^TagEdward Feser

advanced ancient invisible forcefield dome pattern fading fractal mathematical laws of nature

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 5, 2023

Categorized
Philosophy, Science

Tagged
Agency in nature, Aristotle and nature, Daniel Joachim Kleiven, Edward Feser, Entropy, gravity, Laws of motion, Laws of nature, Leonard Mlodinow, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Stephen Hawking, Time direction}

What Do the “Laws of Nature” Actually Explain?

_{To what extent does the phrase simply stand in for an explanation?} _{Denyse O'Leary

August 5, 2023

6

Philosophy, Science}

The question of what the “laws of nature” actually explain is worth asking when we consider the way the term is sometimes used. Norwegian philosopher Daniel Joachim Kleiven points to an example in The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking (1942–2018) and Leonard Mlodinow: They argue that the history of science can be summarized as “the long process of replacing the notion of the reign of gods with the concept of a universe that is governed by laws of nature.” But, Kleiven (pictured) probes, what is the precise nature of the change we are asked to applaud? He quotes the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951), who specialized in mathematics and logic: At the basis of the whole modern view of the world Read More ›

from hypothesis to results:research & experiments on repeat

^{Type
post

Author
Michael Egnor
Date
December 4, 2022

Categorized
Philosophy, Religion

Tagged
Anselm of Canterbury, Edward Feser, Featured, God as hypothesis, Return of the God Hypothesis (book), Stephen C. Meyer, Thomas Aquinas}

Is God Just a “Hypothesis” Like the Big Bang?

_{Michael Egnor

December 4, 2022

5

Philosophy, Religion}

Our friend and interlocutor Edward Feser takes exception to the title of Stephen Meyer ’s recent book, The Return of the God Hypothesis. Dr. Feser writes: With all due respect, the phrase “the God hypothesis” gets my hackles up. If X is something on which the world might merely “hypothetically” depend then X isn’t God. An argument gets to God only if it establishes the reality of an X on which the world couldn’t fail to depend. Hence arguments that present theism as a “hypothesis” are – qua arguments for theism – time-wasters at best and indeed cause positive harm insofar as they yield a distorted conception of God and his relation to the world. That is not to rule Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Michael Egnor
Date
April 19, 2022

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Brain (intelligent design), Edward Feser, Metaphysics (book), Richard Taylor}

Yes! There Is Evidence For the Intelligent Design of the Brain

_{If our brains were not intelligently designed, we would have no reason to believe anything our senses tell us} _{Michael Egnor

April 19, 2022

5

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

This is a big topic, of course. The brain, like all of biology, is obviously intelligently designed. From the elegant coordination of neural activity between neurons and brain regions to the remarkable law-like behavior of individual molecules and atoms that comprise neurons and neurotransmitters, the brain carries the unmistakable fingerprint of a Designer. But there is another common-sense way to infer design of the brain that is simple and I think quite convincing — it is based on our belief that our perceptions and concepts accord with truth. To see how this points to intelligent design of the brain, consider a very compelling argument for God’s existence proposed by philosopher Richard Taylor (1919–2003) in his book Metaphysics. Thomist philosopher Edward Read More ›

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post

Author
News
Date
September 9, 2021

Categorized
Philosophy, Science

Tagged
Edward Feser}

Philosopher Ed Feser Distinguishes Matter From Materialism

_{Feser, of Pasadena College, California, asks us to consider what materialists are really saying} _{News

September 9, 2021

3

Philosophy, Science}

Edward Feser explains the problem by starting with what the materialist is not saying: The matter to which he would reduce everything is not the matter of common sense, not the hard earth of daily experience. It is instead a highly abstract theoretical construct which – just like Descartes’ res cogitans – is not and indeed cannot be known directly via perception (nor, unlike the res cogitans, by introspection either). Moreover, it is a conception the materialist has inherited from Cartesian dualism itself. And it is that conception of matter, rather than the Cartesian’s commitment to a non-empirical res cogitans, that has made it so difficult for Cartesians and materialists alike to account for how conscious awareness relates to the Read More ›

3D rendering of abstract blocks of mathematical formulas located in the virtual space

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
April 11, 2021

Categorized
Mathematics, Philosophy

Tagged
Edward Feser, James Franklin, Scholastic realism, Velociraptor}

What Is Math About? Is It Discovered or Invented?

_{Philosopher Edward Feser suggests that the velociraptor, an extinct birdlike dinosaur, might illustrate the problem} _{News

April 11, 2021

3

Mathematics, Philosophy}

Pasadena City College philosopher Edward Feser (pictured) offers some thoughts that may be relevant to the current war on math. Pointing to a recently published article by mathematician James Franklin, he writes, What is mathematics about? The Platonist says that it is about a realm of abstract objects distinct from both the world of concrete material things and the human mind. The nominalist says that it is not really about anything, since mathematical entities are in no way real. The Aristotelian approach rejects nominalism and agrees with Platonism that mathematical entities are real. But it disagrees with the Platonist about the location of these entities. They are, for the Aristotelian, properties of concrete particular things themselves, rather than denizens of Read More ›

Educational kids math toy wooden board stick game counting set in kids math class kindergarten. Math toy kids concept.

