Philosophy
William James, American psychologist and philosopher, once observed that much of what we mistake for ‘thinking’ is simply a matter of “rearranging our prejudices”.
It’s not a very flattering picture - fortunately however, the experience of hosting the IQ2 Australia debates suggests that William James was unduly pessimistic. In the most recent IQ2 debate focusing on the ever decisive issue of religion and the arguments of atheism, it was heartening to see the level of debate amongst both participants and audience members reach unbelievably high levels – both intellectually and numerically.
Interestingly, despite being an issue fundamental to the existence of many of us, a large number of the audience who entered the debate undecided on the issue found themselves identifying with one of the sides by the time the final poll was taken. The event gives credence to the theory that if you persuade rather than harangue, then people will freely change their minds.
Continue reading "It’s not debatable: we do change our minds" »
Some poncy academic has compiled a book of essays on the philosophy of Alice in Wonderland. It infuriates me when brainiacs do this.
I get it. They’re bored of fossicking around in their corduroy jackets, trying to restructure the periodic table or extract metaphysical themes from 17th century poetry, so they cast their brilliant minds over popular culture.
And so we get wordy polemics on satire in South Park, the didacticism of Lady Gaga and this beauty: Perspectivism and Tragedy: A Nietzschean Interpretation of Alice’s Adventure.
Continue reading "Alice belongs in Wonderland, not a thesis" »
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Anne Stocks says:
Hi Angela, I am always amased at you diverity, perhaps I understand a little better now why you highlite on Topics that you chose, I do not always agree with everything that is shared perhaps it is the same with you but I do appreciate your kindness towards others and… Read more »
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Big John says:
Heavens, I thought The Punch was supposed to be kinda edgy, and i think it was in the early days. But now, it seems these writers go for any soft target they can. Ho hum, let’s attack the arts academics, wow, that’s never been done before! The fact is that… Read more »
Many citizens don’t agree with Fred Nile’s bold assessment of himself as a modern-day Socrates.
They argue that while the great Greek philosopher deployed reason against dogma, the Christian politician’s opposition to secular ethics classes in schools is demonstrating exactly the opposite.
In addition to calling Nile an intellectual bantamweight, critics are questioning the good Reverend’s framing of himself as suffering tyranny because of his faith.
Continue reading "Nile needs a history lesson with Socratic method" »
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xenical prix says:
Find last only has matter being the. The Certain who are L4 also and. What however, spine some like out is own or front. Read more »
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Justin says:
What does Fred Nile have in common with Socrates???......Read from Wikipedea…“Claiming loyalty to his city, Socrates clashed with the current course of Athenian politics and society. Socrates saw his position as a social and moral critic. Rather than upholding a status quo and accepting the development of what he perceived… Read more »
According to Confucius, the three things necessary for government are weapons, food and trust. If a ruler can’t hold onto all three, Confucius told his disciple Tsze-kung, he should give up the weapons first and the food next. Trust must be jealously guarded for “without trust we cannot stand.”
Although written over two thousand years ago in a vastly different culture to the modern west, the advice remains pertinent. More than any other system of government, democracy is built on a broad consensus of values and duties, without which the rights of individuals are endangered.
Central amongst these values is trust. Without it, the consent of the governed is frayed or destroyed as a culture of suspicion and distrust develops.
Continue reading "Confucius say: no trust woman with hair of rust" »
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Pete says:
or links to terrorism for a qld doc Read more »
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Martin says:
Graham, call Louie, I think he’d be more interested in your mindless Labor gibber than I am. Maybe you could sit together, and he could whinge about Mortien and you could whinge about work choices and bad polls for Labor. Just a thought. Read more »
The Jerry Springer of modern philosophy was in good form when he addressed a packed crowd on Wednesday evening in the Great Hall of the University of Sydney.
Peter Singer, now a professor at Princeton University in the US, was back in his native Australia for a visit.
Most philosophers count themselves lucky if their mother appreciates their work. But Singer is regarded - by journalists, at least - as the most influential living philosopher. In fact, at Sydney Uni, he was introduced with the fulsome praise normally reserved for superannuated television stars: “If we had a collection of national living treasures, Peter would certainly stand tall amongst them.”
Continue reading "Peter Singer: the Jerry Springer of philosophy" »
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Ruby says:
In the context of the rest of the comments this is a bit off topic but what’s with the authors jab at vegetarians/vegans as not being well-fed? Does he not know about vegetables? Fruits? Grains? This is worrying. I guess non-vegetarians just have that ‘ruddy’ look that accompanies an increased… Read more »
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Joanne King says:
Methinks Mr Cook protesteth too loud. Read more »
The floods have caused great devastation and have presented fundamental challenges to our society and lives.
This kind of crisis poses challenges to us on a number of levels – social, physical, emotional and existential.
Tory Shepherd’s article “Digging a hole while trying to find God” outlines the existential challenges provoked by the flood.
