Comments on Mixing Memory: Argh...

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2009-09-22T01:47:44.352-05:00

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tisiwoota, Thank you for the kind words. I will be...

2005-05-19T11:52:00.000-05:00

tisiwoota,
Thank you for the kind words. I will be back. Between my computer problems and the end of the semester, I've just been too busy to blog. But summer is upon us, and I plan on blogging like mad.

I agree with you on the state of public discourse, particularly among intellectuals. I think one of the problems with blogs is that it tends to cause a certain level of intellectual laziness and snarkiness. It's particularly tempting to be that way for reactionary intellectuals like Dr. Leiter. Having reactionary intellectuals can be important, especially in a democracy, but combine the reactionism with blogs and you often get something that looks more like a food fight than an intellectual discussion.

I was reminded of this post, and the earlier discu...

2005-05-17T21:12:00.000-05:00

I was reminded of this post, and the earlier discussion about the merits of civility in debate, while reading a speech that cites this line from Thomas Jefferson: "Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without which liberty and even life are but dreary things."

It's a pretty sad commentary on the state of democracy when we're willing to spend more energy justifying cheap snarkiness on petty issues than on improving our ability to build bridges enough to have substantial, reasoned discourse about the things that really matter.

(So come back, Chris, the blogosphere-- not to mention the country-- needs more voices like yours!)

To be honest, I've never really understood what "e...

2005-05-10T09:02:00.000-05:00

To be honest, I've never really understood what "evolutionary psychology" entails. Are there some special methods, some models, or what? If it's the abstract theoretical position that some aspects of human behaviour and cognition are shaped in response to particular environments, well, duh. That's kind of obvious, isn't it? If it's a statement that all elements of human cognition can be explained by reference to an evolutionary environment, then I'm still waiting to see some evidence. Otherwise, this whole thing feels like a "glass half full/glass half empty" kind of argument.

I mean, even hardline naturalists like Pinker admit that evolutionary pressures can explain only some aspects of language acquisition, for instance (there's a reason he called his book "The Language Instinct" and not "The Human BIOS"). And hardline empiricists would concede that any plausible learning mechanism needs some biases, otherwise we'd be looking for linguistic structure among the blades of grass.

So what's all the fuss about? In scientific terms, it's important to know which things are largely innate and which are largely learned, but that doesn't seem to justify the vitriol coming from outside. Do people really think that humans are somehow either entirely immune from or else totally enslaved by evolution? Nothing in life is that simple. Honestly, I don't get it.

p.s. you and will wilkinson are on the same side!

2005-05-09T19:39:00.000-05:00

p.s. you and will wilkinson are on the same side!

hm. i'm only halfway through buller's book, but w...

2005-05-09T19:38:00.000-05:00

hm. i'm only halfway through buller's book, but when i read the WSJ piece i was really curious as to whether the review had really read his first chapter very closely at all. here is my comment on buller's book. i like it so far, and share many of the same issues with standard EP....