Category Archives: Uncategorized

There is a fundamental misunderstanding around concerning freedom of speech. It is this: the apparently common view that freedom of speech requires individuals to provide space in the comments section of their websites for the obnoxious, boring, inconsistent, rude, tedious, … Continue reading →

It’s not often that you can write on a topic in ethics whilst rolling around laughing, so I shall take this rare opportunity to make a few comments on the ludicrous breach of privacy that occurred last night when the … Continue reading →

Subjectivism in metaphilosophy, at least in the form dominant in the early part of the 21st century, is view that the value and correctness of a view in philosophy consists entirely in its acceptance by an elite oligarchy of top-rated … Continue reading →

Oxford University is currently considering revisions to its ‘Statute XII’. This was introduced in 1988 when tenure of academics was scrapped, and deals with the employment conditions of many (but not all) of the academics working in the university (staff … Continue reading →

I was lucky to meet Susan in 2003 through our research work at Cardiff University. Susan had originally studied English at Portmouth Poly. After graduating, she worked in London at Spittalfield’s Market before moving to Cardiff to take a Masters … Continue reading →

The first humanist funeral I attended was bad enough. A funeral is not a philosophy lecture. Yet the humanist who oversaw the service saw fit to give what I came to realise is the almost obligatory advertisement for humanism, by … Continue reading →

Each time a celebrity dies, someone, somewhere, probably a Guardian writer, possibly even two Guardian writers, and for all I know, many other journalists or so-called journalists, will write a piece about ‘what on earth are all those plebs doing … Continue reading →

The world of archeology, neuroscience and philosophy are astir with the shock discovery in Athens that, by combining modern techniques of sound recording, echolocation, neuroscience, and educatedguessworkism, the original Platonic dialogues have been reconstructed in a form that actually displays … Continue reading →

  To understand this, you just need to understand two basic principles of human psychology: behavioural conditioning, and cognitive dissonance. Everybody knows that if you want to get a dog, or a human, to learn some trick, you give them … Continue reading →

‘Very intelligent woman, Marilyn Monroe.’ Thank you, Dad, for saying this. I remembered this remark the other day as I watched ‘How to Marry a Millionaire’. I say ‘thanks’ to my father because this is the only comment I can … Continue reading →

It’s meant to give you a warm glow of contentment to feel that you are getting rid of your excess stuff in a socially and ecologically beneficial way. It’s supposed to be a way of connecting to people in your … Continue reading →

Jennifer Saul is increasingly well-known for her recent work on gender issues in philosophy, including her work on implicit bias as an explanation of gender imbalances in the discipline, and in particular for her blog ‘What it’s like to be … Continue reading →

   A strange thing happened last night. After watching an episode of ‘Afterlife’ on a DVD my sister lent me, my daughter and I light-heartedly sat down at a Ouija board. How soon were we to be startled to have … Continue reading →

The London School of Economics is attempting today (April 14)  to get the BBC to pull a Panorama programme filmed under cover by a BBC reporter while a group of its students were in North Korea. The BBC is disputing … Continue reading →

  Some of the many legacies of Margaret Thatcher are alive and well within UK higher education. The pressure to show that we feckless academics are actually doing something worth doing, by insisting that we measure everything we do and … Continue reading →

Am I the only person in Britain who thinks Banksy’s works are repetitive, mediocre, and pretty trivial? I doubt even if it’s one person doing it – following a pretty simple formula, you could produce Banksy type ‘art works’ ad … Continue reading →

As I write, people in Connecticut are anxiously awaiting confirmation from the police of the identities of those who have died in the massacre at Newtown’s Sandy Hook Elementary School yesterday. But as one woman interviewed on the news said, … Continue reading →

The freedom of the press is in danger. But this freedom is not at the moment absolute. There are limits on what the press can publish. These include personal medical details, which are protected by law and by professional ethics … Continue reading →

Thought for today about the nature of philosophy: Stating the obvious, but backwards and in high heels    

A report went round the philosophy faculty at Oxford University recently about the status and experience of women in philosophy. As  a result, a group of keen, right minded philosophers, post-grad students and staff, almost half of them men, met … Continue reading →

Last month I talked at Sparks London Story Cafe at the Canal Cafe Theatre in Little Venice on the Kindness of Strangers. I told of how a laundry maid in our hotel in Hanoi happened to notice that my trousers … Continue reading →