Maverick Philosopher

Footnotes to Plato from the foothills of the Superstition Mountains

Category: Varia

  • The Need for Logico-Philosophical Umpires

    The following is from the Powerblogs archive.  Originally posted 5 November 2005. Can't get a job teaching philosophy? Perhaps you can market yourself as a talk show umpire. There is a dire need for argumentative quality control on the shout circuit. Last night I was pleased to see my favorite gun-totin' lesbian on Hannity and…

  • Regalia

    Regalia, as its etymology suggests (from L. rex, regis), are the king's insignia. By a natural extension, anyone's insignia, colors, banners. We like to fly the colors to the point of identifying with them. We identify with flags and labels and logos and certain words. There is a stupid satisfaction one gets from flaunting logos…

  • Things Not Worth Knowing

    One's own genealogy, for example. What does it matter who begat whom in one's line?  Most of us will discover the names and dates of insignificant people who have left nothing behind but their namesand dates. Or is it just a philosopher's prejudice to be concerned more with timeless universals than with temporal particulars? To thrill to…

  • Of Cranks and Crackpots

    London Ed quotes neurologist Steven Novella who makes an insightful observation in Cranks and Physics (the whole of which is well worth reading): … cranks around the world have been able to form their own “alternative” community, publish their own journals, and have their own meetings. There is just one requirement in this alternative community…

  • Internet Crackpots and the Perils of Autodidacticism

    One of the (very minor) drawbacks of having a Web presence is that one becomes the target of crackpot e-mail from people like this.  He describes himself as an autodidact, thereby illustrating the perils of autodidacticism.  And yet some negotiate the straits of autodidacticism quite well, Eric Hoffer for example.  In general, however, he who educates…

  • Khan Academy

    60 Minutes last night did a segment on the Khan Academy, an online source of short tutorials in mathematics, science, and other subjects.  A wonderful resource for homeschoolers and anyone interested in filling in the gaps in his education.  I viewed a couple of algebra and a couple of probability lectures last night and found them…

  • On Hairsplitting

    As a follow-up to Anti-Intellectualism in Conservatives, here is an old post from the Powerblogs site.  A surprising number still languish there in cyber-limbo awaiting their turn to be brought back to life.  …………………. The charge of hairsplitting has always been one of the weapons in the arsenal of the anti-intellectual. One root of anti-intellectualism is…

  • Should You Trust Wikipedia?

    Ed of Beyond Necessity asked me my opinion of the following passage from the Wikipedia article, Destiny. In daily language destiny and fate are synonymous, but with regards to 20th century philosophy the words gained inherently different meanings. For Arthur Schopenhauer destiny was just a manifestation of the Will to Live. Will to Live is for…

  • Dickens v. Lawyers

    A balanced piece; read to the end.

  • From a Logical Point of View

    W. V. O. Quine's famous collection of essays is named after this song.  "From a logical point of view always marry a woman uglier than you."  Jimmy Soul extends the thought, ripping off some of the lyrics of the calypso tune.

  • Lenny Skutnik

    Let's not forget Lenny Skutnik whose act of heroism is thirty years to the day in the past.

  • Dangers of Yoga

    Hatha Yoga, that is.

  • What Ever Happened to Bernie Goetz?

    Bernard Goetz, mild-mannered electronics nerd, looked like an easy mark, a slap job.  And so he got slapped around, thrown through plate glass windows, mugged and harrassed.  He just wanted to be left alone to tinker in his basement.  One day  he decided not to take it any more and acquired a .38 'equalizer.'  And so…

  • Happy Hanukkah

    Jewish Philosophers.  Jewish Chess Players.  Other lists are accessible via these links.  Roots of Jew hatred?  One is undoubtedly envy.  Jews have made contributions to culture far in excess of their numbers.  No wonder they are so hated in the Muslim, and not onlyin the Muslim, world.  And you say you don't believe that man…

  • Typos and the Pleasures of Blogging

    One of the pleasures of blogging, for me at least, is re-reading what I have written.  But then I discover the typographical errors.  I seem to be almost blind to them: I see past words to their sense, though sense is not something literally to be seen. (Here, in nuce, is yet another argument against physicalism.)…