by Andy Norman A cowboy walks into a saloon. He removes his dusty hat, orders a whiskey, and sinks wearily onto a stool. He downs the whiskey, looks around, and notices that an attractive woman has joined him at the bar. She looks him over and asks, “Are you a real cowboy?” The cowboy pauses … Continue reading The Cowboy, the Lesbian, and the Humanist
Month: July 2015
The false dichotomy of Islamophobia
by Massimo Pigliucci A false dichotomy is a basic type of informal logical fallacy, consisting in framing an issue as if there were only two choices available, while in fact a range of nuanced positions may be on offer upon more careful reflection. While I have argued together with my colleagues Maarten Boudry and Fabio … Continue reading The false dichotomy of Islamophobia
Moral realism
by Massimo Pigliucci New Scientia Salon video featuring a discussion between between Massimo and Dan, this time on the issue of moral realism. This is also being published as part of a new initiative by Bloggingheads.tv, called MeaningofLife.tv. Dan and I have our own channel, called, appropriately enough, Sophia. Anyway, in this video we talk about … Continue reading Moral realism
New Scientia Salon collection: Scientistic Chronicles
by Massimo Pigliucci We are happy to announce the release of the first collection of essays published in the online magazine Scientia Salon to see the light, and there will hopefully be many more to follow. Scientia Salon is devoted to bringing both science and philosophy — as they are pursued by professionals — to a … Continue reading New Scientia Salon collection: Scientistic Chronicles
Jesse Prinz on concepts, part II
by Dan Tippens This is Part II of an interview with Professor Jesse Prinz of City University of New York. In this video, Dan Tippens first asks Prinz about his Proxytype theory of concepts. Dan then raises an objection to Prinz's view; that Proxytype theory might have a problem satisfying the requirement that concepts be … Continue reading Jesse Prinz on concepts, part II
Jesse Prinz on concepts, part I
by Dan Tippens This is Part I of an interview with Professor Jesse Prinz of City University of New York. In this video, our assistant editor Dan Tippens asks Professor Prinz about his book "Furnishing the Mind: Concepts and their perceptual basis." First, Dan asks Prinz what the desiderata of a theory of concepts are. … Continue reading Jesse Prinz on concepts, part I
Brontosaurus and the nature of philosophy
by Leonard Finkelman Prelude What I say now ought to be uncontroversial, but bears repeating: philosophy has a public relations problem. Specious criticism from unreflective popular figures has done its damage. Inquisitive laypeople are routinely exposed to philosophy in one of two contexts: as an activity that works at best as a pointless diversion, or … Continue reading Brontosaurus and the nature of philosophy
High school philosophy
by Roger Hunt I run an extracurricular philosophy group for high school students. It operates on a rotating enrollment, integrating veterans with newcomers, which provides an opportunity for me to examine how people with different experiences and encounters with philosophy understand the subject/topic/practice/exercise. I am especially proud of one activity: having the veteran students lead … Continue reading High school philosophy
Exploring genetic causation in biology
by John McLaughlin In both popular culture and the technical literature in biology, the word “genetic” is ubiquitous. Despite its common usage and universal recognition, discussions centered around this concept usually leave its meaning taken for granted. We have the vague sense that it relates to DNA, genes, heredity, and inheritance, but what does it … Continue reading Exploring genetic causation in biology
Scientia Salon 
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