Category Archives: Epistemology

Jonathan Rauch, THE CONSTITUTION OF KNOWLEDGE, part 2

Posted on Friday 10 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Yesterday I gave a general overview of this book, and made a few specific comments. Today I’m going to read through my notes again, and highlight some more specific comments, and maybe quotes. Like this summary, at the end. The … Continue reading →

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Jonathan Rauch, THE CONSTITUTION OF KNOWLEDGE, part 1

Posted on Thursday 9 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: “A Defense of Truth”. Brookings, 2021. 266pp of text, plus notes and index, total 305pp. This is one of two books I’ve read recently, following the Lee McIntyre book that I posted about two days ago, that dovetail in … Continue reading →

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Do These People Ever Go Outside and Look Around?

Posted on Wednesday 8 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Paul Krugman asks why the Right hates America; Like Mike Johnson, Rick Santorum is skeptical of democracy (when results don’t go his way); Adam Lee on the allure of tribalism. Paul Krugman responds to the Damon Linker piece that I … Continue reading →

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Lee McIntyre, ON DISINFORMATION

Posted on Tuesday 7 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: “How to Fight For Truth and Protect Democracy.” The MIT Press, 2023. I’m behind on writing up my recent reading here on this blog, so let me resume with this very short little book, small in size and just … Continue reading →

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Conservative Epistemology

Posted on Monday 6 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

The core belief that explains extremism on the right; Peter Wehner on how Republicans have chosen nihilism; My wondering what the deep explanation is for what’s happened on the right; Short items about GOP tax cheats, Trump’s latest outrageous lies, … Continue reading →

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More About Things People Believe That Aren’t True

Posted on Wednesday 1 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” —Mark Twain Jonathan V. Last about how most voters are “disconnected from reality”; How Google’s Pixel phone could destroy … Continue reading →

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Disconnects from Reality

Posted on Friday 27 October 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

The economy is doing great and yet conservatives deny it; Heather Cox Richardson contrasts worldviews, one leading to our economy, the other to mass shootings; More about House Speaker Mike Johnson: hate for LGBTQ+ people; allegiance with “debunked faux-historian” David … Continue reading →

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Groupthink, Reason, and Conspiracy Thinking

Posted on Friday 26 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

An apology/defense of groupthink; My thoughts about how religion undermines the ability to reason; A Republican who believes globes are a global conspiracy; How Republicans take advantage of laws they voted against; And how they’re trying to disappear gays and … Continue reading →

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A Warm Friday Afternoon

Posted on Friday 28 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

For today, several links and comments, and only one quote. About: The Ten Commandments in Texas; The ambitions of powerful men; The potential loss of literacy; Simon Winchester’s book about the transmission of knowledge; Jerry Coyne on Jesus ‘n’ Mo … Continue reading →

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Epistemology: What Does Anyone Actually “Know”?

Posted on Tuesday 14 June 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Slate, Ben Mathis-Lilley, 10 Jun 2022: Does Donald Trump Really “Know” Anything?.

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