Food & Philosophy

some other beers tasted

2008-06-29T21:00:00.002-04:00

Heineken dark lagerBiere du boucanier red ale " " " golden ale " " " dark aleKostriker schwartzbierred hook esb original aletsintaowild blue blueberry lagersierra nevada summerfestsam adams summer aleshock top belgian whitepabst blue ribbonkonings hoeven quadrupel trappist aleommegeddon funkhouse ale

marginally physical objects

2008-04-28T22:18:00.008-04:00

or, contemporary myths in physicalismdare i suggest that there is a vagueness in what, exactly, is implied in the concept or ontological category of the "physical". our everyday definition of a physical object is something that you can bump your head against. yet it seems that even the most innocent of everyday, physical things are pseudophysical in that they are also at least in some bit

ontological agnosticism

2008-04-28T11:17:00.006-04:00

given that ontological categories are not determinate, or at least not rigorous enough for us to give clear and mutually exclusive definitions of them (is a magnetic field material? are numbers purely abstract? does 'belief' transcend the mind/body dualism?), is it possible to formulate a metaontological position that defends an agnostic outlook?allow me to clarify... some metaphysicians declare

philosophy as conceptual lexicography

2008-04-27T22:15:00.000-04:00

definition of (analytic, or, proper) philosophy: Philosophy (n) to engage in the activity of conceptual lexicography, id est, the clarifying of conceptual muddles.

mind-body dualisms

2008-04-27T21:10:00.000-04:00

i've become increasingly convinced that reductionist materialist explanations of consciousness are inadequate. this doesn't completely put me in the cartesian camp, but i wanted to make a brief post exploring some of the options available, from least to most ontologically pluralistic.1. Predicate Dualism - perhaps there is oen ontological category, presumably materialism, which can be

borges & infinite monkeys

2008-04-27T18:10:00.003-04:00

there's an interesting possibility in the field of literature that can be approached through at least two different philosophical lenses. first, let me explain the possibility, then i'll talk about two immediate problems that arise from it.the problem i'm going to talk about is the problem of the infinite monkeys. if a group of an infinite amount of monkeys sit on typewriters randomly smacking

beer tastings part 1

2008-04-18T20:25:00.007-04:00

first trysam adams boston lager*guinness extra stout*killians*sierra nevada pale alegetting used to ityoung's double chocolate stout**murphy's red beerpillsner urquell*stella artoissam adams nightsam adams brown alesam adams scotch ale*sam adams black lagersam adams honey porter**beerapalooza 4czechvarhoegaarden***sam adams irish redsierra nevada porter(tentative) beerapalooza finalsyoung's

ppi 3

2008-04-10T23:53:00.003-04:00

time for another post on possible post/paper ideasstandardized measurement. what kind of metaphysical properties do standardized measurements have? is a meter stick a meter long? what kind of symbol does 'yard' entail? what about yardsticks? in these matters i'll be consulting kripke's "wittgenstien on rules and private language", wittgenstein's "philosophical investigations" and peirce's

metametametametameta...

2008-04-10T20:30:00.000-04:00

there's a specter haunting philosophy:the specter of reaching inconceivable levels of meta.the worst part: i'm not helping.not too long ago i attended a lecture by colin mcginn titled "on the possibility of ontology." his main point was that there is no need to reduce from any of the three traditional ontological categories (i.e. physical, mental, abstract) to any other, mainly because none of

shortlist

2008-04-09T22:19:00.004-04:00

ignore.terminal programsmiamiindiana-boomingtonumass-amherstcunyyaleuscst andrewscornellbrownunc-chapel hilluclamitpittsburghprincetoncambridge (mlitt/phd)rutgersnon-terminal programshoustontuftsoxford (bphil)

socrates's defense

2008-04-08T01:15:00.000-04:00

did socrates even really try?i mean as he is attempting to defend himself from anytus and meletus, socrates barely makes a convincing case in his own favor, and instead turns the conversation around against the meletus and accuses him of the same things he's been accused of. he doesn't give a consistent account of his own life (was he or was he not a philosopher before his friend went to go see

