reactives—those cultures that prioritize courtesy and respect, listening quietly and calmly to their interlocutors and reacting carefully to the other side's proposals. Chinese, Japanese and Finns are in this group.
He says that this categorization of national norms does not change significantly over time:
The behavior of people of different cultures is not something willy-nilly. There exist clear trends, sequences and traditions. Reactions of Americans, Europeans, and Asians alike can be forecasted, usually justified and in the majority of cases managed. Even in countries where political and economic change is currently rapid or sweeping (Russia, China, Hungary, Poland, Korea, Malaysia, etc.) deeply rooted attitudes and beliefs will resist a sudden transformation of values when pressured by reformists, governments or multinational conglomerates.
Here's the chart that "explains the world":
http://www.slate.com/blogs/business_insider/2013/09/08/the_lewis_model_explains_world_cultures_through_language.html
Top 10 Journals of Philosophy
Journal rankings for 2012
Top 10 journals of philosophy - SJR
(01) 2.026 Philosophical Review
(02) 2.020 Ethics
(03) 1.339 Nous
(04) 1.246 Journal of Philosophy
(05) 1.245 Logica Universalis
(06) 1.161 Review of Philosophy and Psychology
(07) 1.080 British Journal for the Philosophy of Science
(08) 1.075 Mind
(09) 1.052 Philosophical Quarterly
(10) 0.988 Analysis
The full list can be found here
More about the SJR indicator:
Monday, September 16, 2013
Podcast episode on Nietzsche
On 'Ideas' with Paul Kennedy:
Participants in the program:
Brian Leiter is the Karl N. Llewellyn Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the Center for Law, Philosophy & Human Values at the University of Chicago.
Rebecca Comay, is a professor in the Department of Philosophy and Centre for Comparative Literature, University of Toronto.
Christine Daigle, is a professor in the Department of Philosophy and Chancellor's Chair for Research Excellence, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario.
listen here
(if it doesn't work, go to the link above and click 'listen')
"God is dead. And we have killed him."
-Friedrich Nietzsche
Participants in the program:
Brian Leiter is the Karl N. Llewellyn Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the Center for Law, Philosophy & Human Values at the University of Chicago.
Rebecca Comay, is a professor in the Department of Philosophy and Centre for Comparative Literature, University of Toronto.
Christine Daigle, is a professor in the Department of Philosophy and Chancellor's Chair for Research Excellence, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario.
listen here
(if it doesn't work, go to the link above and click 'listen')
"Religion & Belief, Discrimination and Equality in England and Wales"
"Research for the report Religion and Belief, Discrimination and Equality
in England and Wales: A Decade of Continuity and Change was led by Paul
Weller, Professor of Inter-Religious Relations at Derby, working with
Oxford and Manchester universities."
"The research's chief findings include:
general feeling among respondents that better public education, and greater collaboration between different religions and communities, were now the best ways to continue to combat unfair treatment based on religion or belief;
substantial reporting of unfair treatment on the basis of religion or belief does continue across key areas of people's lives;
but indications that changes in the law had contributed to a reduction in the reported experience of unfair treatment on the basis of religion or belief;
especially among certain religious groups - such as Muslims, Pagans and new religious movements - unfair treatment continues to arise in key aspects of people's lives such as work, education and encounters with the media;
Christians citing unfair treatment around wearing crosses, reporting pressure to work Sundays by employers and a sense of their religion being marginalised whilst other faiths received fairer treatment;
some non-religious people quizzed in the project's focus groups highlighting the sense that Christians received privileged treatment, especially around matters of education and governance."
More here
"The research's chief findings include:
general feeling among respondents that better public education, and greater collaboration between different religions and communities, were now the best ways to continue to combat unfair treatment based on religion or belief;
substantial reporting of unfair treatment on the basis of religion or belief does continue across key areas of people's lives;
but indications that changes in the law had contributed to a reduction in the reported experience of unfair treatment on the basis of religion or belief;
especially among certain religious groups - such as Muslims, Pagans and new religious movements - unfair treatment continues to arise in key aspects of people's lives such as work, education and encounters with the media;
Christians citing unfair treatment around wearing crosses, reporting pressure to work Sundays by employers and a sense of their religion being marginalised whilst other faiths received fairer treatment;
some non-religious people quizzed in the project's focus groups highlighting the sense that Christians received privileged treatment, especially around matters of education and governance."
More here
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)