Sometimes, I despair when I hear some people describing President Donald Trump as amoral. I can't help thinking what those people mean is, that Trump's actions don't comport with their idea of the right way for a President to behave. To my mind that fits with the concept of immoral rather than amoral. Some might … Continue reading Amorality
Author: rom
Do we live in a zero-sum1 universe? Well, the answer is yes, no, maybe. In writing this essay, I was reminded of an episode early on in my second ‘real’ job. Our company sponsored a local university professor, and in return, the professor and perhaps a protégé would give lectures for a day or two … Continue reading Zero-Sum
Depending on the type of antirealist one might be they might argue for the following at least according to ChatGPT (in italics): That depends on the type of antirealism. Different antirealists deny independence in different domains: Metaphysical Antirealism – Reality itself is dependent on perception or conceptual schemes. This is the position I must most … Continue reading Antirealism
Recently, I came across a letter from Einstein to a grieving father, Dr Robert Marcus, who happened to be a rabbi and had written in desperation. The father’s letter seems to have come from a book by Naomi Levy, called Einstein and The Rabbi. The two predominant questions to Einstein were: Is there any consolation … Continue reading Death
Here is a summary of where I think I am. Subject to change. The Chat AI suggested the following "pithy" descriptions:1) Process Monism2) Naturalistic Realism3) Agnostic Pragmatic Realism4) Causal NaturalismI think I will go with Process Monism, as it "Emphasizes [my] belief that everything is part of an unfolding, interconnected causal process rather than discrete … Continue reading My Position
I have not posted in a while, so I thought I'd post this brief interaction with ChatGPT on the subject of consciousness as an epiphenomenon. The program, I have to say, is a smooth-talking bastard, but in a good way (a way that I like).Incidentally, the image is created by ChatGPT (DALL·E 3) I asked: … Continue reading Epiphenomenon
Came across this TED talk by Hughes today. The talk was neither strident nor unreasonable. The general premise is that our policies should be 'colourblind'. Meaning that the policies should be indifferent to race. And that policies should be based on class instead, where the target groups, black and Hispanic, are over represented in the … Continue reading Blindness
If the moon, in the act of completing its eternal way around the earth, were gifted with self-consciousness, it would feel thoroughly convinced that it was traveling its way of its own accord on the strength of a resolution taken once and for all. So would a Being, endowed with higher insight and more perfect … Continue reading Einstein
https://undark.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Robert-Wright-c-Barry-Munger-1-copy.jpg Just finished reading Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright. It's the third book by Wright that I have read the other two being The Moral Animal and The Evolution of God. Overall, enjoyed the book and I recommend it. Most of the book is based on how natural selection hasn't necessarily shaped us … Continue reading Buddhism (I)
We have several words that draw attention to the self or in the plural selves. For example, ourselves, selfless, selfish, selfhood, her/himself and the strangely tautological myself are just a few. What is a "self"? When we think of a self how does it seem to us? How do we describe ourselves? A scientific description … Continue reading Self
rom's corner 
