THE NON-IDENTITY OF INDISCERNIBLES – and, apparently, the discernibility of identicals – IN SOCIAL AND POLITICAL DISCOURSE – or – HOW TO BOIL FROG Paul Viminitz <vimip0@uleth.ca> Philosophy, U. of Lethbridge Abstract Without in any wise restricting its egress from… Read More ›
Critical Thinking
AN UNSEEMLY THOUGHT EXPERIMENT ABOUT DESMOND TUTU
Here’s a fascinating statistical anomaly. Every Canadian soldier killed during the twenty year occupation of Afghanistan was eulogized as the finest human being who ever walked the Earth. Not a single asshole among them! Oh, and don’t forget that “He… Read More ›
INDIGENOUS SCIENCE
Some academics argue that, the Aztecs, the Mayans, and the Incas aside, the indigenous peoples of this hemisphere were at a pre-scientific level of development, and so there’s really no such thing as indigenous science. I think this mischaracterizes the case. … Read More ›
THE OUTCOMES FALLACY
The way to test your argument for validity is what we might call the that’s-like-saying test. You give me your argument, I provide an analogous argument – analogous in the sense of sharing what we call your argument’s argument form… Read More ›
WHEN AN AD BACULUM ISN’T A FALLACY
There’s an important distinction – one too many critical thinking instructors fail to make – between, on the one hand, what’s likely to be true, and, on the other, what one’d be well advised to believe. For example, that Jesus… Read More ›
SOCIAL SCIENCE 100
There are five times as many inordinately tall white men as black men in America, and yet there are three times as many blacks in the NBA as whites. Why isn’t this a slam-dunk proof that there’s discrimination against white… Read More ›
STEREOTYPING
It’s a matter of straightforward induction that Great Danes are typically taller than Chihuahuas. So why would it be odd to say that they’re stereotypically taller? Because in normal parlance a stereotype only applies to people. Then why would it… Read More ›
DECOLONIZING THE CLASSROOM
Earlier this morning, Thursday, November 19, 2020, the faculty here at the University of Lethbridge received a rather puzzling missive. We’re being told that the University would like us to cooperate in “the decolonization of the classroom.” Not having the… Read More ›
COMPELLED SPEECH
Cf. the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, the idea driving the current culture wars is that language controls thought, and thought controls behaviour. So he who controls the words we speak controls the world. And, of course, he who controls the world controls… Read More ›
PATTER
I’m certain that clergy, politicians, and news anchors all take the same course in patter. Given how often “our hearts go out to …”, one wonders if they ever stay home. Note that it’s invariably our hearts, first person plural,… Read More ›
Paulosophical Vimplications 