Nic Southwood (ANU): "How to Solve the Problem of Rationality"
Other
Rational requirements such as the Instrumental Requirement and the Enkratic Requirement raise a problem. It seems to be the case that (1) rational requirements are genuinely normative. On the other hand, there are compelling grounds for thinking that (2) it is not the case that rational…
David Wiens (ANU): Feasibility in Political Philosophy: Mapping the Conceptual Terrain
Other
Feasibility is an oft-used concept in political philosophy. But, with very few exceptions, little attention has been devoted to devising a general framework for evaluating claims regarding the feasibility of political prescriptions (e.g., a global carbon tax or a global democratic assembly). I set…
Edward Spence (CAPPE), The Theatre of Philosophy
Activity
Blaise Pascal said that ‘the heart has its own reasons that reason does not know’. I extend the metaphor by adding that reason has its own passion. That is probably what Pascal meant by that phrase: that reason and passion are not opposites but integrated parts of a unified mind. The Philosophy…
Rachael Brown (ANU): Fighting Cane Toads and Cane Toads - Learning and Evolvability
Other
Abstract: Learning has long been thought to be evolutionarily unimportant. Traditionally learning being seen as a capacity limited to only relatively complex animals such as humans. Learning has also been believed to be too fragile as a route of behavioural inheritance to allow for the type of…