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Where science meets art. The only necessary and sufficient book store in Melbourne.
Hope our friends enjoy the new look and feel – now optimised for mobile devices for access on the go.
PEOPLE
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Coordinator: Peter Ellerton
Web guy: Jason Etheridge RESOURCE COLLECTIONS
NEW RESOURCES
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- A nice Philosophy of Mind summary
- The power of categorical logic
- What exactly is the scientific method and why do so many people get it wrong?
- Paralympic athletes faster than olympic athletes — what does this tell us about difference?
- Logic: if + then = why? How can we understand the power of logic?
- How do we ensure we are exposed to new ideas? A parody with bite.
- A Life of Meaning (Reason Not Required) – What is the nature of our relationship with reason?
- Can you name this cognitive bias?
- By what measures can we value human life?
- Teaching philosophy improves standardised scores
- Are we in control of our own decisions?
- Neuroscience and education: myths and messages
- Free will is not as free as we think – and that’s ok.
- Where’s the Proof in Pseudoscience?
- Science in the lead?
RANDOM POSTS
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- Three essays about France's response to the veil (hijab, burqa, etc.)
- The quest for Renassaince Man
- It's all About Perception
- South Australian Syllabus
- Developing critical thinking skills
- Annotated Bibliography example and explanation
- Presentation to Sunshine Coast
- Philosophy — What’s the Use?
- Language as a Window into Human Nature
- Ethical Theory for absolute beginners
USEFUL RSS FEEDS
Philosopher’s Zone
NYTimes – The Stone
Philosophy Now
RSA Animate
- The Green Corridors Initiative
- Governance governing government
- Why print money when we can print wealth?
- Building a resilient health and care system
- We'll always have Paris?
- Experimentation and equity in global cities
- Technology-enabled deliberative democracy
- Healthier placemaking
- Creating a sovereign wealth fund in Wolverhampton
- Economic recovery and climate action
Scientific American – Mind and Brain
- Kindness Can Have Unexpectedly Positive Consequences
- It's the Bass That Makes Us Boogie
- Subliminal Cues, Precisely Timed, Might Help People Forget Bad Experiences
- Severe COVID May Cause Brain Changes Similar to Aging
- Autism Treatment Shifts Away from 'Fixing' the Condition
- Fatherhood Changes Men's Brain, according to Before-and-After MRI Scans
- Many People with Bipolar Disorder Use Cannabis. It May Sometimes Help
- Why Social Media Makes People Unhappy--And Simple Ways to Fix It
- People Shopping for 'Meaning' Buy Cheaper Goods
- Pregnancy Changes the Brain, Possibly Promoting Bonding with a Baby
TED talks
- Can the metaverse bring us closer to wildlife? | Gautam Shah
- The billion-dollar pollution solution humanity needs right now | Stacy Kauk
- Are video calls the best we can do in the age of the metaverse? | Josephine Eyre
- How great leaders take on uncertainty | Anjali Sud and Stephanie Mehta
- How Indigenous guardians protect the planet and humanity | Valérie Courtois
- How to tap into your awareness -- and why meditation is easier than you think | Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
- Demystifying the wild world of crypto | Laura Shin
- How can we escape soaring energy bills? Stop using fossil fuels | Tessa Khan
- A disability-inclusive future of work | Ryan Gersava
- How to tackle the stigma of living with HIV | Gareth Thomas
THEMED RESOURCES
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Misunderstanding Statistics
Another Dilbert moment…
Posted in Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons
Tagged Statistics
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How to teach all students to think critically
By Peter Ellerton, The University of Queensland
All first year students at the University of Technology Sydney could soon be required to take a compulsory maths course in an attempt to give them some numerical thinking skills.
The new course would be an elective next year and mandatory in 2016 with the university’s deputy vice-chancellor for education and students Shirley Alexander saying the aim is to give students some maths “critical thinking” skills.
This is a worthwhile goal, but what about critical thinking in general?
Most tertiary institutions have listed among their graduate attributes the ability to think critically. This seems a desirable outcome, but what exactly does it mean to think critically and how do you get students to do it?
Posted in Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons
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Who is ‘you’?
An exploration of what we might mean by ‘me’.
First – Identity short film (very good for class discussion)
Second Who am I? – very useful website as well.
Posted in Philosophy of Mind - Consciousness, Web links
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The 2015 Queensland Philosophy and Reason syllabus
Did you know Queensland has Taught Philosophy and Logic as a senior subject for around 100 years? Here is the new syllabus. Notice the focus on the skill of argumentation.
Posted in Syllabus and Course Outlines
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Are we individual or social creatures?
How does the concept of individuality affect politics?
Commentary from The Stone New York Times.
Here’s a pdf
Evolution and the American Myth of the Individual – NYTimes.com
Posted in Media Articles, Cartoons, Social and Political Philosophy, Web links
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The Ethics of Robot Cars
How about robot cars with ethics settings adjusted to suite the driver?
Here’s a Terrible Idea: Robot Cars With Adjustable Ethics Settings
Here’s a PDF
Posted in Booklets, Handouts and Worksheets, Ethics and Moral Philosophy, Media Articles, Cartoons
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Free Will and the Genome Project
Posted in Media Articles, Cartoons
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Watch what you think….
What you think is right may actually be wrong – here’s why
We like to think that we reach conclusions by reviewing facts, weighing evidence and analysing arguments. But this is not how humans usually operate, particularly when decisions are important or need to be made quickly.
What we usually do is arrive at a conclusion independently of conscious reasoning and then, and only if required, search for reasons as to why we might be right.
The first process, drawing a conclusion from evidence or facts, is called inferring; the second process, searching for reasons as to why we might believe something to be true, is called rationalising.
Posted in Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons
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Hume’s criticism of the design argument
Hume-Dialogues – Jeff Speaks
Posted in Critical Thinking, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Science
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Another resource for Fallacies of Reasoning
Posted in Booklets, Handouts and Worksheets, Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons, Web links
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Biased sample? Circular reasoning?
Posted in Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons, Philosophy of Mind - Consciousness
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Science and Conspiracy
A useful resource produced by NASA debunking claims that the moon landings were faked.
Posted in Booklets, Handouts and Worksheets, Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons
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The Limits of Imagination
Posted in Media Articles, Cartoons, Philosophy of Mind - Consciousness, PowerPoints, Video and other Media
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What use Philosophy?
Posted in Media Articles, Cartoons, Philosophy of Science, PowerPoints, Video and other Media
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Truth Puzzles booklet
A useful teaching resource in deductive logic. Booklet of logic puzzles.
Posted in Media Articles, Cartoons
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Can We Choose To Believe Something?
Posted in Critical Thinking, Ethics and Moral Philosophy, Media Articles, Cartoons
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Honesty and Charity in Arguments
From NYTimes – By GARY GUTTING, The Stone
Link – As a philosophy professor, I spend much of my time thinking about the arguments put forward by professional philosophers. As a citizen (and an occasional columnist for The Stone), I also spend lots of time thinking about the arguments put forward by Democrats and Republicans on currently disputed political issues.
How to Argue About Politics – here’s the PDF
Posted in Critical Thinking, Essay, Media Articles, Cartoons
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A Useful Introduction to Critical Thinking Skills
Posted in Critical Thinking, Philosophy of Science, PowerPoints, Video and other Media
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Analogy
Posted in Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons
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Whose brain is it? Consciousness, free will and the brain.
If ‘I’ change ‘my’ mind? Then where do ‘I’ fit in?
Posted in Media Articles, Cartoons, Philosophy of Mind - Consciousness, PowerPoints, Video and other Media
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