Tuesday
September 27, 2005 |
 What We're Up Against: Critique of a Contemporary College Text
by Ed Thompson
This essay serves the specific purpose of arming reasoners against the onslaught of contemporary academia. It highlights major positions taken by academia, and it offers major rebuttals to such positions. In a war for men's minds, one must come to battle with the proper armor. This essay provides it. (Read more...)
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 Ye' Ole' Skills-o'-Icon-Catchin'
by Ed Thompson
SOLOists have a remarkably keen sense of authenticity and, at the same time, a remarkable tolerance for individual diversity (SOLO may be a world leader here). It is almost as if we appreciate that you are letting your unique light shine, even while simultaneously disagreeing with the point made! (Read more...)
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 The Three Central Tenets of an Objective Philosophy of Science
by Ed Thompson
There are three things that philosophy must do in order to generate, or sustain, the special sciences. These are: to provide statements of contextually-absolute factual relations (definitions), to constrain unbounded possibility (arbitrariness), and to outline "the rules by which you can claim knowledge." (Read more...)
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The True-Answer National Lottery: A Free Market Solution to Terror
by Ed Thompson
In the afternoon, the time for showing-off had faded out, and all eyes had turned upward, to the tower where there was found a digital display: 900 ... 901 ... 902 .... All at the field had become silent, in a motionless stare on that slowly-changing number, which represented the payout, in millions, for finding and incapacitating the target—Osama bin Laden. (Read more...)
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The Veridicality of Conceptual Discernment
by Ed Thompson
[Editor's note - I post this one unedited, & without comment. Linz]
Knowledge is often signified by "justified true belief." It is this author's opinion that another signification would better help those seeking truth and understanding--and the value which flows from them. In this short essay, I will explore some past thinking errors (about knowledge and certainty) and offer productive solutions to these errors.
Being able to distinguish something from all other known entities (veridical conceptual discernment) is what "knowledge" is. (Read more...)
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Reciprocal Altruism: Anti-Concept
by Ed Thompson
Reciprocal Altruism: Tit-for-tat behavior (the Trading Principle), applied to “generosity.” An offspring of Game theory, this code of behavior establishes generosity as the default mode, and reciprocity as an instructive guide toward repeated interaction with others. “Cooperators” respond in kind to generosity, “cheats” don’t (though cheats may start off quite generous - as a mere ploy in a sinister con-game). (Read more...)
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 Rules of Engagement for Those Discussions Aimed at Progress (ie. Rational Discussions)
by Ed Thompson
Why write on this issue? Rand held that there are no fundamental conflicts among the interests of rational men. If this notion is indeed true, then great benefit would almost certainly await those who adopt a path toward this goal of dealing with others rationally. Giving this issue the time and energy it deserves... (Read more...)
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