Too many guides for novices are pedestrian trudges through the key names and topics in a subject. Like the best introductions, this is more manifesto than textbook, making a convincing case for its subject by explaining why it is both important and interesting. There is no better, clearer case for why both science and philosophy matter and why neither can replace the other.
ReadEmotions are assumed to be beyond our control, ebbing and flowing in anarchic independence from the rational mind. But if we question the judgments that lie behind our emotions, we will often find that those feelings do, indeed, change. We can help the way we feel, if the way we feel flows from a mistaken judgment that we can correct.
ReadPhilosophers have tended to have an inflated sense of their ability to “follow the argument wherever it leads”, as Plato’s old saw has it. What matters is the argument, not the arguer, which means there is no need even to think about gender or ethnicity. Philosophers have thus felt immune to the distorting effects of gender bias. Logic is gender-neutral, philosophy is logical, ergo philosophy is gender-neutral. I suspect this has led to complacency, a blindness towards all the ways in which, in fact, gender bias does creep in.
ReadIt’s official. “Left-wingers can’t control themselves as well as conservatives.” It’s not the first headline like this appear in the Daily Mail, but this time they have proper scientific research to prove it. This is uncomfortable reading for many on the left, who generally attribute lack of success in life more to social forces than weakness of will. But if you look at the source research more carefully, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a credible progressive response to the conclusions begins to emerge.
ReadYou cannot find contained within short philosophical quotes all you need to properly understand them. They are not essence-capturing distillations but abbreviated summaries that make little sense by themselves and can be completely misunderstood.
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