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post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
February 16, 2021

Categorized
Education, Mathematics

Tagged
1984 (book), 2 + 2 = 4, 2 + 2 = 5, Algebra, Brittany Marshall, Cynical Theories (book), Douglas Murray, Edward Feser, Equals sign, Ethnomathematics, G. K. Chesterton, George Orwell, James Lindsay, Laurie Rubel, Nancy Pearcey, Oregon Department of Education (ODE), Paula Bolyard, Rochelle Gutierrez, Seattle math curriculum, War on math}

Yes, There Really Is a War on Math in Our Schools

_{Pundits differ as to the causes but here are some facts parents should know} _{Denyse O'Leary

February 16, 2021

10

Education, Mathematics}

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) recently encouraged teachers to register for training that encourages “ethnomathematics,” an education trend that argues, “among other things, that White supremacy manifests itself in the focus on finding the right answer”: “The concept of mathematics being purely objective is unequivocally false, and teaching it is even much less so,” the document for the “Equitable Math” toolkit reads. “Upholding the idea that there are always right and wrong answers perpetuate objectivity as well as fear of open conflict.” … An associated “Dismantling Racism” workbook, linked within the toolkit, similarly identifies “objectivity” — described as “the belief that there is such a thing as being objective or ‘neutral’” — as a characteristic of White supremacy. Instead Read More ›

Graphene molecular nano technology structure on a green background - 3d rendering

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 23, 2020

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
brain, Brian Greene, Edward Feser, Featured, Materialism, Mind Brain, Particle physics, Reductionism, Until the End of Time (book)}

Why the Brain Can’t Be Understood Simply in Terms of Particles

_{For the same reasons as a basketball cannot be understood wholly as a “sphere,” the brain is more than particle physics in action} _{News

August 23, 2020

4

Philosophy of Mind}

In a review of theoretical physicist Brian Greene’s latest book, philosopher Edward Feser explains why mathematics can’t capture all of reality. Read More ›

Incognito warrior in iron helmet and red cloak.

^{Type
post

Author
Michael Egnor
Date
August 3, 2020

Categorized
Ethics, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
___longform, Aristocracy, Aristotle, Darwinism, democracy, Edward Feser, Featured, government, Hannah Arendt, Karl Marx, Mob rule, Oligarchy, Plato, Republic (book), soul, Spirit, Timocracy, totalitarianism, Tyranny}

What would Plato Say About Antifa? Or Darwin?

_{A careful reading of Plato and Arendt goes a long way toward explaining the current scene—but it is unsettling reading} _{Michael Egnor

August 3, 2020

8

Ethics, Philosophy of Mind}

In college, I hated Plato. We read his Republic, and, as a patriot and an idealistic young (small “d”) democrat, I was appalled at the hegemony of the Guardians and at Plato’s disdain for democracy. It seemed to me that his Guardians were the archetypal totalitarians, and that it was a fundamental human right — enshrined in the Constitution — to be ruled only by consent of the governed. In my dotage, I am more sympathetic to Plato — it’s remarkable how much smarter the old philosopher has gotten in the past 40 years! I am still uncomfortable with Guardians, at least of the secular sort. But I think John Adams got it right when he observed that “our Constitution Read More ›

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post

Author
Michael Egnor
Date
October 6, 2019

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Am I Just My Brain (book), Edward Feser, Sharon Dirckx}

An Oxford Neuroscientist Explains Mind vs. Brain

_{Sharon Dirckx explains the fallacies of materialism and the logical and scientific strengths of dualism} _{Michael Egnor

October 6, 2019

2

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

It’s good to see a growing response to the materialist superstition about the mind and the brain from the neuroscience and philosophy community.

If Computers Are Intelligent, Climbing a Tree Is Flying

_{That, says Edward Feser, is the take-home message from Gary Smith’s book, The AI Delusion} _{News

September 9, 2019

3

Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind}

The book’s message is that “the real danger of artificial intelligence is that it will remain dumber than we are,” but we will think it is smarter.

A simple triangle can disprove materialism

_{Conventional descriptions of material processes do not help much when we are trying to account for abstract thought} _{News

August 16, 2019

4

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

Philosopher Edward Feser notes that there is a kind of mismatch between concepts and ideas on the one hand, which are abstract and completely general, and on the other hand, physical symbols and other material representations, which are always concrete, specific, and individual. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Michael Egnor
Date
April 30, 2019

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Computers, Edward Feser, Featured}

Computers Are No Smarter Than Tinkertoys

_{Philosopher: You may as well believe that Penn and Teller really do magic} _{Michael Egnor

April 30, 2019

4

Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind}

Philosopher Ed Feser wrote a great post recently on why it is irrational to believe that artificial intelligence is really intelligent. He begins with Arthur C. Clarke’s famous observation that “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Clarke’s assertion, he points out, can be taken two ways: people can be fooled into thinking that advanced technology is magic and, as a metaphysical assertion, that advanced technology really is magic. He defends the first assertion and, of course, denies the second: There are, however, many people who believe a claim that is analogous to, and as silly as, the metaphysical thesis that sufficiently advanced technology really is magic — namely the claim that a machine running a sufficiently advanced computer Read More ›