"Every person of learning is finally his own teacher" Thomas Paine
Use of Wikipedia
Despite its imperfections, a deliberate decision has been made on philosophical, practical and social grounds to use Wikipedia as a major reference source for this internet site along with the Stanford encyclopaedia of Philosophy and the Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy . Wikipedia articles are only listed first as they are often easier to read. The use of Wikipedia should help minimise our tendency to make appeals to authority . How many other encyclopedias have you encountered where the beliefs of its writers can be openly questioned or corrected ? On the other hand this source (like all others) should not be regarded as definitive. It is perhaps better to think of Wikipedia as a useful starting point. Readers might also refer to online philosophy encyclopedias as a way of reading more relevant material.
To understand the way Wikipedia operates see the talk by Jimmy Wales: How a ragtag band created Wikipedia . (Also see Jimmy Wales and Jimbo Wales at Wikipedia ). Larry Sanger one of wikipedia's founder is critical of its content.
Selected Wikipedia Articles One way to begin is to go to the Wikipedia philosophy portal and choose something from the menu that takes your fancy, in the way that you might do when going into a Chinese restaurant.
Philosophical stances (in relation to the themes of this site): Naturalism , Metaphysical naturalism, Logical positivism , Positivism, Pragmatism, Empiricism, Phenomenalism , World view (Weltanschauung) , Skepticism, Philosophical skepticism, Rationalism , Verificationism, Utilitarianism, Consequentialism, Emotivisim
Knowledge and Belief: Belief; Belief revision, List of Beliefs, Fact, Fact-value distinction, Truth, Criteria of truth, Pragmatic theory of truth, Certainty, Knowledge, Propositional knowledge, First principle, Bounded Rationality, Heuristic, Rules of thumb, Approximation, Procedural knowledge, Declarative knowledge, Epistemology, Naturalised epistemology, Ontology, Language , a priori and a posteriori
Ethics and Meta-ethics : Fact-value distinction, Morality , Ethics, Normative, Norm (philosophy), Meta-ethics , Descriptive ethics , Deontological ethics , Norm (sociology), Normative ethics, Ethical naturalism, Ethical subjectivism, Moral relativism , Moral absolutism, Moral universalism, Dialectics , Free will, Agency, Intentional stance , Moralistic fallacy, Naturalistic fallacy, Is ought problem , Ethic of reciprocity (or Golden rule) ,
Reasoning and Logic: Logic, Validity, Soundness, Entailment, Logical consequence, Tautology (logic), Interpretation (logic), Proposition, Antecedant, Consequent, Premise, Truthbearer, Truth value, Argument, Contradictions, Deductive reasoning, Inductive reasoning, Problem of induction, Subjective logic, Formal language, Inference, Traditional Logic, Propositional calculus, Propositional formula, Completeness, Consistency, Contradiction, For All Practical Purposes, Bivalence, Logical connective (or operator), Formal logic, Doxastic Logic, First-order logic, Second-order logic, Modal logic, Logical possibility, Temporal logic, Philosophical arguments, Necessary truth, Laws of Logic, Logical equivalence, Supervenience, Intuitionistic logic, Vagueness, Fuzzy logic, Law of excluded middle, Is logic empirical?, Falsifiability, Analytic tableau, Square of opposition, Free Logic, Abductive reasoning, Argumentation theory, Dialectic, Eristic, Gettier problem, Law of contradiction, False dilemma, Fallacy of composition, Syllogism, Disjunctive syllogism , Modus tollendo tollens (denying the consequent) , Modus ponendo ponens (affirming the antecedent ) , Reductio ad absurdum (redcution to the absurd), Logical disjunction (elimination), Argument in the alternative, Fallacy of four terms