musical meaning

2008-04-07T00:31:00.003-04:00

what is it in a song that has the ability to bring out meaning to its listener? is there anything in the song itself that has these properties, or is it all in the mind? i don't know if it's because i'm feeling particularly emo today, but i was listening to miles davis's classic ballad "blue in green". for the purposes of the post, listen to this one, at least in part:all music is, at least if

rabbits in the literature

2008-04-04T23:40:00.000-04:00

is there any interesting connection between rabbits and 20th century analytic philosophy? obviously not, but i've found 2 interesting examples of philosophy and rabbits entering the same discussion:quine's "lo, gavagai!"- the infamous thesis of the indeterminacy of translation. here's the situation: an anthropo-linguist is placed in a foreign land with some indigenous people speaking a language

on the ethics of discourse

2008-04-03T00:37:00.004-04:00

(for the purposes of this post, i will be using a very primitive notion of right and wrong)how okay is it to use as much rhetoric, outside of logic, in order to argue for something in the course of some discourse?my gut reaction is to say that it's not okay at all. but there seems to be a very big difference, though, if you consider certain types of rhetorical devices (mostly the aesthetically

absolutely perfect bacon grilled cheese

2008-04-02T15:44:00.003-04:00

MATERIALS*knife*sourdough bread*butter*four slices of cheese, preferably two sharp cheddar and two muenster.*baconPROCEDURES1. gather materials2. preheat pan on medium-low heat3. slice the bread twice, creating two not-necessarily even slices of bread4. prepare bacon5. butter one side of each of those slices of bread you just made6. put one slice BUTTER SIDE DOWN on the pan7. quickly and

sartre's 'existentialism and humanism'

2008-04-02T14:33:00.003-04:00

The main ideas of Sartre's philosophy as expressed in "Existentialism and Humanism" can be summed up in a few basic points: 1. "Existence precedes Essence" - which is an ontological claim, that one must exist already in order to investigate the essence of that existence 2. Subject-Relative Constructive Ethics - which is a meta-ethical position, in the sense that it is a claim about ethics as a

externalism in experience/sensations

2008-04-02T01:57:00.002-04:00

ok this is going to be really short and i hope to expand on this later, but i was thinking about externalism in sensations. here's my thought: when you feel a pain, where exactly do you feel it? many people have argued that you can only feel pain in your brain. that is, if something pinches you on the hand, you feel the pain in your brain nevertheless because that's where the c-fibers

re: top ten philosophers of all time

2008-03-31T21:27:00.004-04:00

found through old wizard is this list of the top ten philosophers of all time. *drumroll please*10. Rousseau9. Hume8. Hegel7. Heidegger6. Kierkegaard5. Kant4. Descartes3. Nietzsche2. Husserl1. Plato/Socratesis it just me, or is this list heavily biased towards the continent? it's not that the continental tradition hasn't added somethin to philosophy, but there are some names in there that,

nietzsche's superman morality

2008-03-26T12:46:00.004-04:00

Nietzsche is a particularly interesting philosopher because, as Russell pointed out, most of the objections that are brought up against his ideas are not rational in nature: that is, they stem from deep seeded “feelings” or other kinds of arguments not based in logical argumentation. However, if there is a way to find counterexamples to his theory without the appeal to feeling, then there might

note:

2008-03-14T11:34:00.003-04:00

I am neither addressing absolute skeptics, nor men in any state of fictitious doubt.CSP, CP 5.319

did 'naming and necessity' really defeat descriptivism?