Continue reading "A response: Disasters do not negate the existence of God" »
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Mooffbits says:
In other states, you ought to be prepared to discover a bookie and to put a bet, you’ve got to be previous the age of twenty-1. They scour all of the data that could be observed to them and obtain a winning formula to forecast winners in sports betting at… Read more »
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Church leaders faced with a national disaster are struggling to find relevance and avoid hypocrisy. In the wake of the floods, people with religious convictions face an age-old question:
Where was God?
It’s a classic case of cognitive dissonance, where holding two conflicting thoughts causes the brain to implode. God is good, all-knowing and all-powerful and yet bad stuff happens.
Continue reading "Digging a hole while trying to find God" »
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Stu says:
@ True Believer: “I ‘believe’ you exist, but I do not ‘know’ you exist. I am replying to you on the basis of my belief you are there. There is a difference. :0)” Explains even more. Do you know I’m is responding to you on the Punch, or do you… Read more »
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True Believer says:
@Stu: “Interesting you think you can respond to someone who does not exist. Explains a lot. “ I ‘believe’ you exist, but I do not ‘know’ you exist. I am replying to you on the basis of my belief you are there. There is a difference. :0) Read more »
(Update, Thursday): Ricky Ponting is at it again. The Australian captain is master of understating the negatives in a losing performance whilst always finding something good to say about his team. And today, here’s a headline from the Times of India - and OK, it is just a summary headline, but it encapsulates Ponting’s piercing analytical style.
For all his success as a batsman and captain the loss against India has seen the Aussies slide to an unconscionable fifth in the world rankings. Ponting’s leadership was publicly questioned during the game when Shane Warne tweeted: “How the hell can hauritz bowl to this field ?? Feeling for hauritz , terrible !! What are these tactics ? Sorry Ricky but what are you doing”. It’s not often this happens, but Warney was probably speaking for the whole country.
There’s more from Ponting here at Fox Sports. To be fair the skipper did say last night that the Australians have “got to be harsh on ourselves”. Though his preceding sentence was: “If I had’ve made 200 in the first innings, the result might have been different.” No kidding. The original column follows below.
Continue reading "Updated: Ricky Ponting’s little book of calm" »
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Redcap says:
Matt You must be from WA with a comment like that. I’m actually a proud Territorian so can claim complete independence (since Damien Martyn anyway, who was born in Darwin). Perhaps you could come up with some suggestions for the benefit of Australian cricket rather than resorting to petty state… Read more »
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saad says:
I dont understand why u people are only focusing on negetives. have u forgotton the last two worlds cup and other invincible wins in the whole of seasons. Ponting is a self actualized person the master of his soul and he is leading a stupid side. But the best is… Read more »
Watching the way every bloke and his dog is weighing into the climate change debate these days has got me wondering: are we now living in a world where expert knowledge is meaningless?
I recently changed my by-line on this publication after prodding from some colleagues. I was previously called an ‘arts, popular culture and ethics writer’ - now I’m an ‘arts writer and social commentator’.
What a joke. ‘Social commentator’ is a meaningless job description for which there are no obvious qualifications – certainly I don’t remember sitting the exams.
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Santosh says:
“Extraordinary cilmas require extraordinary evidence.”It looks like that evidence never actually existed, extraordinary or otherwise. Read more »
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Kirana says:
To quote from what Richard Lindzen wrote “However, the cnibritutoon of increasing CO2 alone does not, in fact, lead to much warming (approximately 1 deg. C for each doubling of CO2).”There is no observed data to support this claim. The number, 1 C, is purely hypothetical and meaningless. It is… Read more »
I’ve had the last quarter of Marilynne Robinson’s 2004 novel, Gilead, waiting patiently for me on the bedside table for a year or so, hoping to be granted the honour of completion (I often struggle with the reading endgame).
Now, transported away from the bedside table on holidays, I’ve at last reached the end of this exquisitely poised depiction of a dying preacher recording a memoir for his young son.
The book is replete with theological and anthropological gems, the fruit of the author’s deep knowledge of the Bible, of ministry life, and of the significance of the shape of our close relationships on our sense of life’s meaning.
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colleen says:
Gilead sounds like a good read -thank you for drawing it to my attention. Read more »
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Jasper says:
As the early Christian church gained ground they did not throw out the baby with the bath water of paganism and classical culture was kept alive by theologans in both Christianity and Islam. They recognised that even if they did not believe the religious underpinings, the tales told by the… Read more »
My previous Punch piece talked about the new Royal Institution of Australia, which was formally opened by the Duke of Kent last Thursday.
The RiAus is housed in our new Science Exchange, along with the Australian Science Media Centre.
This national initiative is about encouraging a greater understanding of the importance of science to our nation’s future.
Continue reading "Thinkers are doing more than navel gazing" »
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John says:
The Thinkers in Residence program is a good idea to bring fresh ideas and research-based evidence to progress life in SA, which we appreciate given the slow and conservative mind-set that prevails. The key issue is the link between the program and real sustainable action and engagement in the right… Read more »
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paul says:
@terramat science (and politics) is usually defined by good quality questions and answers. That is, dialogue, not endless press releases written by Labor staffers and rammed down our throats old media style. Actually I was thinking, that the homeless figures were ‘doctored Labor stats’? Can you provide a reputable, independant… Read more »
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