CategoryPhilosophy
Citizen Scientist Forrest Mims Tells His Remarkable Life Story
In his new book “Maverick Scientist,” he details the ups and downs of an extraordinarily productive life in science, with few credentials to hide behind
Will Scientists Be Forced to Consider the Occult as Science?
When the World Economic Forum invited a witch to Davos to offer incantations, it was more than just window dressing
Does Mathematics Belong to an Eternal Realm?
Fighting Pseudoscience With Empathy? Try a Little Humility First…
The accusation of “pseudoscience,” under the current science regime, has often become little more than an elite-driven smear against inconvenient data
Is Science Slipping Away on Us by Degrees?
Science writers weigh in on misrepresentation of science history, reasons for loss of trust, and whether physics is ripe for a revolution
Materialism Can’t Account for Beauty
Concepts like truth, beauty, and goodness can't be derived from the material world
Does the Evidence for Our Universe’s Fine-Tuning Mean Anything?
Why is a divine Mind not “scientific” if the evidence points in that direction?
Ancient Greek Philosophy and Modern Blockbuster Graphics
The amazing computer-generated effects you see in almost every blockbuster today are only possible thanks to ideas proposed over 2300 years ago.
Attack on Top Consciousness Theory Springs From Abortion Politics
If that sounds surprising and unscientific, read on. Pro and con, they make it clear
If Panpsychism Is Now Mainstream, Is Fine-Tuning Next?
In his new book, panpsychist Philip Goff argues for fine-tuning of the universe and cosmic purpose
When Science Writers Say Things We Hardly Expected…
Some science writers are monotonous boosters for Answers from Science but the better ones challenge themselves, and thus challenge us too
The Big Bang: Last Summer, Doubt Suddenly Exploded. Why?
Why did a story that cast doubt on the Big Bang quickly go viral about a year ago? An experimental physicist offers some thoughts
Can Information Be Separated From Intelligence? Part 2
Theoretical biologist Marcello Barbieri envisions life’s origin in terms that only make sense if we assume life is the work of an intelligent agent
Science Is Self-correcting? Time for a Reality Check!
In the wake of the Stanford scandal, the reasons why science often ISN’T self-correcting are attracting much more attention
Can Information Be Separated From Intelligence? Part 1
Theoretical biologist Marcello Barbieri finds that many biologists see information in life forms — biological information — as something that “does not really belong to science.”In 2016, University of Ferrara theoretical biologist Marcello Barbieri wrote a rather interesting open access paper on a key philosophical conflict in biology: Is life only chemistry or is it chemistry plus information? In it, he says that many biologists see information in life forms — biological information — as something that “does not really belong to science.” How did they get there from here? Author of Code Biology: A New Science of Life (Springer, 2015), Barbieri offers a history, a critique, and a proposed solution. In this three-part series, I will look at all three elements. First, the history. Molecular biology understands genes as transferring linear sequences of information to proteins that carry out instructions. That’s information as it Read More ›
What Do the “Laws of Nature” Actually Explain?
To what extent does the phrase simply stand in for an explanation?
“Emergence”: The College Level Version of “We Don’t Know How”
The word often permits the improbable to be considered probable for the purposes of sounding like science without providing any
Can Science Escape Faith-Based Beliefs? Maybe It Needs Them!
Marcelo Gleiser insists, for better or worse, science is a faith-based enterprisePhysicist and astronomer Marcelo Gleiser (pictured) offered some thoughts recently on faith and science, noting that the scientific revolution has hardly changed the picture of faith much: “the great scientific advances of the past four centuries have not radically diminished the number of believers” in transcendent realities: If science is to help us, in the words of the late Carl Sagan, by providing a “candle in the dark,” it will have to be seen in a new light. The first step in this direction is to admit that science has fundamental limitations as a way of knowing, and that it is not the only method of approaching the unattainable truth about reality. Science should be seen as the practice of Read More ›
Can the Quantum Realm Explain Reality?
If we can uncover the smallest quantum particles in nature, will we have uncovered the fundamental secrets of reality?If we can uncover the smallest quantum particles in nature, will we have uncovered the fundamental secrets of reality? A longstanding philosophical tradition in the sciences claims “yes.” Uncovering the mystery of the world lies in the ability to interrogate the smallest of the small. But is that the right way to approach it? What special status does the tiny have over the large? A paper at IAI News by London philosopher Peter West argues that reality can’t in fact be elucidated simply by observing quantum mechanics. He talks in some length about the 17th century text Micrographia by Robert Hooke, which features various images of insects and other organisms under the microscope. West notes that Hooke set the stage, Read More ›