The trouble is that abortion is a philosophical issue and the Supreme Court is not made of philosophers–hence the naive comments from some of the Justices. It’s like asking them to make a ruling based on a standard philosophical problem, say free will or the mind-body problem. Do you think they even consulted philosophers on […]
Defining the Good It is not easy to define the good. It is not easy to say what such a definition would even look like—what form it should take. Plato talks about the form of the good: is this form composed of other forms or is it a simple form unrelated to other […]
Semiotics of the Beard Fifty years ago the beard was in the ascendant. I remember as a student everyone had one, plus long hair. I myself was virtually invisible beneath my hairiness—just eyes, nose, and a forehead. In those days a beard signified naturalness, independence, intellectual seriousness, higher aims, and lack of personal […]
[1] I regard this paper as experimental philosophy in the best sense: let’s try something out and see how it holds up. What have we got to lose? We have become stuck (or bored) so let’s see if we can find a new way to extricate ourselves. We will never break free unless we try […]
Appearance, Reality, and the Good Once we have adopted the simile of the sun, epistemological questions about the good become pressing.[1] If the good is like the sun, is it known in the same way, or to the same extent, as the sun? The sun is both well known and not well […]
The Sun and the Good In the Republic Plato offers the “Simile of the Sun”, comparing the Good to the Sun. The analogy has prima facieappeal, but what Plato does with it is far from obvious or even intelligible.[1] He writes: “Then what gives the objects of knowledge their truth and the […]
Use and the Will Wittgenstein tells us that meaning is use. Meaning involves practices, customs, and institutions. In the beginning was the deed. But he doesn’t say much about what use is. I propose to fill this gap. Evidently use is action, though we don’t find Wittgenstein saying as much. So the philosophy […]
Meaning, Use, and Existentialism Wittgenstein writes in the Philosophical Investigations: “How can he know how he is to continue a pattern by himself—whatever instruction you give him?—Well, how do I know?—If that means ‘Have I reasons?’ the answer is: my reasons will soon give out. And then I shall act, without reasons.” […]
Skepticism and Existence The usual forms of skepticism emphasize existence: we don’t know that external objects exist, or that other minds exist. We might be brains in a vat and none of the objects of perception really exist, or the bodies we observe do not contain existing minds. These types of skepticism […]
Is Referring Opaque? If I refer to Hesperus with “Hesperus” am I also referring to Phosphorus? If I refer to Clark Kent with “Clark Kent” am I also referring to Superman? Suppose I disbelieve that Hesperus is Phosphorus and that Clark Kent is Superman: is it still true that I am referring […]