Hume’s Is–Ought Problem
Good thinking separates facts from values. When an argument moves from what is true to what we ought to do, look for the hidden value premise.
Hume’s Is–Ought Problem Read More »
Post Medieval
R. G. Collingwood
Collingwood helped show that history is not just collecting facts. It is the disciplined reconstruction of past human thought and action from surviving evidence.
Albert Einstein (1879 to 1955)
Einstein taught us that mass and energy are two forms of the same thing and that gravity is better understood as the curvature of spacetime that guides motion.
Albert Einstein (1879 to 1955) Read More »
John Snow and the Broad Street Pump
The story of John Snow in 1854 reminds us that good reasoning lets confidence follow evidence, not fear, habit, or public assumption.
John Snow and the Broad Street Pump Read More »
Galileo: Observation Corrects the Map
In 1610, Galileo set incorrect maps of the cosmos on the right path. Our mental model of Earth at the center of the universe had to evolve to match observations.
Galileo: Observation Corrects the Map Read More »
Max Planck
Planck discovered limits by following the math honestly—even when it contradicted intuition.
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913)
Alfred Russel Wallace lived from January 8, 1823, to November 7, 1913. He is best known for independently proposing the theory of evolution by natural selection, prompting Charles Darwin to publish his own findings. Wallace’s work as a biologist, anthropologist, and geographer took him to the Amazon and the Malay Archipelago, where he identified the
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) Read More »
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
Charles Darwin, born on February 12, 1809, and passing on April 19, 1882, was an English naturalist whose groundbreaking work laid the foundation for the theory of evolution. His voyage on the HMS Beagle and the subsequent observations he made led him to formulate his theory of natural selection, published in his seminal work “On
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) Read More »
The Problem of Induction
30 Phil, Chapter 27, Hume, Touchstone 70: The Problem of Induction. The logic behind induction is inherently circular, hence, the problem of induction. We expect future events to be like past events because this has generally been true in the past. This justification itself is inductive, making the whole process circular and self-referential. Although induction
The Problem of Induction Read More »
Skeptical Empiricism
30 Phil, Chapter 27, Hume, Touchstone 69: Skeptical Empiricism. Skeptical Empiricism challenges the idea of innate knowledge, asserting all we know stems from our experiences.
Skeptical Empiricism Read More »
Fourth Estate
You need a fully free press because public truth needs watchdogs, not just officials and institutions.
Liberalism
A wise person understands that liberalism is the political idea that people should be free to live their own lives, protected by rights and restrained government.
Separation of Church and State
Your mind belongs to you. Neither church nor state has legitimate authority to dictate what you must believe.
Separation of Church and State Read More »
First Analog Radio Transmission
In 1906, Reginald Fessenden achieved the first analog transmission of sound over radio waves on Christmas Eve. An analog transmission is like a flowing river that continuously changes its speed and depth to carry things along its path. In analog communication, sounds or images are directly transformed into continuous signals that mimic the original. For
First Analog Radio Transmission Read More »
Electromagnetic Radiation Theory
James Clerk Maxwell predicted electromagnetic waves, but he did not perform experiments to prove their existence. His prediction was based on his work on the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which unified electricity, magnetism, and light as different manifestations of the same phenomenon. Maxwell’s equations for electromagnetism predicted the existence of waves of oscillating electric
Electromagnetic Radiation Theory Read More »
Jean-Paul Sartre
5 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 31: Sartre and Existentialism Jean-Paul Sartre arrived in the Material World on June 21, 1905. Born in Paris to a modest family. Sartre, the chain-smoking existentialist who frequented Parisian cafes, is most remembered as an activist writer and for his idea of “bad faith.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
In Nietzsche’s complex philosophy, he has several messages for you. One is the idea that as humanity starts to shed supernatural believes, we have an opening for authenticity.
Friedrich Nietzsche Read More »
John Stuart Mill
Once people gain political and intellectual freedom, the next question is what they should do with it. Mill’s answer centered on human development, liberty, and the good of society.
John Locke
John Locke grounded human knowledge and human rights in experience rather than authority or tradition.
Roger Williams
Roger Williams lived in a world where religious conformity was normal, yet he combined law, theology, and experience to question the assumptions of his age.