Anselm’s Proof of God, Wittgenstein’s Lion, Davidson’s Belief : a brief comparison of Anselm’s Proof of God, Wittgenstein’s claim of a failure to understand, and Davidson’s veridical belief.
The Buzz of Wittgenstein’s Builders : A discussion of whether bee communications qualify under Wittgenstein’s conception of language.
Chalmers’ Rough Thoughts On Spinoza and Panprotopanpsychism : A question and answer in which David Chalmers considers the merits of reading Spinoza’s metaphysics as a first “Zombie World”.
The Condensation of Specificity: Paul’s Use of “stoicheia” : A treatment of the rhetorical strategies of Paul of Tarsus, in the particularity of the word “stoicheia”
Davidson’s Razor, Vico’s Magnet : Philosophers Donald Davidson’s and Giambattista Vico’s take on metaphor are engaged with each other, so that a fuller conception of metaphorical use is achieved.
Della Rocca’s Spinoza: Do Affects “represent” Anything? : Michael Della Rocca’s view that affects are reducible to ideas, and hence are essentially representations, is considered.
Does Spinoza present a Zombie World? : David Chalmer’s thought experiment of a Zombie World is compared to Spinoza’s own “spiritual automaton” view of our present world.
Lindisfarne: The Rise of Illuminative Script :The famous script of the Matthew incipit page from the Lindisfarne Gospels is examined in details so as to bring out the condensational effects of word use, as the mystery of the rise of illuminative script is engaged.
A Non-moral theory of Evil : Process Theology’s non-moral notion of Evil is set out. An interesting ingredient in ethical thinking.
The Operated Jew and the Thinking Machine :The myth of the mechanized Other is brought in reference to thought-experiment Philosophy of Mind analysis.
Producing Producers: Interlocking of Oppression : Marx’ conception of “means of prodution” is shown to import an originary ideational component, one that helps explicate the consequences of Patricia Collin’s analytic of “Interlocking Oppression”.
The Purpose of a Word: a note on PI section 6 : Wittgenstein’s idea of a “purpose” of a word is questioned.
The Reality of the Affects: Spinoza’s Plotinian Real : Lilli Alanen’s difficulty with the illusion of the affects, in response to Della Rocca’s position, is looked at.
Savant Rule Following, What Shape is a Number? : Wittgenstein’s concept of “rule-following” is brought to an example of autistic savantism, in particular that of Daniel Tammet. Is Tammet following rules?
Spinoza: The Body of Ideas as Lens : The idea that Spinoza’s take on representation may have been heavily influenced by his vocation of lens-grinding.
Spinoza and His Courtesan : The curious Spinozist explanatory figure of the “meretrix” is discussed, with aim to sheding light on the nature of sociability.
Spinoza’s Letter 21 to Blyenbergh: Negation and the Unseeing Stone : The principle of “all determination is negation” is fleshed out, as it is found in Spinoza’s Letter 21, the contention that a blind man is missing sight no more than a stone.
Spinoza’s Logic of Affects and an Ontology of Torture : The question is raised as to whether there is a shadow-logic in Spinoza’s thinking which in some way legitimates the “form” of political torture.
Spinoza’s Two Concepts of Order : Spinoza’s two treatments of “order” (that of the imagination, and that of the mind) are put in juxtaposition.
The Trick of Dogs: Etiologic, Affection and Triangulation, Part I of IV : The first part of a four-part essay which discusses the relationship between Wittgenstein’s reason/cause distinction, and Davidson’s own position that beliefs and reasons are themselves conceptually causes.
Wasps, Orchids, Beetles and Crickets: A Menagerie of Change in Transgender Identification : This issue of transgender identification is used as a leverage point so to analyze the nature of subjectivity. The course moves from Deleuze and Guattari’s “Body Without Organs” approach to the organization of bodies and powers, to Davidson’s notion of a Triangulation of knowledges and a Principle of Charity. Spinoza’s “imitation of affects” in the end provides the nexus for a body-assemblage approach to idenity.
Zombies and Monsters of a Philosophy of Mind : The sweep of Philosophy of Mind thought-experiments is considered in its its sociological dimension.
