Philosophy

In the time-honored tradition of philosophy, my comments here will take the form of reviews and commentaries on philosophical works. Also, just to keep things from getting bogged down, I've included some not-so-heavy stuff at the end.

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Hume, with his criticism of the concept of causality, awakened him from his dogmatic slumbers--so at least he says, but the awakening was only temporary, and he soon invented a soporific which enabled him to sleep again.

Bertrand Russell
Essay on Immanuel Kant
History of Western Philosophy

It is not strange; for mine uncle is King of Denmark, and those that would make mows at him while my father lived, give twenty, forty, an hundred ducats apiece for his picture in little. 'Sblood, there is something in this more than natural, if philosophy could find it out.

William Shakespeare
Hamlet, Act II, Scene II


Reviews

Ten Philosophical Mistakes by Mortimer Adler: An example of the inherent pitfalls in carrying over ancient philosophical theories to modern times.

The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav: This could equally well go in the Science section, but the main point of my review is not whether Zukav gets the science right (for a non-scientist he doesn't do too badly, though there are some elementary misunderstandings) but what philosophical implications he draws from the science.

The Lighter Side

Why Shit Happens: How various philosophies approach this age-old fundamental question.

Postmodernism Generator: This site really needs no further description than the name. For more fun, hit the "refresh" button in your browser a few times to see what happens. (The really funny part is that genuine postmodernist critics probably don't realize that this site is meant as a joke.)