I recently re-read a classic piece by J.L. Mackie (April 1955), entitled “Evil and Omnipotence,” a stupendous philosophical essay about why theologians like Richard Swinburne are forced by their belief in an omnipotent, omnibenevelont and...

* xkcd's take on the vacuousness of some academic specialties... * One more from xkcd, on the meaning of life, if you will. * A New York Times article about the possible physiological function of dreams. * In defense of metaphysics (though not entirely...

Attentive readers of this blog may have noticed that those who post comments to my entries often show two interesting and complementary attitudes: a fundamental distrust of (if not downright contempt for) philosophy, coupled with an overly enthusiastic...

* How to build secular communities, by Emily Cadik, published in the New Humanist. * My review of "Understanding Philosophy of Science," by James Ladyman. * An absolutely brilliant satire by Jon Stewart of news networks' punditry. * Philosopher's...

David Chalmers is a philosopher of mind, best known for his argument about the difficulty of what he termed the “hard problem” of consciousness, which he typically discusses by way of a thought experiment featuring zombies who act and talk exactly...