Philosophy
This is the part of the site outside ADHD. Writing that comes out of reading philosophy, law and literature; the place where I ask what concepts are good for in daily life.
- Medium
Does the Gettier Problem Show That Knowledge Cannot Be Analysed?
Do Gettier cases show that knowledge cannot be analysed, or only refute one wrong analysis? A discussion text, written in English.
7 min - Medium
Is “Truth” a Redundant Word?
From the witness's oath to the liar paradox: if removing the word from a sentence loses nothing, why do we still make people swear in court?
7 min - Medium
Does Mary Learn a Fact, or Only a Way of Knowing One?
Does Jackson's knowledge argument refute physicalism, or only show a new way of recognising the same fact? A discussion text, written in English.
6 min - Long
How Conclusive Are Kripke's Arguments Against Descriptivism?
A philosophy text on how far Kripke's modal, epistemic and semantic arguments in Naming and Necessity refute descriptivism. Written in English.
13 min - Medium
Why Will the Person Who Wakes Up Tomorrow Be Me?
Who is the person who books a dental appointment six months ahead? The personal identity debate: memory, fission, teleportation and Parfit's cool-headed conclusion.
8 min - Medium
Is There a Fact About What You Meant Yesterday?
Rule-following scepticism in Kripke's reading of Wittgenstein: are there facts about meaning, or only community practice? A discussion text, written in English.
6 min - Medium
Strategy Is Choosing What Not to Do
From a meeting where everyone adds an item to Clausewitz's centre of gravity: the one thing that turns a plan into a strategy is giving something up.
5 min - Medium
Why Does Analytic Philosophy Look So Dry?
From a comma that turns a lawsuit to the notation Frege invented: why writing clearly is not a matter of style but a kind of hospitality.
7 min - Medium
Why I Opened a Philosophy Section
The side of this site beyond ADHD: what a legal and philosophical education, and readings in divan literature and strategy, are doing here.
6 min