February 2012
29 posts
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“If you take a job with a company that asks you questions any idiot could answer,...”
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Exactly 13 years ago today...
…I met a little Danish backpacker who spoke broken English at a seedy bar in Cairns.
Happy one-night-stand-aversary Wifey!
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You know you're not reading philosophy when...
“… advocated it not because these ends justify the means, but on ethical grounds”
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Philosophy at UQ: Moral & Political Philosophy... →
uqphilosophy:
This week we look at “On the Beginnings of Political Society” according to Locke (Second Treatise of Civil Government Chapter 8), a topic sure to be more exciting than beer, jumping castles and bands.
Or perhaps not…. We are also moving to a new time: Tuesdays at 3pm.
You can access a copy here http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/l/locke/john/l81s/chapter8.html See you on Tuesday at...
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“It is not morally permissible to kick people off your land because it is your...”
– http://tomkow.typepad.com/tomkowcom/2012/01/the-origins-of-property-ii.html
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“Capitalisation is important. It’s the difference between helping your...”
Moral & Political Philosophy Reading Group #4
uqphilosophy:
What better way of seeing in O Week than an examination of Lockean property rights? Accordingly, this week’s reading will be chapter 5 from Locke’s Second Treatise of Civil Government.
You can access a copy here http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/l/locke/john/l81s/chapter5.html See you on Friday at 3pm, Miche level 5
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Kant and Police Don't Mix
Another great tale from Chris Hitchens
On another occasion, he put his pipe in his mouth as he was ascending the subway steps. A policeman approached and told him that there was no smoking on the subway. Morgenbesser explained—pointed out might be a better term—that he was leaving the subway, not entering it, and had not yet lit up.
The cop repeated his injunction. Morgenbesser reiterated ...
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The Philosopher's Fallacy
I noticed today that there is one very important informal fallacy missing from wikipedia’s list of fallacies. I call it the philosopher’s fallacy:
The philosopher’s fallacy is an error of reasoning whereby adequate knowledge of pertinent facts held by all parties coupled with a sound argument is believed sufficient to engender social change.
Sadly, evidence and reason is...
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Moral & Political Philosophy Reading Group #3
uqphilosophy:
This month we’ll be looking at Bernard Williams’ ‘Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy’. We are planning to cover CH6 - ‘Theory & Prejudice’.
There are a few copies left at the SSH Library & Michael has a PDF copy if the DRM on the electronic copies drives you to despair.
Friday 3pm in the Miche level 5 conference room (just outside the lifts).
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Conservative ideology is the critical pathway from...
A new study shows that conservatives really do have lower cognitive abilities.
Despite their important implications for interpersonal behaviors and relations, cognitive abilities have been largely ignored as explanations of prejudice. We proposed and tested mediation models in which lower cognitive ability predicts greater prejudice, an effect...
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“Slavery is so vile and miserable an estate of man, and so directly opposite to...”
– John Locke - The First Treatise of Government
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“She couldn’t babysit as an atheist, but she could when she was on crack.”
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17th Century Philsophy Smack Down
For it is scare credible that in a discourse where he pretends to confute the erroneous principle of man’s natural freedom, he should do it by a bare supposition of Adam’s authority, without offering any proof for that authority.
John Locke, The First Treatise of Government
“Freedom is just another word for having nothing left to lose.”
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“Autonomous automobile technology shifts the liability for accidents from the...”
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“There is no better way to fully understand a subject than to argue it. It’s...”
January 2012
24 posts
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Philosophy at UQ: Moral & Political Philosophy... →
uqphilosophy:
This week’s moral & political reading group will be meeting Friday 3pm in Miche level 5.
We’ll be going over Hugh Breakey’s ‘The Epistemic and Informational Requirements of Utilitarianism’ and his response to Gaus’ paper from last time.
“Nobody worries about the military or the courts being “profitable”....”
– The Economist
“An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all...”
– Plutarch