Wasianski pauses to describe the relationship between the two in some detail. He considers it important to do so, since Kant and Lampe had a falling out two years before the philosopher's death. The nature of the dispute is not entirely clear from what Wasianski is willing to report of it, but it leads to the servant's dismissal, in 1802, and inaugurates the period of Kant's decline and eventual death two years later.Immanuel Kant and his Man-Servant Lampe - Justin Erik Halldór Smith
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Immanuel Kant and his Man-Servant Lampe
Very interesting blog on the end of Kant's life and his relationship to his man-servant, Lampe. Most of the information comes from Ehregott Andreas Wasianski's 1804 work, Immanuel Kant in seinen letzten Lebensjahren.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Can pills change our morals?
Molly Crockett |
It seems that if we can just wrap our heads around the idea that peoples’ attachment to their ideals is not fixed, but can change, we’re more likely to listen to each other. It’s unclear whether we will ever be able to create a “morality pill”—in part because we have yet to reach consensus on what is “moral” in the first place.4 And we still have a long way to go before we fully understand how brain chemistry shapes moral judgment and behaviour.5 But preliminary work suggests we ought to cultivate a healthy skepticism towards our own sense of right and wrong – it may well be vulnerable to factors below our awareness and beyond our control.Can pills change our morals? | thInk
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Bertrand Russell on science, education and democracy
Bertrand Russell |
For the first time in history, it is now possible, owing to the industrial revolution and its byproducts, to create a world where everybody shall have a reasonable chance of happiness. Physical evil can, if we choose, be reduced to very small proportions. It would be possible, by organization and science, to feed and house the whole population of the world, not luxuriously, but sufficiently to prevent great suffering. It would be possible to combat disease, and to make chronic ill-health very rare. … All this is of such immeasurable value to human life that we dare not oppress the sort of education which will tend to bring it about. in such an education, applied science will have to be the chief ingredient. Without physics and physiology and psychology, we cannot build the new world.
Bertrand Russell on human nature, construction vs. destruction, and science as a key to democracy | Brain Pickings
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Philosophers' Cafe Topic: Gun Violence
“Gun Violence: A Philosophical Debate” is our topic at the next Philosophers' Cafe. Friday, February 22, 3:00-4:00 in GH 316.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Consciousness Conference Online
Are you interested in the philosophy of mind and the nature of consciousness? You might want to check out this online conference. It begins February 15 at noon. You can browse the papers and the comments, including the activity from previous conferences.
The conference begins on the third Friday in February and runs for two weeks (that being ‘the conference’). Those presenters who allow it have their papers posted online at least a week before the conference begins so that people can read as many papers, in as much detail, as they choose beforehand to enhance and deepen discussion. During this two weeks discussion takes place in the comments section of each session (i.e. each post). It is much like blogging, only during a specific two week period. As such it can be done from anywhere at any time! After the conference the comments section will be closed (unless requested to be left open by author). Presentations, videos, papers, etc and discussion are left for people to view (unless the presenter requests otherwise) but no new comments are approved.Consciousness Online
Was Jane Austen a Moral Philosopher?
Was Jane Austen a moral philosopher? Thomas Rodham thinks so.
Jane Austen (1775-1817) wrote delicious romantic comedies about middle-class girls looking for good husbands among the landed gentry of Regency England. But if that were all there was to it we wouldn’t take her any more seriously now than the genre hacks published by Mills and Boon. What’s so special about her novels that we are still reading them today? It’s not just their literary quality. Austen was also a brilliant moral philosopher who analysed and taught a virtue ethics for middle-class life that is surprisingly contemporary. Appreciating this can help us understand why she wrote the way she did, and how and why we should read her today.Reading Jane Austen as a Moral Philosopher | Issue 94 | Philosophy Now
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Ronald Dworkin
Ronald Dworkin |
His theory of law as integrity, in which judges interpret the law in terms of consistent and communal moral principles, especially justice and fairness, is amongst the most influential contemporary theories about the nature of law. He advocates a "moral reading" of theUnited States Constitution,[4] and an interpretivist approach to law and morality. (Wikipedia)
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Writing a Philosophy Paper
Here is a Prezi offering some good advice on writing a philosophy paper.
Saturday, February 02, 2013
Should You Kill The Fat Man?
Try this thought experiment at The Philosopher's Magazine:
This activity is a treatment of some of the issues thrown up by a thought experiment called 'The Trolley Problem', which was first outlined by the philosopher Philippa Foot, and then developed by Judith Jarvis Thomson and others. But before we start properly, we need to ask you four preliminary questions so we get a sense of the way that you think about morality.Should You Kill The Fat Man?
Friday, February 01, 2013
Minority Report
The Film and Philosophy series will screen and discuss Steven Spielberg's Minority Report on Friday, Feb. 8, from 3:00-6:00 in the Digitorium. Please join us!
For more information about the film see:
For more information about the film see:
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