Philosophy & Ethics

Intelligent Design Into The Science Curriculum

Design, according to some, needs a designer. However, famous biologists and neo-Darwinists such as D. Dennett say that evolution “designs” by natural selection. If we accept that usage of the term, “design” does not by definition imply an intentional act ...

Article - Sascha Vongehr - Oct 22 2012 - 3:29am

Eugenics: Is Genetically Engineering Babies A Moral Obligation?

Both eugenics and social Darwinism had their moments in their sun, the optimistic goal of progressive techno-elites 100 years ago who wanted to use science to make the world a better place. Sounds terrific, right?  Isn't that what vaccines and genetic ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Apr 4 2013 - 6:40pm

Essays On Emergence Part III

So far in this series we have examined Robert Batterman’s idea that the concept of emergence can be made more precise by the fact that emergent phenomena such as phase transitions can be described by models that include mathematical singularities, as well ...

Article - Massimo Pigliucci - Oct 29 2012 - 5:30am

Essays On Emergence Part IV

The previous three installments of this series have covered Robert Batterman’s idea that the concept of emergence can be made more precise by the fact that emergent phenomena such as phase transitions can be described by models that include mathematical si ...

Article - Massimo Pigliucci - Nov 2 2012 - 5:30am

Consciousness And The Internet

Here is an interesting statistic: if we multiply the (approximate) number of computers currently present on planet Earth by the (approximate) number of transistors contained in those computers we get 10^18, which is three orders of magnitude larger than th ...

Article - Massimo Pigliucci - Nov 9 2012 - 10:58am

A Better Way To Do “Studies", Perhaps

This semester I’ve been running a graduate level seminar at the City University of New York, on the difference between philosophy of science and science studies. The latter is a broad and somewhat vaguely defined term that includes (certain kinds of) socio ...

Article - Massimo Pigliucci - Nov 25 2012 - 9:33pm

Muddled Ethics: Why Death Pathways Are Okay But Cognitive Enhancers Are Bad

The current raging ethical debate in western health care is not how to save lives but how to end them. The controversial Liverpool Care Pathway in the UK, for example, where health care is nationalized, is really a death pathway. Unfortunately, half of th ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 24 2012 - 8:00pm

New-Year Resolution: Should I Kill Myself In 2013

Guilty feeling Germans doubting all, asking the profound and not accepting the silly answers, starting out thinking that science, physics is important.   Muhō decided to live as a homeless monk in a park in central Osaka in 2001.   Since then he sits, in o ...

Article - Sascha Vongehr - May 29 2014 - 3:30am

LessWrong On Morality And Logic

There has been a debate on morality brewing of late  over at LessWrong. As readers of this blog know, I am not particularly sympathetic to that outlet (despite the fact that two of my collaborators here are either fans or even involved in major ways with t ...

Article - Massimo Pigliucci - Jan 8 2013 - 6:00am

Most Overrated Philosopher Of The 20th Century

There is currently a Twitter survey going on to establish a list of favorite philosophers of all time, organized by Oxford University Press. I don’t know the results yet, but my entries would have to be David Hume (1st prize), Aristotle (2nd) and Bertrand ...

Article - Massimo Pigliucci - Jan 16 2013 - 6:32am