Mathematical and Computational Logic: Natural numbers, Sign, Positive number, Integer, Real number, Rational number, Irrational number, Ordinal number, Computable number, Mathematical Logic, Foundations of mathematics, Abstraction, Mathematical induction, Mereology, Axiom, Axiomatic system, Formalism, Proof theory, Mathematical proof, Conditional proof, Conjecture, Formal proof, Logical implication, Undecidable problem, Decision problem, Equiconsistency, Consistency, Logical completeness, Decidability, Model theory, Computability theory, Hilbert's Program, Gödel's incompleteness theorems, Peano Arithmetic, Russel's paradox, Weierstrass function , Church-Turing Thesis, Boolean Logic: George Boole, Boolean logic, Boolean algebra (logic), Boolean algebra (structure)
Probability: Probability, Probability interpretations, Cox's theorem, Frequentism, Randomness, Stochastic process , Bayesianism, Bayesian probability, Probability logic, Propensity probability, Statistics, Misuse of statistics, Sunrise problem, Law of large numbers, Central limit theorem, Almost surely, Monty Hall problem, Confusion of the inverse , Base rate fallacy, Gambler's fallacy,
Philosophy and Sceince: Philosophy of science, The demarcation problem , Duhem-Quine-Thesis, Instrumentalism, Confirmation holism, Scientific realism, Underdetermination, Determinism, Causality, Probabilistic causation, Correlation does not imply causation, Non-locality, Principle of locality, Philosophical realism, Scientific realism, Scientism, Reductionism, Scientific reductionism, Scientific skepticism, Scientific evidence, Scientific method, Hypothesis, Theory, Hypothetico-deductive model, Paradigm, Paradigm shift, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Commensurability, Theory of justification, Emergentism, Emergence, Systems thinking, Systems philosophy, Systems theory, Chaos theory, Sensitive dependence on initial conditions, Complex system, Independent variable, Paul Feyerabend ,
Bias and Research Study Design: Hypothesis testing, Accuracy and precision, Experimental design, Design of experiments, Trial and error, Placebo, Clinical trial, Evidence based medicine, Randomized controlled trial, Observational study, Cohort study, Longitudinal study, Cross-sectional study, Blind experiment, Double blind, Crossover study, Meta-anlaysis, Systematic review, Sample bias, Selection bias, Self selection, Cognitive bias, Confirmation bias, Publication bias, Response bias, List of cognitive biases, List of memory biases, Recall bias, Evidence-based design
Consciousness, Affect and Desire: Consciousness, Arousal, Sleep, Dreaming, Lucid dreaming, Emotion, Anger, Disgust, Fear, Happiness, Cognitive psychology, Cognitive dissonance, Motivation, Desire
Memory: Memory , Short term memory, Long-term memory, Long-term potentiation, Long-term depression, Eidetic memory, Working memory, Baddeley's model of working memory, Declarative memory, Procedural memory, Childhood amnesia, Anterograde amnesia, Retrograde amnesia, Forgetting curve, Interference theory, Confabulation, Consciousness , Metastability in the brain
Nervous Sytem, Fundamental Concepts: Nervous system , Central nervous system, Peripheral nervous system, Nerve , Neurons, Dendrite, Axon, Synapse, Neurotransmission, Neurotransmitters , Action potential, Schwann cell, Myelin, Node of Ranvier, Saltatory conduction, Glial cell, Oligodendrocyte, Neuroscience , Electroencephalography , Behavioral Neurology, Transcranial magnetic stimulation, Neuroscience Portal ,
Brain Anantomy: Brain, Cerebral hemispheres, Corpus callosum, Cerebral cortex, Brodmann area , List of regions in the human brain, Gyrus , Sulcus Frontal Areas: Frontal lobe, Prefrontal cortex, Orbitofrontal cortex, Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, Movement: Motor cortex, Primary motor cortex, Corticospinal tract, Cerebellum, Spinocerebellar tract, Senses and Memory: Olfactory system, Olfactory bulb , Temporal lobe , Amygdala, Parietal Lobe, Primary somatosensory cortex, Auditory system, Primary auditory cortex, Hippocampus, Posterior column pathway, Vision: Visual system, Eye, Retina, Color vision, Optic chiasm, Lateral geniculate nucleus, Occipital Lobe, Visual cortex, Dorsal stream, Ventral stream, Various: Thalamus, Spinothalamic tract, Hypothalamus, Pituitary gland , Medulla oblongata , Reticular activating system
