Ethics and Moral Philosophy Evolution quotes 25 Apr 2010 A man who has no assured and ever present belief in the existence of a personal God or of a future existence with retribution and reward, can have for his rule of life, as far as I can see, only to follow those impulses and instincts which are the strongest… Continue Reading
Evolution Evolution quotes 15 Apr 2010 Natural Selection is not Evolution. Yet, ever since the the two words have been in common use, the theory of Natural Selection has been employed as a convenient abbreviation for the theory of Evolution by means of Natural Selection, put forward by Darwin and Wallace. [Ronald Aylmer Fisher, The Genetical… Continue Reading
Politics Paine on national churches 5 Apr 2010 All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit. [Thomas Paine; Writings of Thomas Paine, volume 4, Age of Reason, chapter 1] This is sometimes misquoted as “All churches… Continue Reading
Quotes A quote 30 Mar 2010 Well I’ve always said, There’s nothing an agnostic can’t do if he really doesn’t know whether he believes in anything or not. [Monty Python’s The Final Rippoff album] Continue Reading
Epistemology Sewall Wright on emergence 5 Dec 2009 I came across this passage while looking at the philosophical problem of emergent properties (which I think are purely epistemic). I thought it would be good to put up here… Continue Reading
Biology Johnson on instinct 16 Nov 2009 “We do not know in what either reason or instinct consists, and therefore cannot tell with exactness how they differ; but surely he that contemplates a ship and a bird’s nest will not be long without finding out that the idea of the one was impressed at once, and continued… Continue Reading
Philosophy Mill on philosophical errors 13 Nov 2009 A fundamental error is seldom expelled from philosophy by a single victory. It retreats slowly, defends every inch of ground, and often, after it has been driven from the open country, retains a footing in some remote fastness. The essences of individuals were an unmeaning figment arising from a misapprehension… Continue Reading
Biology Teleology as a mistress 9 Sep 2009 Okay, this is bugging me so I’m going to crowdsource it. Who first wrote this: Teleology is a mistress without whom no biologist can live, but with whom none wishes to be seen in public? There are many versions of this, ascribed variously to J. B. S. Haldane, Frits Went,… Continue Reading
Politics Thoughts of a Republican 26 Aug 2009 A majority held in restraint by constitutional checks and limitations, and always changing easily with deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people. Whoever rejects it does of necessity fly to anarchy or to despotism. Unanimity is impossible. The rule of a… Continue Reading
Epistemology Peirce on Darwin (1877) 18 Aug 2009 The Darwinian controversy is, in large part, a question of logic. Mr. Darwin proposed to apply the statistical method to biology. The same thing had been done in a widely different branch of science, the theory of gases. Though unable to say what the movements of any particular molecule of… Continue Reading