2008-03-06T11:32:00.003-05:00

When Kripke is starting the third lecture of Naming and Necessity, he takes a second to look back at the accomplishments of the previous lectures. By Kripke’s own account (N&N p. 106), he has thus far shown how descriptivism falls short, how names are reference-fixers, not synonymous to descriptions, and how identity is a property that should be considered de

incomplete answers to some queries

2008-03-05T23:09:00.003-05:00

C (hey C!) asked some interesting and important questions which i will repost briefly. i will attempt to answer them as an exercise in critical engagement with the text.he asks:(1) what are the implications of when we are mistaken about concepts in this manner?(2) Since employment of the two different concepts in the same linguistic instance results in the same answer, what is the fundamental

kripkenstein's quaddition - exposition

2008-02-29T19:49:00.005-05:00

oh kripke... or kripkenstein.. or whatever...so here's the real deal. i have not read wittgenstein's philosophical investigations so take this entire post with a grain of salt--or a heap of it.anyway the argument as it struck kripke goes somewhat like this:suppose you've never performed the mathematical function "plus" with integers greater than 50. A is a teacher and YOU are B.A: "17 plus 23 is.

constructive empiricism and its discontents

2008-02-22T21:24:00.009-05:00

‘[A] realist is simply one who knows no more recondite reality than that which is represented in a true representation’ -Charles Sanders Peirce (CP, 5.312. Quoted from Haack 1998: 35) I. Introduction In The Scientific Image, Bas van Fraassen has given us all another answer to the question ‘What is science?’(Van Fraassen 2001: 151) He names his answer ‘constructive

the so-called death of descriptivism

2008-02-14T11:42:00.004-05:00

for a very long time--actually from about russell's "on denoting" paper published in the 1900's (decade, not century) till circa 1980--descriptivism ruled the theory of proper names. names did not actually denote anothing according to this view, but were shorthand versions of descriptions. names were descriptions, which in turn gave meaning to the term. so a proper name gave a unique description

Hume & extreme empiricism

2008-02-08T12:03:00.000-05:00

Hume's extreme skepticism about any empirical, observed knowledge of the external world is based on a very misguided and extreme empiricism. Although he allows for knowledge of certain simple mathematical and logical truths, anything beyond that is not directly supported by experience, and thus condemned unreasonable. To reconstruct his argument briefly: when interacting with the external

architecture of theories

2008-02-07T09:57:00.001-05:00

from Charles Sanders Peirce. "The Architecture of Theories." The Monist January 1891. 161-76. If a man, being seized with the conviction that paper was a good material to make things of, were to go to work to build a papier mache house, with roof of roofing paper, foundations of pasteboard, windows of paraffined paper, chimneys, bathtubs, locks, etc., all of different forms of paper, his

scotch part 1

2008-01-30T00:31:00.000-05:00

so, since i've been trying different whiskys lately i'm going to start a column that i will update every now and then on whisk(e)y. of course most of my early experiences with whisky came in bourbons, but anyway here is my review of the ones i've tried so far:BlendsJim Beam White Label - tastes like a hangoverDewars White Label - not all that bad for a cheap drink... a bit on the strong side and

identity and descriptive names

2007-12-05T10:40:00.000-05:00

oooh crap well i was shaving today and i realized:i've argued before for a descriptivist theory of proper names mostly based on my particular views on personal identity. My intuition has been that you wouldn't be the same person if you decided to play basketball instead of fencing, or if you decided to become a math major instead of a philosophy one.but, as my dissentors have pointed out, this

epistemic contextualism

2007-11-29T21:34:00.000-05:00

Annis “Contextual Theory of Justification”a/o/t = as opposed to; w/r/t = with respect toThe main idea Annis puts forth is an alternative to the alleged dualism of foundationalism an coherentism. His alternative is what he calls the “contextual theory of epistemic justification.” If someone claims to know some statement is true, then the possible objections are that either the person is in no

two abductive syllogisms

2007-11-29T02:10:00.000-05:00

a formal [[EDIT 11/30: not formal, but CRITICAL]] analysis of two abductive arguments:first, the creationists' argument for god from intelligent design.(a) there is this universe which is gloriously complex (assumed)(b) if god exists, there would be this universe which is gloriously complex (assumed)(c) god exists (aim)now as philosophers we have to define god. let's take the christian one, an

