In “Philosophy in Our Schools a Necessity, Not a Luxury,” Robert Grant outlines the value of studying philosophy. Its value lies not only in teaching students how to think, but also in teaching them the important things to think about.
Month: October 2015
Pascal’s wager revisited
Understood as making a rational gamble that God exists, Pascal’s wager is vulnerable to several objections. But in “Pascal’s Wager 2.0,” Gary Gutting addresses these objections with a distinction between denying that God exists and doubting that God exists. This opens the way for “religious agnosticism.”
Hume and Buddhism
In “How an 18th-Century Philosopher Helped Solve My Midlife Crisis,” Alison Gopnik explores fascinating links among Hume’s “bundle of perceptions” theory of self-identity, the European Enlightenment, Buddha, Tibetan monks, Siamese kings, Jesuit missionaries … and her own midlife crisis.
Socratically Speaking 