Scoobie Doo Realism 2 Aug 201022 Jun 2018 Came across this at Big Monkey, Helpy Chalk: Scoobie-Doo Realism wants to posit that there is an intellectual movement that should be called “Scoobie-Doo Realism.” People take up a stance of Scoobie-Doo Realism when they pose as hard nosed advocates of science and objectivity, because they can unmask a traditionally mysterious figure. This despite the fact that their own explanations make no sense and they hang out with a talking dog. Philosophy Science Philosophy
Epistemology Does teleology hang on in Venice? 18 Dec 201022 Jun 2018 Here’s an interesting paper, which I haven’t had time to digest, but which I thought I’d better mention before it enters the fog my brain contains these days… It’s by David Depew, one of my favourite philosophical writers on evolution (in no small part because he takes a historical approach… Read More
Creationism and Intelligent Design Wilkins on screen 10 Nov 2009 Proving that I have a great face for radio, you can see the second (but not for some reason, the first) of two video interviews (vlogs) that I did for NYC Atheists recently. There’s a really good shot of my right shoulder giving a talk about one third of the… Read More
Biology Zimmer's evolving blog post on X-woman 28 Mar 2010 Carl Zimmer has a continually updated blog post on the mtDNA of “X-Woman”, which is being informed by his readers and experts. It’s a useful antidote to hasty and inaccurate reportage in the MSM, done well by a very good journalist. Read More
This seems to be more of an issue in fiction than anywhere else, where something seems like it is magical but then turns out not to be, but the scientific explanation is really just shouting out the word “Science!” really loudly. The recent Sherlock Holmes movie fit strongly in this category. That said, the examples that Big Monkey actually uses are not very good ones. In particular, quantum mechanics may seem weird but it has a lot of evidence behind it.
He uses moral realism also. But I had in mind those who think that science explains all, and we do not need to attend to philosophical questions. This form of Scoobism is often asserted.
Or to quote Monty Python: Gorilla #1: “We’re gorillas!” Gorilla #2: “Are we? I thought we were orang-utans!” Gorilla #1: “We are not orang-utans! We don’t look anything remotely like orang-utans!” Which, out of all Monty Python quotes, is surely the most pertinent to Evolving Thoughts. It’s got species concept references and everything.
Velma pulls the white gorilla suit’s head. John: “I would have gotten away with philosophy if it wasn’t for these meddlng kids!”
John: Is this a cousin? He seems to be thinking about his next blog entry. Current cover of Genetics: http://www.genetics.org/current.dtl