courses

2007-11-24T00:04:00.002-05:00

Philosophy 101 - Intro (Figdor)Philosophy 210 - Symbolic Logic (Morris)Philosophy 272- Modern Philosophy (Rabinsky)Philosophy 331 - Social & Political Philosophy (Rabinsky)Philosophy 341 - Philosophy of Language (Evnine)Philosophy 345 - Metaphysics (Figdor)Philosophy 343 - Philosophy of Science (Seigel)Philosophy 391 - Philosophy of Journalism (Figdor)Philosophy 495 - Senior Thesis (Haack)

epistemological virtue of open mindedness

2007-11-19T15:02:00.000-05:00

Dewey’s How We Think and the Epistemological Virtue of Open-Mindedness.Dewey’s definition of open-mindedness has two aspects which are jointly necessary to fully grasp the concept:First, and possibly most importantly, being open minded means not having prejudice, partisanship, and “other such habits as close the mind and make it unwilling to consider new problems and entertain new ideas”. This

Haack on Roll-Hansen on Haack on Feminism

2007-11-16T19:09:00.000-05:00

In her newest book, responding to Roll-Hansen (who critiques her stern stance against feminist epistemology), Susan Haack writes:I admit that I was tempted to write, "the appropriate response to such silly gender-feminist propaganda...," so perhaps I should comment briefly on Roll-Hansen's criticism that my tone may be "too sharp." Having no taste for the chewy blandness of much contemporary

On Empty Names

2007-11-14T00:43:00.001-05:00

Talking About What's Not There: Reference, Meaning, and Empty Names 'Pegasus has wings.' 'Sherlock Holmes lives in 221b Baker Street.' 'Hamlet kills Claudius." These sentences at first glance seem to be true in some sense, false in another, and meaningless in yet another. But which is right? More importantly, how are we to deal, in a systematic way, with the everyday habit found in natural

glenmorangie port wood finish

2007-11-13T11:15:00.000-05:00

amateur metaethics part 1: on ethical systems

2007-11-11T16:56:00.000-05:00

okay, due to some discussions with G i kinda wanna develop my thoughts on ethics. so this is kinda what i've come up with so far:any ethical system can be reduced to a set of axioms of what isn't permissible. a hypothetical, single-cause environmentalist ethics would include pretty much one axiom: {hurting the earth or any natural things therein is impermissible}. anything that adheres to that

chocolate: a process

2007-11-08T20:46:00.000-05:00

my progression through types of chocolate went like this:*milk - everyone's childhood favorite. at some point it became too sweet, so i went to...*semi-sweet - chips used for cooking. still kinda sweet, but it had a bit of a kick*girradelli 60% - still kinda sweet, but my first real forray into the world of dark chocolate. still an old fav*lindt 60% truffles - very delicious. outer shell with

semantics and truth conditions

2007-11-07T11:47:00.000-05:00

i have to admit sometimes i don't know why davidson thinks he can carry out a program similar to tarki's. tarski explicitly said his T-schema only applies to FORMAL languages with unambiguous predicates, no self-reference, and only a defined, pre-determined set of propositions and objects. davidson pretty much ignores this and goes ahead and tries to apply the T-schema to natural languages only

class schedule for next sem!

2007-11-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

i have a sweet schedule next semester, check it out:History of Modern Philosophy (Rabinsky)Mind and Language (McGinn)Independent Study on the Philosophy of Mathematics (Bueno)Senior Thesis on Peirce, Abduction, and Philosophy of Science (Haack)oh and some geology class for a req :(

abduction and occam's razor

2007-11-02T21:57:00.000-04:00

gosh i don't know if this is gonna sound obvious but i think i finally understand abduction, it's role in science, and why parsimony is so important in scientific hypotheses! okay so very quickly: three methods of logical arguments: deduction, induction, and abduction.in a deduction, you have an argument like this:(1) all things that have hearts also have kidneys.(2) david has a heart/(3) david

