Do Natural Laws Prove That God Exists? A New Wrinkle on an Old Problem

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An Anti-Determinist Argument

We generally think that the past is settled and nothing we do in the present can change it (barring time travel or backwards causation). In other words, it seems irrational to direct our efforts toward trying to affect the past. For example, if an organism evolved a mutation that caused it to spend time and energy trying to influence the past instead of the future, it's reasonable to assume that the organism wouldn't survive very long. So far, so good.

Confessions of a Conflicted Carnivore

Since the next episode of Philosophy Talk is about the demands of morality, I wanted to share the following post that I wrote last year for my blog. The area of food selection is one where many philosophers, myself included, feel the demands of morality. But how strenuous can we make those demands on ordinary people? This essay is an attempt to find a middle ground and, in the end, may please no one. Nevertheless, I hope it will provide food for thought (sorry, couldn't help myself).

The Ethics of Soda

Tennis as a Way of Knowing

What does Berkeley philosopher Alva Noë mean when he says that dance is a form of knowing? It depends on his theory of consciousness. According to the outmoded view that he rejects, consciousness is something that happens inside the head. As explained on Philosophy Talk:

Why Science Will Never Replace the Humanities

Questions about the value of the humanities and the relationship between the sciences and humanities have been very much in the news recently. Notable intellectuals, like Stanley Fish, Steven Pinker, Philip Kitcher, Daniel Dennett, and Martha Nussbaum, have all weighed in on the discussion. Public opinion is shifting in favor of science and tech education. There are two related challenges: