Some Notes on Abduction and Doctrinal Development

In some of the literature in the philosophy of science you can find a term of art that is sometimes alleged to refer to a special variety of inference that is not deductive in form but that is supposedly stronger than mere induction. The term “abduction” is due to Charles Sanders Peirce, a 19th century [...]

More to motion than movement?

In the 13th chapter of the 1st book of his Summa contra Gentes, St. Thomas begins his argument for the existence of God from the effect of motion by saying, “Everything that is moved is moved by another [quod omne motum movetur ab alio].”  The modern mind, however, might immediately recoil at this claim and, [...]

This + This ≠ ThisThis, but = That

A triangle has three angles equaling 180 degrees, but not one of its sides has an angle.
A circle has a radius and a diameter, but not any one of its points has a diameter.
An atom has a spin property, but no tiger, composed of atoms, has a spin property.
A sample of water freezes at 0 [...]

Believing facts, seeing facts, or wanting facts?

Perhaps you have heard it said, as I have, that, in order for an argument to be logical, the arguer needs facts and proof, not just beliefs. And perhaps this seemingly obvious claim struck you as funny, as somehow off, as it strikes me. The claim is itself an attempt at a logical argument about [...]

The evidence for evidence?

Consider the following axiom and two corollaries:
“A wise man [A] proportions his belief [Pa] to the evidence [Gc].”
“Corollary #1: A belief which leaves no place for doubt is not a belief; it is a superstition.”
“Corollary #2: It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.” [This is the (in)famous principle [...]

Being and doing its own thing…

The problem of intentionality vis-à-vis physicalism is not an empirical problem; it is a categorical problem. Formal operations, for instance, are determinate in a way that physical operations cannot be. Intellection is, for instance, universally abstract in a way that physical “signs” cannot be. The contents of sensory experience are analytically non-identical with the physical [...]

The Pharisee fallacy?

The following is taken from a Northern Irish blog. One of our readers here would like to know if others can spot any fallacies/incoherence in Jonathan Bartley’s position.
Commenting on the statement issued today by six churches and Christian groups against US anti-gay hate group Westboro Baptist Church, who proposed to picket in the UK on [...]

Can you see what I mean?

How does one visually represent a concept?
Imagine that the following sentence, “Jane sat on a yellow cushion and literally fell head over heels,” were ‘pictorialized’ such that “Jane” was replaced by a picture of Jane, “sat on a yellow cushion” were replaced by a picture (or a couple shots in series) of Jane sitting on [...]

There’s a new blog in town!

Just wanted our throngs of loyal readers to know I have set up a new blog: http://sozeintasources.wordpress.com/.
It is strictly a reference blog concerning issues in natural philosophy, metaphysics, and the philosophy of science. Be sure to check out the scads of essays and books I’ve added to the sidebar.

The Four Horsemen of the Causocalypse!

(Hmm… “the Causocalypse”… I am reminded once more how some things sound better sung to heavy metal in one’s head than they look on a computer screen. Bu the show must go on!)
“Not all that glitters is gold,” as they say.
Now let’s “Aristotelianize” the saying: “Not all that displays finality is conscious.”
Point being, AGENCY IS [...]

Design space? Selection pressure? Neither––or all of the above?

“The notion of order is inseparable from that causality, which is itself an order of dependence. … The ability of a living being to move itself, even though it be only to assimilate and grow, involves therefore the organization of heterogeneous parts of which it is composed. This is why one says of living bodies [...]

The demonization of the reification of nothing…

I stumbled upon a post at the blog called unBeguiled, in which the writer argues against the theistic ploy of asking, “Why does something exist rather than nothing?” The writer’s main beef, as I see it, is that this question is a red herring, since, by virtue of the fact that it exists, existence stands [...]

Find the fallacy…

On page 45 of Programming the Universe, Seth Lloyd says,
The universe began just under 14 billion years ago in a massive explosion. What happened before the Big Bang? Nothing. There was no time and no space. Not just empty space, but the absence of space itself. Time itself had a beginning. There is nothing wrong [...]