Neuroimaging: Neuroimaging, Functional neuroimaging, Magnetic resonance imaging, Diffusion Weighted Imaging, Functional magnetic resonance imaging, Statistical parametric mapping, Computed tomography
Religion and Faith: Ethics in religion, Faith, Religious belief, Revelaed truth, Dogma, Origin Belief, Negative Theology, Ideology, Reality, Mysticism, Spirituality, Transcendence (philosophy), Transcendence (religion), God, Deity, Theism, Henotheism, Monotheism, Panentheism, Pantheism, Christianity, Theology, Islam , Hinduism , Sikhism, Judism, Kabbalah, Buddhism, Indifferentism , Agnosticism, Ignosticism , Unitarian Universalism, Magical thinking, Flying Spaghetti Monster , Invisible Pink Unicorn, Dechristianisation of France during the French Revolution
Humanisim: Humanism, Renaissance humanism, Humanist Manifesto, A Secular Humanist Declaration, Religious humanism, Christian humanism, Humanistic Buddhism, Humanistic Judaism, Ethical Culture
Particular Philosphers: Heraclitus, Hippocrates, Aristotle, William of Ockham, David Hume, John Locke, John Stuart Mill, Charles Darwin, Charles Sanders Peirce, John Dewey, Alfred Ayer, Thomas Kuhn, Stephen Toulmin, W.V.O. Quine, Karl Popper, Hilary Putnam, Paul Feyerabend, Time line of Western Philosophers
Selected Articles at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Belief and Probability : Belief , The Ethics of Belief, Logic of Belief Revision, Relativism, Pragmatism, The Contents of Perception, Bayesian Epistemology , Interpretations of Probability, Probabilistic causation , The Analysis of Knowledge, Evidence
Truth and Justification: Truth, The Correspondence Theory of Truth, The Coherence Theory of Truth, The Deflationary Theory of Truth, The Identity Theory of Truth, The Revision Theory of Truth, Axiomatic Theories of Truth, Foundationalist Theories of Epistemic Justification, Evidence, Coherentist Theories of Epistemic Justification, Logical truth, Self-Deception
Logic and Rationality: Logical Consequence, Logic and Ontology, Epistemic Logic, Logical Constants, Sentence Connectives in Formal Logic, Fuzzy Logic, Vagueness, Informal Logic, Logic and Artificial Intelligence, Defeasible Reasoning, Truth Values, Supervenience, Logic and Games, Historicist Theories of Rationality, Practical Reason and the Structure of Actions, Practical Reason and the Structure of Actions, Common Knowledge
Philosphy of Science: Scientific Explanation, Science and Pseudo- Science, Scientific Progress, Scientific Realism, Constructive Empiricism, Theory and Observation in Science, Underdetermination of Scientific Theory, The Unity of Science Emergent Properties, Structural Realism, Atomism from the 17th to the 20th Century, Ancient Atomism, The Social Dimensions of Scientific Knowledge, Models in Science, Thought Experiments, Laws of Nature, Natural Kinds, Scientific Revolutions, The Incommensurability of Scientific Theories, Karl Popper, Thomas Kuhn, Paul Feyerabend
Physics
Newton's Views on Space, Time, and Motion, Absolute and Relational Theories of Space and Motion, Structuralism in Physics, Experiment in Physics, The Equivalence of Mass and Energy, Being and Becoming in Modern Physics, Philosophy of Statistical Mechanics, Thermodynamic Asymmetry in Time, Chaos, The Uncertainty Principle, Quantum Mechanics, Measurement in Quantum Theory, The Uncertainty Principle, Quantum Entanglement and Information, Action at a Distance in Quantum Mechanics, The Role of Decoherence in Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Gravity, Modal Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics, Everett's Relative-State Formulation of Quantum Mechanics, Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, Action at a Distance in Quantum Mechanics, Identity and Individuality in Quantum Theory Experiment in Physics, Philosophy of Technology, The Philosophy of Computer Science,
