Philosophy & Ethics

Probability And Induction: The Very Foundations Of Science

I have been downloading a cartload of books on my new Kindle lately, since I really enjoy the idea of walking into the subway carrying a rather inconspicuous, very light, yet incredibly large library with me. One of these books is Samir Okasha’s  Philosop ...

Article - Massimo Pigliucci - Mar 9 2009 - 9:56pm

Many Terminally Ill Patients Feel Abandoned By Their Doctors- Study

Terminally ill patients and their family caregivers often feel abandoned by their doctors and feel a sense of "unfinished business" with them, according to a new study by an oncologist at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. The study results, publi ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 9 2009 - 6:14pm

Be Afraid!- Be Very Afraid!- Subject To The Following Provisos:

Scientific Hedging A favourite theme in disaster movies is the political figure who tries to keep the local population from being alerted to some impending catastrophe.  Usually, the political figure tries to impede the publication of findings by one or m ...

Article - Patrick Lockerby - Jun 6 2013 - 10:19am

Kuhn vs. Taylor, Taylor vs. World. Anti-Social Engineering and the Bastardization of Authentic Self

 This began as a response to a comment made on my Blog: Conservatism is Unnatural.  It grew.  People look back on the societies of the past with an amused superiority. They wonder how people could ever have been so silly. Without even a consideration of w ...

Blog Post - Brian Taylor - Mar 21 2009 - 10:57am

Quantifiable individually decided worth via scrutinised eudaimonic exemplars a.k.a. "Value"

 Assignee's Prerogative vs. Value:  ...

Blog Post - Brian Taylor - Mar 21 2009 - 5:15pm

Random Noise 2: Conspiracy Theory & Denial

In the former USSR there was a popular joke: When two people sit down to conspire, one of them is a KGB agent and the other is a fool. Behind many conspiracy and denial theories is a common flaw, which I shall attempt to show using the experimental method. ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - Mar 22 2009 - 8:34am

Plagiarists Are Just Confused About Whether Copying Without Attribution Is Okay, Says Ethics Panel

Undergraduates are getting another free pass, ethically, and blame is being shifted to educators because apparently confusion about what constitutes plagiarism,  not malicious intent, is the leading cause of plagiarism at the graduate school level, accordi ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 22 2009 - 1:20pm

What is Pragmatics?

What is Pragmatics? This is a very brief introduction to pragmatics, intended to whet your appetite and encourage you to want to know more. Pragmatic investigations cover the fields of both linguistics and philosophy. I shall cover the area of linguistics ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - Mar 24 2009 - 3:34pm

Synthetic Biology- A Challenge For Science Policy, Says Report

The safety of early applications of synthetic biology may be adequately addressed by the existing regulatory framework for biotechnology, especially in contained laboratories and manufacturing facilities. But further advances in this emerging field are lik ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 25 2009 - 10:29am

Conflicts Over Conflict Of Interest- JAMA Versus Dr. Leo

The Alliance For Human Research Protection, a non-profit advocacy group for responsible and ethical medical research practices, has called for the suspension of JAMA editor-in-chief Catherine DeAngelis and exec deputy editor Phil Fontanarosa, and for an a ...

Article - Becky Jungbauer - Mar 27 2009 - 10:58am