peircean metaphysics

2007-11-01T12:44:00.000-04:00

as some of you know i'm writing my sr thesis on ideas found in pierce's writings. i'm not sure exactly what about him or his theories i'm going to write about just yet, but i might start a regular feature in the site which quotes him and analyzes it a bit. either way here's a quote:from The Fixation of Belief (Section V Paragraph 9):"[Science's] most fundamental hypothesis, restated in more

truth theories

2007-10-31T10:09:00.000-04:00

yeah... i've been hung up on beliefs lately. now comes some thoughts on truth. the way i'm gonna go about it is offering some theories of truth and me just basically running my yap about them. quickly, before i go on to do just that, i say i stand by what i roughly said last post, that if you believe homo sapiens evolved from australopithecus, then you'd say of the sentence "Homo sapiens evolved

belief redux

2007-10-30T10:29:00.001-04:00

so i made a post about belief and i want to clarify my position a bit. first i think there are two aspects of belief. i think either of these two aspects could be characterized in terms of the other but neither, individually, would do to fully explain just what a belief is. these are:(1) the biological aspect(2)the behavioral aspect(1) would describe something that goes on in the mind/brain when

onion rings

2007-10-25T21:05:00.000-04:00

onion rings... they're just really good. check out some onion rings as i review them:BK - quickest way to get them. a bit sweet but the sauce they give with them is really good.. like a less tangy buffalo sauceDenny's - very good, although the batter could be better. condiment of choice: ketchupSteak and Shake - best batter i've had on an onion ring, ever. do not eat with any condiments.UPDATE (

ppi 2

2007-10-25T01:06:00.000-04:00

another set of possible post ideas. maybe i'll expand on some of these, maybe not.taboos in analytic philosophy--how come it's pretty much forbidden, or at least looked down upon in certain circles, to talk about derrida, or foucoult, or any continental philosophy? (tag: metaphilosophy)rhetoric and logic--some interpret logic (the formal system of analyzing good arguments) to be the best kind of

reference, grice, and irony

2007-10-23T21:24:00.000-04:00

this post might be a bit obscure and probably a lot shorter than it should be, but here goes anyway.quick review about the nature of refernce give to specific words (as i understand it):descriptivists and bundle theorists (russell, searle, maybe frege) think that proper names don't really refer, but are in fact abbreviations of descriptions. so a name like "stephen colbert" refers to {something

on belief

2007-10-23T11:03:00.000-04:00

right so i'm in epistemology class and we're discussing doubters of the legitimacy of the epistemological enterprise. one strategy of debunking epis. is to deny one of the major tenets of the definition of knowledge most people would agree with (JTB). susan haack starts to characterize certain beliefs on belief that deny beliefs. these are accounts like the churchlands' and/or stephen stich's,

healthyish food

2007-10-22T11:06:00.000-04:00

now to some stuff i found in publix that's really yummy and also kinda healthy!south beach diet turkey and ham deli wraps (and their deluxe pizza too)silk light soy milk (plain)boca meatless cheeseburgersjimmy dean d'lite breakfast biscuitssmart ones chocolate eclairs

games

2007-10-20T12:19:00.001-04:00

inspired in part by later wittgenstein, in part by pseudo-meta-ethical discussions with G, and in part by a quasimoto song called "players of the game," i've been thinking a lot about the concept of games for the past couple of months. and while there are many issues that involve the 'concept' (and i use the term loosely here) of games, there are some issues i want to touch on.the majority of

the food aspect

2007-10-16T13:17:00.001-04:00

OK so the food aspect to this blog will consist of either the trials and tribulations of my road to getting buff OR some culinary adventure of mine--something i ate at a restaurant, a particular meal i made that came out good, or something really crappy i ate. anyone have suggestions for a good cheap bbq place that isn't the pit (near the everglades)?

possible post ideas

2007-10-16T12:59:00.001-04:00

some philosophical issues of concern to me lately that I might write about:*multiculturalism *political phil*material implication in formal logic