“The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.”
–Alfred North Whitehead
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Panpsychist Physicalism
[Written partially as a response to some discussion over in The Skeptical Zone]: Physicalism is the idea that the universe is fundamentally composed of entirely blind, deaf, dumb–DEAD–particles in purposeless motion through empty space. For some reason, these dumb particles follow the orders of a system of eternal mathematical laws that, for some reason, the Read more
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Lectures on Timothy Morton’s “Humankind: Solidarity with Nonhuman People”
Process and Difference in the Pluriverse (opening lecture) My Spring course at CIIS.edu finishes up this week with a set of modules on Timothy Morton’s book Humankind: Solidarity with Nonhuman People (2017). Earlier in the semester, we read works by Plato, William James, Catherine Keller, William Connolly, Bruno Latour, Anne Pomeroy, and Donna Haraway. Below, I Read more
Alfred North Whitehead, Ancient Philosophy, Aristotle, autopoiesis, Bruno Latour, Catherine Keller, Copernican Revolution, Darwin, Descartes, Donna Haraway, Edmund Husserl, Emmanuel Levinas, Evan Thompson, Gilles Deleuze, Graham Harman, Hegel, Heidegger, imagination, Isabelle Stengers, Kant, Modern Philosophy, Plato, poetry, politics, reason, Religion, Richard Tarnas, Schelling, Sean Kelly, speculative realism, Timothy Morton, William James
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Searching for Stars: A Conversation with Alan Lightman
Alan Watts, Albert Einstein, Alfred North Whitehead, Ancient Philosophy, Copernican Revolution, Daniel Dennett, Darwin, David Chalmers, Descartes, Galileo, imagination, Kepler, Modern Philosophy, Plato, poetry, Ptolemy, reason, Religion, Richard Dawkins, William James
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‘Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine’ by Alan Lightman
[Update 4/19: listen to the interview here] On Thursday at CIIS, I’ll interview physicist and novelist Alan Lightman, author of the just published Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine (2018). As of this writing, Lightman’s book is #1 in Metaphysics on Amazon.com.* Lightman begins his reflections in a cave in Font-de-Gaume, France, famous for its adornment of Read more
Albert Einstein, Alfred North Whitehead, Ancient Philosophy, Copernican Revolution, Descartes, Galileo, imagination, Kepler, Modern Philosophy, reason, Religion, Richard Dawkins
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The Nature of Consciousness and What to Do About It
A dialogue with Aaron Weiss last week at our graduate program retreat. Read more
Alfred North Whitehead, autopoiesis, Descartes, Edmund Husserl, Evan Thompson, Extended Mind, Fichte, Francisco Varela, Heidegger, imagination, Kant, Modern Philosophy, Paul Churchland, politics
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“Psychedelics Today” podcast
Give a listen to my conversation with Kyle and Joe on their podcast Psychedelics Today. We discussed the intersection of philosophy and psychedelics. Read more
Alan Watts, Alfred North Whitehead, Ancient Philosophy, Extended Mind, imagination, Modern Philosophy, Plato, Richard Doyle
“In one sense philosophy does nothing. It merely satisfies the entirely impractical craving to probe and adjust ideas which have been found adequate each in its special sphere of use. In the same way the ocean tides do nothing. Twice daily they beat upon the cliffs of continents and then retire. But have patience and look deeper; and you find that in the end whole continents of thought have been submerged by philosophic tides, and have been rebuilt in the depths awaiting emergence. The fate of humanity depends upon the ultimate continental faith by which it shapes its action, and this faith is in the end shaped by philosophy.”
—Alfred North Whitehead
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