Philosophy – Page 7 – William M. Briggs

There’s An End On’t! Gazzaniga’s Who’s In Charge? Reviewed: Part I

Who's In Charge? Free Will and the Science of the Brain by Michael S. Gazzaniga On the evening of October 10th 1769, in one of his typically curt dismissals of…

Book review Philosophy

A Sermon You Won’t Forget: The Exorcist at 40

The Exorcist: 40th Anniversary Edition by William Peter Blatty If you're only familiar with the (original, 1973 version of the) movie, it might surprise you that The Exorcist is…

Book review Culture Philosophy Statistics

Jeffrey Sachs Saves The World

The Price of Civilization: Reawakening American Virtue and Prosperity by Jeffrey Sachs Says Jeffrey Sachs, economics professor at Columbia, "Economic theory indeed supports the view that high tax rates…

Book review Philosophy Statistics

Causality: Guest Post by DAV

Today's guest post, on a subject dear to us all, is by long-time reader (and now contributor) DAV. While fencing in many of the Web's blogs it's not uncommon to…

Book review Philosophy

Keynes: The Return of the Master by Robert Skidelsky

Keynes: The Return of the Master by Robert Skidelsky Recommendation: read (buy here). (It's Keynes Week here at wmbriggs.com!) The book's tag-line is, "Why, sixty years after his death, John…

Book review Culture Philosophy

A poor argument for gay marriage

James Randi, and the rest of the psi-cops, have increasingly strayed from their original---and self-appointed---role of policing pseudoscience and the paranormal, and are instead intent on doing battle with any…

Book review Philosophy

Relativism: an idea that failed before it started

The Books of Absolutes: A Critique of Relativism and a Defence of Universals William D. Gairdner McGill-Queen's University Press Recommendation: Read Let's play spot the flaw. In 1994, professor Mark…

Book review Philosophy Statistics

What appeal to authority means and what it doesn’t

This article is meant to be the first is a small series of demonstrations of how not and how to argue for or against climate activism. The level of argumentation…

JH on Class 49: Relevance & Importance Of Evidence In ModelsMay 9, 2025
Probability is defined on a sigma field. But what exactly is a sigma field? In simpler terms, it represents the…
Johnno on Miracle Or Coincidence? What Are The Chances?May 9, 2025
What are the political leanings of the naturally elotrocuted, and can we use them for our cause, or does their…
Paul Fischer on Class 49: Relevance & Importance Of Evidence In ModelsMay 9, 2025
Always thought-provoking, William. The comments section’s a bit hostile today. To really grasp what Matt is driving at, you have…
Briggs on Class 49: Relevance & Importance Of Evidence In ModelsMay 9, 2025
JH, My IQ is simplicity itself to estimate. I have no IQ. Pick up any stats books and look under…
JH on Class 49: Relevance & Importance Of Evidence In ModelsMay 9, 2025
Is there evidence that people believe probabilities, parameters, or mathematical objects exist physically in nature? The fact that mathematicians use…