PACTISS recommends
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
-
Coordinator: Peter Ellerton
Web guy: Jason Etheridge RESOURCE COLLECTIONS
NEW RESOURCES
-
- 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
-
- The web means the end of forgetting - an essay on forgetting, re-invention and personal identity in the age of Facebook
- On the cusp of [political] greatness
- Female Circumcision: Rite of Passage Or Violation of Rights?
- A Mini Guide to Critical Thinking
- Embiggen books ppt
- Should The Great Apes Have Rights?
- Rebuilding before retreating
- Critical Thinking - An Introduction (Alec Fisher)
- Burka ban a headache for a liberal society
- Some important tools of critical thinking
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
- 5 hiring tips every company (and job seeker) should know | Nithya Vaduganathan
- 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
THEMED RESOURCES
- December 2022MonTueWedThuFriSatSun282930123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930311
The Tale of the Slave
Robert Nozick’s dangerous question.
Posted in Media Articles, Cartoons, Social and Political Philosophy
Comments Off on The Tale of the Slave
10 Philosophical Principles
From John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty, Aristotle’s ‘mean’ philosophy to the principle of charity, here are the greatest principles of philosophy By JULIAN BAGGINI, Editor of The Philosopher’s Magazine
1. THE HARM PRINCIPLE
by JOHN STUART MILL, 1806-1873 Whenever legislation is proposed that limits our freedoms, someone will reach for Mill’s On Liberty and point to the passage that says, ‘The sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not sufficient warrant.’ What could be clearer? Except it isn’t clear: it depends on what you mean by harm. Does hate speech harm minorities? Does sexist language harm women, by making them less credible in the eyes of society? Philosophical principles are like credit agreements: the headlines are convincing, but the small print catches you out.
Here’s a pdf… Ten of the greatest: Philosophical principles
Posted in Media Articles, Cartoons
Comments Off on 10 Philosophical Principles
The Fallacy of Deepest Offence
Are all ideas equal? Not in the classroom
By Peter Ellerton, University of Queensland
There is a widespread belief amongst teachers that it is part of their duty of care, even a defining aspect of their professionalism, that all views expressed in the classroom are to be treated equally.
I take it as one of my first duties to challenge this. The right to have a view is indeed equally shared, but this is does not imply the same for the idea itself. If all ideas are equal, then all ideas are worthless.
Posted in Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons
Comments Off on The Fallacy of Deepest Offence
Philosophy Graduate Abilities
Data on the performance of Philosophy graduates. Click to enlarge.
More info here. Note that the philosophy students perform outstandingly well in verbal and writing skills and are the best of the non-quatitative areas in quantitative reasoning.
Posted in Critical Thinking
Comments Off on Philosophy Graduate Abilities
Fallacies Poster
A lovely job from http://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/ please visit the site for interactive presentation.
Posted in Booklets, Handouts and Worksheets, Critical Thinking
Comments Off on Fallacies Poster
What Truth Doesn’t Mean
The truth, the whole truth and … wait, how many truths are there?
Calling something a “scientific truth” is a double-edged sword. On the one hand it carries a kind of epistemic (how we know) credibility, a quality assurance that a truth has been arrived at in an understandable and verifiable way.
On the other, it seems to suggest science provides one of many possible categories of truth, all of which must be equal or, at least, non-comparable. Simply put, if there’s a “scientific truth” there must be other truths out there. Right?
Let me answer this by reference to the fingernail-on-the-chalkboard phrase I’ve heard a little too often:
“But whose truth?” Continue reading
Posted in Media Articles, Cartoons
Comments Off on What Truth Doesn’t Mean
Can science answer questions about morality?
Sam Harris on TED
Posted in Ethics and Moral Philosophy, Media Articles, Cartoons, PowerPoints, Video and other Media
Comments Off on Can science answer questions about morality?
The Language of Science
Listen and learn: the language of science and scepticism
Peter EllertonMaking sure what’s intended is what’s heard can be more difficult than it seems.
Melvin Gaal (mindsharing.eu)
Melvin Gaal (mindsharing.eu)
As scientists, one of our responsibilities should be to promote clarity. A lot of problems are caused by an incorrect or incomplete understanding of terms we regularly, and even lovingly, use.
When I use the word “evidence”, what I think I mean is a function of many things, not least my education in science and philosophy.
It’s also the product of many discussions with people about science, superstition, psychology, pseudoscience and subjectivity.
These discussions have added nuance to my understanding of the nature of evidence. They’ve also alerted me to the fact this nature changes in certain circumstances and through certain worldviews. In other words, what I intend to say is sometimes heard as something else entirely.
This type of miscommunication can be bad enough when dealing with someone who isn’t using the terms in a scientific way, but it’s particularly frustrating when it happens when talking to teachers and communicators of science.
