Category Archives: Resources

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Simpsons – post hoc ergo propter hoc

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Happiness, Philosophy and Science

By GARY GUTTING  NYTimes ‘The Stone’ http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/author/gary-gutting/   Extract below (useful bit) The new research has both raised hopes and provoked skepticism.  Psychologists such as Sonja Lyubomirsky have developed a new genre of self-help books, purporting to replace the intuitions … Continue reading

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Three Minute Philosophy: Rene Descartes

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Universal intelligence: One test to rule them all

It’s time to abandon the idea that we are the gold standard of intelligence. Take a test using a more fundamental scale of smarts http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21128296.100-universal-intelligence-one-test-to-rule-them-all.html?full=true&print=true Download Universal intelligence (pdf)

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The Meaningfulness of Lives

By TODD MAY  NYTimes ‘The Stone’ http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/the-meaningfulness-of-lives/ Who among us has not asked whether his or her life is a meaningful one?  Who has not wondered — on a sleepless night, during a long stretch of dull or taxing work, or … Continue reading

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Peace of Mind: Near-Death Experiences Now Found to Have Scientific Explanations

Seeing your life pass before you and the light at the end of the tunnel, can be explained by new research on abnormal functioning of dopamine and oxygen flow By Charles Q. Choi Scientific American http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=peace-of-mind-near-death Near-death experiences are often thought of … Continue reading

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Ockham’s Razor

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Homeopathic leak threatens catastrophe

What is the role of humour here…? http://www.newsbiscuit.com/2011/09/09/homeopathic-leak-threatens-catastrophe/ An accidental release of highly dilute homeopathic waste from a research institute in Swindon has led to calls for the centre to be shut down.  Plant operators have admitted responsibility for massive … Continue reading

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Conditional Happiness

If you can read the fine print….. Discuss.

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Japanese Linguist Helps Revive an Aboriginal Language

What does it mean for the world to lose a language? http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2011/s3310650.htm TONY EASTLEY: It’s taken 40 years but from almost the ashes of extinction, an Aboriginal language has been saved and is again being spoken on Palm Island in … Continue reading

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A Utilitarian Decision – Sacrifice Lives to Save Lives

Would the lives of the people on board have been worth it…? Discuss. AN F-16 pilot scrambled on 9/11 to prevent another attack on the US capital says she was prepared to ram her plane into a hijacked aircraft, as … Continue reading

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20 Awesomely Untranslatable Words from Around the World

There are at least 250,000 words in the English language. English – or any language – could never hold enough expression to convey the entirety of the human experience 

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Post modernism explained?

Obviously simplistic, but ripe for comment!

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Philosophy of Religion website

A wonderfully organised overview of the classic philosophy of religion issues, arguments and problems. http://www.philosophyofreligion.info/

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What’s logic got to do with it? – Some of the greatest flashes of scientific inspiration were sparked by utterly illogical thinking.

POPULAR belief has it that science is the preserve of logical Mr Spocks. A great scientific discovery must surely spring from a series of logical steps, each taken coolly and calmly, in the rational order. But take some time to … Continue reading

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Top Ten Evolution Myths – and how we know it really happened (pdf)

Often misunderstandings about evolution are really misunderstandings about how science operates.  This document deals with both rather nicely.  Philosophy of Science. From the Skeptics Society.    Top Ten Evolution Myths (pdf)

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Hooked on Horoscopes (pdf)

We may not be able to persuade people that astrology and graphology are nonsense, but psychology, with the help of a showman, reveals why they are so popular.  The Barnum effect.  Psychology and critical thinking. Hooked on horoscopes (pdf)

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More on Critical Thinking from Qualiasoup

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Consciousness – science tackles the self (pdf)

We know that we are aware of ourselves. But we don’t know how. And we are not even sure why. The answers may lie in the physical processes of consciousness 01 April 1989 by SUSAN BLACKMORE New Scientists Magazine issue … Continue reading

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Critical Thinking beautifully explained

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