Category Archives: science

A Mini-Course In Rhetoric For Writers. Concept 2.9: Imitation And Emulation With An Eye On Competition

Concept 2.9. Imitation and emulation with an eye on competition. The ancient Greek teacher Longinus is among the first thinkers to address what would become a recurrent theme in the history of writing, and most especially, literary criticism: the sublime … Continue reading

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A Mini-Course In Rhetoric For Writers. Concept 2.8: Selection And Editing

I’ve decided to attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter is a mini-course in … Continue reading

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A Mini-Course In Rhetoric For Writers. Concept 2.7: Audience And Rhetorical Strategy

I’ve decided to attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter is a mini-course in … Continue reading

Posted in atheism, atomism, critical thinking, donald trump, education, edward feser, philosophy, reason, rhetoric, science, Uncategorized, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course In Critical Thinking For Writers. Concept 1.15: Know Where You’re Entering The Intellectual Conversation

I’ve decided to attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter is a mini-course in … Continue reading

Posted in atheism, atomism, critical thinking, education, edward feser, philosophy, reason, rhetoric, science, Uncategorized, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course In Critical Thinking For Writers. Concept 1.13: The Committed Writer

I’ve decided to attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter is a mini-course in … Continue reading

Posted in atheism, david hume, education, edward feser, philosophy, reason, rhetoric, science, Uncategorized, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course In Critical Thinking For Writers. Concept 1.12: The Spell-Casting Mystifier

I’ve decided to attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter is a mini-course in … Continue reading

Posted in atheism, atomism, critical thinking, david hume, donald trump, education, edward feser, hillary clinton, Lucretius, philosophy, reason, rhetoric, science, Uncategorized, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course In Critical Thinking For Writers. Concept 1.11: The Writerly Persona Of The Critical Thinker

I’ve decided to attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter is a mini-course in … Continue reading

Posted in atheism, atomism, critical thinking, david hume, education, edward feser, Lucretius, philosophy, reason, rhetoric, science, Uncategorized, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course In Rhetoric For Writers. Concept 2.2: Getting To Yes Is The Goal Of Rhetoric

I’ve decided to attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter is a mini-course in … Continue reading

Posted in atheism, critical thinking, education, edward feser, philosophy, reason, rhetoric, science, Uncategorized, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course in Critical Thinking For Writers. Concept 1.10: Skepticism

I’ve decided to attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter is a mini-course in … Continue reading

Posted in atheism, atomism, critical thinking, david hume, education, edward feser, Lucretius, philosophy, reason, rhetoric, science, Uncategorized, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course in Critical Thinking For Writers. Concept 1.9: Moving From Innocence To Experience

I thought I would attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter would be a … Continue reading

Posted in atheism, atomism, beauty, david hume, education, edward feser, Lucretius, philosophy, poetry, reason, rhetoric, science, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course In Critical Thinking For Writers. Concept 1.8: Scientific Method

I thought I would attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter would be a … Continue reading

Posted in atheism, atomism, critical thinking, david hume, education, edward feser, Lucretius, philosophy, reason, rhetoric, science, writing | 1 Comment

A Mini-Course In Critical Thinking For Writers. Concept 1.7: Distinguishing Best Explanation From Ad Hoc Explanation

I thought I would attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter would be a … Continue reading

Posted in atheism, critical thinking, david hume, education, edward feser, Lucretius, philosophy, reason, rhetoric, science, Uncategorized, writing | Leave a comment

A Mini-Course In Critical Thinking For Writers. Concept 1.6: Distinguishing The Logically Possible From The Actual

I thought I would attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter would be a … Continue reading

Posted in atheism, critical thinking, david hume, edward feser, Lucretius, philosophy, reason, rhetoric, science, writing | 1 Comment

A Mini-Course In Critical Thinking For Writers. Concept 1.5: The Three Laws Of Thought

I thought I would attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter would be a … Continue reading

Posted in atheism, critical thinking, david hume, education, edward feser, philosophy, reason, rhetoric, science, Uncategorized, writing | 2 Comments

A Mini-Course In Critical Thinking For Writers. Concept 1.4: Spanning The Bridge From Logical Possibility To Truth

I thought I would attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter would be a … Continue reading

Posted in atheism, critical thinking, david hume, education, edward feser, Lucretius, philosophy, poetry, reason, rhetoric, science, Uncategorized, writing | 5 Comments

A Mini-Course In Critical Thinking For Writers. Concept 1.3: Worldview

I thought I would attempt the first draft of a college-level textbook, writing it directly into my blog, bit by bit. Feedback and recommendations in the thread comments are welcome, either encouraging or critical. The first chapter would be a … Continue reading

Posted in atheism, critical thinking, david hume, edward feser, Lucretius, philosophy, reason, rhetoric, science, Uncategorized, writing | 6 Comments

Thirteen Climate Atlases Shrug, Departing for France

The flight, because of Trump, of our most precious resource: human brain capital. (Mind wells are far more valuable than oil wells.) Trump has inspired a brain drain of no less than thirteen climate researchers to France. This recalls Einstein’s … Continue reading

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Self Calming: 86 Ways To Activate Your Parasympathetic Nervous System

Below is a concise self calming list I recently brainstormed for myself–and I thought it might be helpful for others as well. I keep a copy on a single piece of paper in my pocket and look at it periodically … Continue reading

Posted in aesthetics, atheism, atomism, beauty, Bernie Sanders, david hume, edward feser, God, Lucretius, meditation, philosophy, poetry, science, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Does Trump Have Dementia–And If So, Should It Be Made Public?

We can probably all agree that Trump is a clinical narcissist. He may even be a sociopath. So when Trump has his physical this month, there is no need to test for these–though, in an ideal world, we would. It … Continue reading

Posted in Bernie Sanders, climate change, donald trump, feminism, hillary clinton, philosophy, science, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

On Having No Head: The Headless Squid Bowl, The Flying Spaghetti Monster, And The Cosmos’s Undirected, Mutually Interdependent Arising

The headless squid bowl sometimes served in Japanese restaurants is odd and fascinating. It strikes me as a metaphor for the cosmos: it goes without a head. How strange. In a sense, even conscious beings like ourselves go without a … Continue reading

Posted in atheism, atomism, beauty, climate change, david hume, edward feser, Genesis, God, Lucretius, meditation, origins, poetry, science, Uncategorized | 4 Comments