Biology and Medicine
Philosophy of Biology, Ecology, The Definition of Death, Teleological Notions in Biology, Reductionism in Biology, Biological Information, The Biological Notion of Individual, The Biological Notion of Self and Non-self, Biodiversity, Conservation Biology, Replication, Gene, Molecular Genetics, Heritability, Epigenesis and Preformationism, The Human Genome Project, Ethics of Stem Cell Research, The Distinction Between Innate and Acquired Characteristics, The Philosophy of Childhood, Evolution, Adaptationism, Evolutionary Epistemology, Natural Selection, Darwinism, The Genotype/Phenotype Distinction, Evolutionary Genetics, Cultural Evolution, Units and Levels of Selection, Biological Altruism, Morality and Evolutionary Biology, Sociobiology, Behaviorism, The Philosophy of Neuroscience, The Computational Theory of Mind, Animal Cognition, Memory, Sense-Data, The Experience and Perception of Time, Pain, , The Problem of Perception, Auditory Perception, Delusion, The Language of Thought Hypothesis, Folk Psychology as Mental Simulation, Mental Imagery, Introspection, Higher-Order Theories of Consciousness, Philosophy of Psychiatry, Mental Illness, Concepts of Disease and Health, The Ethics of Clinical Research, Public Health Ethics, Doctrine of Double Effect, Suicide
Religion and Faith: The Epistemology of Religion, Philosophy of Religion, Religion and Science, Faith, Fideism, Religious Diversity, Miracles, Moral Arguments for the Existence of God, Pragmatic Arguments and Belief in God, Cosmological Argument, Hume on Religion,
Particular Philosphers
Charles Sanders Peirce, John Dewey' Moral Philosphy, William James, Jurgen Habermas
The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy "A Professionally Peer-Reviewed Resource" .
Fallacy and Lists of Fallacies
Fallacy at Wikipedia Formal fallacy at Wikipedia Informal fallacy at Wikipedia Fallacy at The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP) Fallacy Theory ( Informal Logic) at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Stephen's Guide to the Logical Fallacies Fallacies at Platonic Realms Logicalfallacies.info A list of Fallacious Arguments by Don Lindsay Top 20 Fallacies at Skeptics Guide Logic & Fallacies, Constructing a Logical Argument Fallacies from University of North Carolina Informal Fallacies from Lander University, South Carolina Informal fallacies at Drury University Fallacies at the Nizkor Project List of fallacies at Wikipedia
Magazines and Journals
http://www.philosophypress.co.uk/ for TPM: The (very readable!) Philosophers Magazine
Philosophynow.org a magazine of ideas
Richmond Journal of Philosophy
The Best Philosophy Journals a personal list by Mark Colyvan
http://journalseek.net/phil.htm a classified list
Philosophy Blogs
http://blog.talkingphilosophy.com/
www.nigelwarburton.typepad.com
http://acgrayling.com
http://www.philosophybites.com
Philosophy Listings Pages
Philpapers.org Listings site for academic work also contains manuscripts: Use the advanced search facility for free online papershttp://cogprints.org/view/subjects/phil.html A source of free online papers Eistemelinks.com a listings site Philosophy around the web : a listings sitePeople with online papers in philosophy compiled by David Chalmers
Philosophy Content and Other Pages
Squashed Philosophers by Glyn Hughes Canonical Texts at Eserver.orgSome Texts from Early Modern Philosophy by Jonathan Bennett
Free E-books at the Philosophy Shelf, From Project Gutenberg Includes some very well known classics Read complete books and articles on: Logical Positivism at QuestiaGalilean library.org Philosophy and History and Philosophy of Science
http://philosophy.lander.edu
