Language in Action
August 22, 2006
How do we communicate ideas with language? Where does the literal meaning of a word…
What Is Game Theory?
August 16, 2026
Game theory is a set of mathematical techniques for thinking about how people should choose when their choices interact. But real people aren’t exactly rational actors. Can a mathematical model explain real-world decisions? How can game theorists account for the fact that we don’t always…
Evolution of the Human Mind
July 11, 2006
Is the human mind a relatively inflexible program bequeathed to us by evolution, and culture…
Freedom of Speech in Times of War
July 4, 2006
The Constitution grants the freedom of speech to every citizen. Journalists value it more than…
Zen
June 13, 2006
What is the sound of one hand clapping? Does Zen Buddhism provide a unique perspective…
Is Free Will an Illusion?
May 23, 2006
We like to think of ourselves as enjoying unrestricted freedom of the will. But modern science…
A Philosophical Summer Reading List
May 16, 2006
Are there some philosophers, philosophies, or philosophical issues you want to bone up on over…
Justice Across Boundaries
May 9, 2006
Philosophical conceptions of justice have most often been directed at the nature of a just…
Neurocosmetology
May 2, 2006
Progress in neuroscience may soon make possible an age of neurocosmetology: the use of drugs…
Aristotle
April 4, 2006
Aristotle’s philosophical doctrines have permeated and helped shape Western Culture in spheres as disparate as cosmology,…
Religion and the Secular State
April 4, 2006
Can committed believers and committed non-believers share a common political life in the context of…
The Value of Truth
April 4, 2006
The pursuit of truth is often thought to be “intrinsically” valuable. Scientists and philosophers, who…
What Are Numbers?
March 14, 2006
Plato claimed that numbers exist in some mind-independent abstract heaven. Nominalists claim that there is…
Nature vs. Nurture
February 21, 2006
The philosopher John Locke thought we had no innate ideas; our minds are blank slates,…
The Mystery of Mind
January 10, 2006
Modern science tells us that the mind is just the brain working. But science cannot yet…
Progress and the Environment
January 3, 2006
Does the value of preserving our environment conflict with the development of a world community…
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