Search Results for: consilience

EO Wilson, Consilience, 2

Posted on Saturday 16 January 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

Second post about Edward O. Wilson’s 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge. (first post) Chapter 2, “The Great Branches of Learning”, seems a bit off the mark since it doesn’t address those branches directly. Wilson says the Enlightenment thinkers … Continue reading →

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EO Wilson, Consilience, 1

Posted on Wednesday 13 January 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

So now, after reading Edward O. Wilson’s The Meaning of Human Existence a bit over a year ago (last of five posts about it here), I’m returning nearly 20 years to one of his earlier, foundational I think, books: Consilience: … Continue reading →

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Brian Greene: UNTIL THE END OF TIME, post 2

Posted on Wednesday 7 August 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

More summary of this Brian Greene book. Earlier: post 1. 3, Origins and Entropy: From Creation to Structure, p44 If the universe began with a big explosion, how has so much order, with complex structures, emerged? Because, consistent with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Cosmology, Evolution | Comments Off on Brian Greene: UNTIL THE END OF TIME, post 2

Brian Greene: UNTIL THE END OF TIME, post 1

Posted on Saturday 3 August 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ve mentioned this book several times over the years (it was published in 2020), most recently here in early June, when I sat down to read it all the way through. I finished in mid-July. Subtitled: “Mind, Matter, and Our … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Cosmology, Philosophy | Comments Off on Brian Greene: UNTIL THE END OF TIME, post 1

Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 2

Posted on Wednesday 5 June 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

(Advisory: I’m traveling to Austin TX tomorrow through Sunday, and so will not be posting here until next Monday, likely.) A key point about this book is that Pinker shows how the facts (the science) of human nature undermine both … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, MInd, Psychology, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 2

Another Gloss on Philosophy

Posted on Monday 6 May 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

I think I mentioned this book before. It’s a compilation of rough summaries of twelve general topics, from American Studies to World History, with literature, music, philosophy, religion, science, and others in between, written for people who worry that their … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmology, Philosophy, Religion | Comments Off on Another Gloss on Philosophy

Joshua Greene, MORAL TRIBES, post 1

Posted on Wednesday 17 April 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Here is a substantial book about human morality that offers ideas that, to me, help to knit together the ideas of others. For chronological context, this 2013 book follows, of course, the 1997 Pinker book that I recently read (review … Continue reading →

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Exceptionalism, and Science Fiction

Posted on Thursday 21 March 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

A screed by Brian Karem at Salon about how “America has lost its collective mind”; How ideas of American exceptionalism have been reflected in 20th century science fiction; Examples about “don’t say gay” laws; Trump’s fascist rhetoric; Trump’s dementia; how … Continue reading →

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Philosophy, Science, and Politics

Posted on Monday 4 March 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

First of all, I refined and polished my discussion of the Thomas Nagel book, posted here, and identified my key takeaway. (Sometimes you have to mull things for a few days before your thoughts gel.) Currently revisiting E.O. Wilson’s CONSILIENCE, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Philosophy, Science, and Politics

Will Durant, THE GREATEST MINDS AND IDEAS OF ALL TIME

Posted on Thursday 1 February 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ve read three short books about philosophy recently; this is the second. Each is quite different from the others. If the first book (review here) was an overview focusing on the big questions that philosophy asks – What should we … Continue reading →

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