The year in review 21 Dec 200718 Sep 2017 Philosophy isn’t one of those things that makes great breakthroughs that are recognised at the time. Generally something is thought of as a significant development much later, after it becomes obvious that people are engaging with it, like the Chinese Room of John Searle. So instead I will simply list my better posts of this year in a fit of self-aggrandisement. January Bioturbation and Darwin’s worms Another kind of agnosticism The man who invented evolution Species February Dads Darwin on species: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 Science and nonscience Theory The many faces of “evolution” Introduction to the Philosophy of Biology The Procrastination Principle [More on procrastination] In praise of scientific ignorance – Claude Bernard Progress, Primitive and Advanced March Water and reduction The Myers Biological Song The topic of the evolution of religion Evolution and accident Allopatry and sympatry Linnaeus on species On myths about Darwin Darwin on the Irish Scientific realism and inference to the best explanation Instruction and information The mystery of mysteries – early naturalistic views of species origins [Whew – I must have been trying to evade some work that month] April On the incoherence of “Darwinism” A Very Bad Idea: Commenting on the VT tragedy Ancestors [Counting ancestors] Literary Darwinism On communication On secularism May Thoughts on history and science In praise of religious tolerance, even for atheists The Secret? Sympathetic magic Types, tokens, genera and species Happy Birthday Linnaeus Linnaeus on species The world according to Genesis: The cosmos June The world according to Genesis: Stuff that grows The world according to Genesis: Humanity Philosophy is to science, as ornithologists are to birds, Part 1, part 2, part 3 The world according to Genesis: Moral knowledge The world according to Genesis: Other peoples The world according to Genesis: The Flood The kangaroo is the first organism, but the fungus is not the biggest “Species” in the Stanford Encyclopedia updated The world according to Genesis: Language and society Lewes on heredity in 1856 July Explanation August What is an individual? Popper peeps papally at UD Tolerance and reason Are species theoretical objects? September Theories of speciation The meaning of “life” What is “life”, again? What is “life”, at last The constancy of change and the lack of balance October How not to Feyerabend What evolution is and what it is not (1897) Explaining religion Law, theory, or something else? Explaining religion 2: What is religion? Explaining religion 3: Is it adaptive? November Words and taxa Upstream issues Magnetic anomaly map finished (by guest blogger Chris Nedin) Animals and rights The library of the mind Birds up Explaining religion 4: Wolves and gods Species as objects of explanation Our inner ape The two Wilsons on sociobiology: Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5 Physicists on science One more thing about Davies The philosophy of classification December Nationalism and evolution Virgin births A personal revelation Do bacteria think? A letter to a high school student Traditions in academe (theology departments) Taking drugs to enhance cognitive performance There you go. Some holiday reading, or rereading if you are one of the six who read this blog regularly. It’s not as sciencey as Catalogue of Organisms, or John Hawks Anthropology Weblog, or the wonderful Tetrapod Zoology, but it’s me. The real me. Confused and scattered… Administrative
Administrative Changing commenting system 3 May 2011 I am trialling the Disqus commenting system, since it means you do not have to enter your details every time if you are registered. Some have told me they cannot see the old comments. If you are having trouble, let me know. Read More
Administrative Whewell’s Ghost, a HPS blog 7 Sep 2010 In conjunction with John Lynch and Rebekah Higgit, a new blog has been launched for history and philosophy of science posts, entitled Whewell’s Ghost. Rebekah and I have kicked it off with a couple of posts. Anyone may contribute to this, on the history and philosophy of any aspect of… Read More
Administrative The Antarctic Grrl 26 Jun 2009 I’m very conflicted about this because I wanted to go to the Antarctic (but not for a month), but GrrlScientist has thrown her fedora into the circus, so I will tell you all to go vote for her to win the “spend a bloggy month in Antarctica” comp. Just so… Read More
Thanks John, it’s good to have all this in one spot. Easier to clean up. Just kidding. Have a Merry Christmas. I hope you get to spend time with your kids.
I personally think that your explication of Genesis from June is one of the finest workings of the topic I’ve ever seen, and some of the best writing of yours I know of. I’d love to see a “Wilkins interprets the Bible” sometime… I’d buy it, at least!