The double look on complex dimension
Is the ontology of the terms themselves correct? Philosophers defined the terms ‘ontology’ and ‘teleology’ before the rise of structuralism. That is, they named fundamental aspects of reality without a general theory about it. Is this reasonable? Can we keep the original meanings of these terms when a general theory requalifies them? Quine defined ontology … Read more
Blessed pedaling Hedonism consists in bathing in one’s feeling of pleasure. Recommendations abound about it. How far should you let go? The caricatural form of hedonism, in fact, is symbolized by the rat which presses tirelessly on the pedal of pleasure, perpetually busy stimulating its center of reward. Puritanism, on the other hand, represents self-observation, … Read more
Abstract: The successes of human organization and its science have led us to a paradoxical powerlessness in the face of the climatic and geopolitical catastrophe that is looming. In this philosophical pamphlet, I explain the paradox by the absence of coordination between ontological science and teleological desires, the first homogeneous and the second heterogeneous. Powerlessness … Read more
This is the question posed by physicist Vlatko Vedral on his excellent blog ‘Musings on Quantum Mechanics‘. During the pre-publication of an article, he and his referee discuss the primary object of quantum physics. Is it the elementary quantum field, as Vlatko argues, or the click of the detector registering a particle, as the referee … Read more
Philosophers, like everyone else, have the worst nightmares. Martin Legros wakes up terrified when his daughter falls over the parapet of the roof of a building. He seeks the explanation from Ludwig Binswanger, founder of Daseinanalyse. According to him we come into contact, at the bottom of the nightmare, with a fundamental dimension of existence … Read more
The Brain-Elmer Since the beginnings of neurology, the brain has been seen as a patchwork of specialized functional centers. Language, vision, motor skills, memory, etc., the neural lesions targeted in a center exclusively cause the alteration of its specific function. The clinical examples are innumerable. Broca’s and Wernicke’s aphasias, for example, gave their name to … Read more
I have always been amazed at the swiftness with which atheists erase agnosticism from their thinking. Michel Onfray, in three conferences that summarize his thought, settles its fate in a single sentence: “Agnosticism is a refusal to decide, that cannot satisfy any true philosopher”. Well, I’ll talk later … Read more
Disclaimer: This pamphlet is not intended for chronic painful patients. Another blog is dedicated to the medical. This is a philosophical reflection on pain. Fibromyalgia is cited here as a paragon of chronic pain, but the article is aimed at pain in general. It targets philosophers and caregivers, not fibromyalgia, who can be harmed by … Read more
You have learned, on the net, to be wary of fake news. If you are clever, you have ended up leaving the groups that operate in cults around such beliefs. Now pay attention to what fuels the fake news: I named the Dunning-Burgers! I take this pun from the Dunning-Kruger effect and the hamburger. The … Read more
A shared consciousness? The variety of responses received by The Guardian leads to this conclusion: consciousness is the thing most shared and least understood by humans. And yet the answers are not only profane; it includes Philip Goff, a panpsychic philosopher, and James Sonne, editor of MDPI’s NeuroSci journal. A geologist answered too! Does life … Read more