Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking is a popular science book published in 2005. The subject is the ‘human adaptive unconscious’, which is the cognitive phenomenon behind quick, frequent and automatic processes in the mind. Gladwell’s central thesis is that our minds can make fairly accurate judgments, without consuming much time and information. Gladwell…
Category: Philosophy
Media Literacy and Ethics
In Chapter 2 of Converging Media: A New Introduction to Mass Communication, “Media Literacy and Ethics,” we are introduced to the concept of media literacy and how to develop it in ourselves. Explain what media literacy is and discuss how media literate you yourself are. How many sources of news and information do you consult…
William Jennings Byrant’s defense of the Bible in John Scopes Trial and Henry Louis Menken’s view on the dangers of fundamentalism
The Scopes Monkey Trial, formally known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes trial, is a watershed event in the history of American justice system. A Tennessee high school science teacher John Scopes was brought to court for violating the state’s Butler Act which prohibited teaching about the theory of evolution. Although Scopes…
Ethical Responsibilities in Healthcare
It is a well known fact that the United States healthcare system is one of the most inefficient among the advanced economies. Despite being the leading economic power, its ranks below Scandinavian countries Denmark, Norway and Sweden and Western European countries such as France, Britain and Germany in terms of costs incurred, health outcomes, etc. …
Satha-Anand’s explanation of apparently misogynist Buddhist texts as really anti-sexuality, not anti-woman
Core Buddhist texts, written as they were more than two millennia ago, tend to carry patriarchal social overtones. Indeed, in many passages in the Tripitaka (especially in the Jatakas) the Buddha admonishes his disciples for their interactions with women. But as Satha-Anand takes pains to explain, the real issue countered by the Buddha is sexuality…
A vignette of Newton’s laws of motion
Newton’s three laws of motion were the backbone of classical physics, which were subsequently replaced by Albert Einsteins discoveries concerning Theory of Relativity. But till recently, Newton’s three laws of motion played a pivotal role in aiding our understanding of common geo-physical phenomenon. All three laws concern the action or influence of one physical object…
Empirical and rationalistic arguments for the existence of God
Rationalists and Empiricists have both argued in their own fashion in supporting the existence of God. Differences in their views are based on the extent of emphasis each side lays on human sense experience. Empiricists claim the existence of God based on information and knowledge gathered through sense faculties endowed to humans. Rationalists on the…
What do Plato and Socrates believe is the reason for humans to do the right thing?
According to Socrates, a commitment to moral reasoning is an essential condition of a well-lived life. An individual should base his actions upon the outcomes of such internal dialogues. The exercise of self-examination and introspection as a way of arriving at moral truths is of paramount importance to Socrates. So much so that he unequivocally…
What were the charges against Socrates as recorded in the Apology?
Socrates is one of the most prominent Greek philosophers of the Hellenistic Age. His powers of logical reasoning and the invention of the Socratic Method have left an enduring legacy on Western philosophy. The ideas spawned by him were given further life and shape by his bright pupil Plato, who also documented much of what…
Why is Aristotle known as the common-sense philosopher?
Born in 384 BC and believed to have died on 322 BC, Aristotle remains the figure head of Ancient Greek philosophy. He also founded the Peripatetic school of philosophy, which remains in currency even today. Aristotle was widely regard during his time and continues to be revered through the ages. It is perhaps his common-sense…