I’d like to take a shot, then, at defining some key terms in the name of clarity. Continue reading
Posted in Booklets, Handouts and Worksheets, Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons, Philosophy of Science
Comments Off on The Language of Science
Analysis of Critical Thinking in Climate Science
No one likes to change their mind, not even on climate
People put up all kinds of psychological barriers to changing their minds.
Thomas Galvez
Thomas Galvez
Last night’s ABC documentary I Can Change Your Mind About Climate was about two people — conservative former politician Nick Minchin and youth activist Anna Rose — exposing themselves to information that ran counter to their deeply held beliefs. We know from both research and experience that people cling to information that is in line with their beliefs and worldviews, even when they suspect or even know the information to be false. In other words, people will defend their beliefs. To do so they engage in “motivated reasoning”. Continue reading
Posted in Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons
Comments Off on Analysis of Critical Thinking in Climate Science
Post hoc ergo propter hoc or False Cause – Correlation does not imply causation
Another legend from Dilbert.
Posted in Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons
Comments Off on Post hoc ergo propter hoc or False Cause – Correlation does not imply causation
Philosophy — What’s the Use?
Are you looking to see why teaching philosophy is important? Another great article from NYTimes The Stone
Almost every article that appears in The Stone provokes some comments from readers challenging the very idea that philosophy has anything relevant to say to non-philosophers. There are, in particular, complaints that philosophy is an irrelevant “ivory-tower” exercise, useless to any except those interested in logic-chopping for its own sake.
pdf here
Posted in Booklets, Handouts and Worksheets, Critical Thinking
Comments Off on Philosophy — What’s the Use?
The Fallacy of ‘Deepest Offence’
The Fallacy of ‘Deepest Offence’
By Peter Ellerton
image via here
Nothing is so central to a liberal society as the right to discuss ideas. Not being able to do this at all is totalitarianism – the banning of discussing, and even thinking about, unsanctioned ideas. So where on the continuum of control can we comfortably sit? Some would say only on the absolute edge of the former. Others may find that too extreme a view. Certainly the further we move away from unfettered public speech the murkier become the waters, with calls of and for censorship beginning after the first paddle stroke.
But this essay is not about that. This essay is about where this boundary lies for and within individuals. It is about exploring that most cherished of hurts, the pain of being offended. Continue reading
Posted in Essay, Social and Political Philosophy
Tagged Fallacy, offence, offended
Comments Off on The Fallacy of ‘Deepest Offence’
Another Double Blind Test surprise
Stradivarius Fails Sound Test Versus Newbie Violins
Can you tell the difference between modern violins and antiques crafted by Italian masters? Don’t feel too bad – expert players can’t do it either. In a double-blind test, 21 experienced violinists were unable to tell the difference between rare, old instruments and new ones. The study is in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. [Claudia Fritz et al, Player preferences among new and old violins] Continue reading
Posted in Booklets, Handouts and Worksheets, Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons, Philosophy of Science
Comments Off on Another Double Blind Test surprise
When Should Science be Censored?
Calls to censor details of potential killer flu via ABC News
The suppression of breakthrough research into deadly bird flu strains has been labelled scientific censorship by some, but others say it is a necessary step to prevent a possible biological attack.
Download pdf
Posted in Booklets, Handouts and Worksheets, Ethics and Moral Philosophy, Media Articles, Cartoons, Social and Political Philosophy
Comments Off on When Should Science be Censored?
Correlation Does Not Imply Causation
Posted in Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons
Comments Off on Correlation Does Not Imply Causation
Philosophical Zombies
From the concept by Chalmers. Could humans exist that are not conscious? The extract below is from his site.
Philosophical zombies
It is philosophical zombies that I’m most interested in here, since I’m a philosopher and they raise very interesting issues. The sort I’m most concerned with are zombies that are physically and behaviorally identical to a conscious human, but lack any conscious experience. As in this case-study of my own zombie twin, for example.
Most people doubt that zombies could exist in the actual world. (In philosophical terms, they are naturally impossible.) But many people think that they are at least logically possible – i.e. that the idea of zombie is internally consistent, and that there is at least a “possible world” where zombies exist. This logical possibility is sometimes used to draw strong conclusions about consciousness (e.g. in my book The Conscious Mind, and elsewhere). Continue reading
Posted in Media Articles, Cartoons, Original Philosophical Texts, Philosophy of Mind - Consciousness
Comments Off on Philosophical Zombies
The Coherentist’s Nightmare
Posted in Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons, Philosophy of Language
Comments Off on The Coherentist’s Nightmare
Harvard Justice Series: The Moral Side of Murder
Posted in Ethics and Moral Philosophy, PowerPoints, Video and other Media
Comments Off on Harvard Justice Series: The Moral Side of Murder