http://www.pragmatism.org/ What is artificial intelligence ? by John McCarthyThe Anatomical Basis of Mind by Ben BestPhilosophy 6 Introduction to Philosophy by Matt Lawrence The Secular Web at Infidels.org has an extensive library of modern and historical documents and good links. It is "operated by the Internet Infidels, Inc., a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to defending and promoting a naturalistic world view on the Internet "Pilosophypages.com Thebigview.com: has writings on a variety of topics inluding, space-time, Tao, Buddhism, Greek PhilosophyThe Golden Rule by Jeffrey Wattles selected chapters
Philosophy Organisations
The Royal Institute of Philosophy Philosophical Organisations
Audio and Video of Philosophers and Others Speaking
The Golden Rule "Gold or Fool's Gold? Ridding the Golden Rule of Absurd Implications" , a lecture examing logical consequences of the golden rule by HJ Gensler
Hilary Putnam on YouTube
The Putnam-Rorty Debate and the Pragmatist Revival
RSA Vision and Animtion Videos (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) A very stimulating series of lectures on video and in animated versions.
Journal of Applied Philosopy Podcast page
Philip Kitcher's Science & Religion Lecture, Hampshire College TV
Also listed at http://scienceandreligion.hampshire.edu/videos.php
Great Issues Forum, City Univerity of New York
Beyond Belief Conferneces from The Science Network.org
Beyond Belief: Science, Reason, Religion & Survival: Watch very stimulating videos of conference presentations and discussions at the 3 day meeting held at the Salk Institute, La Jolla, CA from November 5-7, 2006 .
The subject of belief is looked at largely from the perspective of the scientist and skeptic. Some speakers and commentators from the audience comment on the lack of philosophical sophistication of some of the statements made at the conference. Despite this weakness, it is worthy of your attention if you are interested in the subject of belief, if only to see the way that some scientists think about wider issues.
Beyond Belief, Enlightenment 2.0 , October 31-November 2, 2007, held at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Short conference presentations in the same format to the first conference but "less of an atheist love fest" than the the first conference. Recommended as a good introduction to modern thinking about the way our culture is and can develop. Listen to people who's books you might have or might be stimulated to buy. Watch Scott Atran for example give a more researched account of so called islamic terrorism than you will ever get by reading the ill informed 'End of Faith' by Sam Harris. In 'The end of faith' Harris does not seem to understand the difference between sacred books and the lives of their adherents or the difference between morality and present American political interests.
Beyond Belief: Candles in the Dark , October 3 - 6, 2008 held at the Salk Institute
In 44 parts available on video with sessions on:
Human flourishing/ Eudaimonics;
This is your brain on politics
This is your brain on morality
This your brain on law
This is your brain on politics
http://metanexus.net "is an interdisciplinary, inter-institutional, international network dedicated to discovering and applying transdisciplinary approaches to the most profound questions of life, the cosmos, and humanity"
Incidental Articles
Where belief is born A Guardian article from 2005
The Certainty Bias: A Potentially Dangerous Mental Flaw A Scientific American article from 2008
'The Matrix'
It is a great pity that the film The Matrix , with such a philosophically interesting theme as the 'matrix of our perceived reality', is expressed through the current entertainment addiction to simulated violence. If you you are able to withstand the site of simulated extreme violence watch the film then either read the poorly formatted 'official' Philosophy and the matrix or associated philosophical commentaries or essays on other sites such as matrix, In the matrix which pill would you take red or blue?, There Is No Spoon: The Matrix , or go to listings sites like Matrix) .
Online Primers
Philosophy
Philosophy and Philosophers - An Introduction to Western Philosophy (Penguin Philosophy)
Just for fun
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