(n-1)-thoughts, n=5: Freedom of speech, university statement on free speech, the late Steven Weinberg, and delayed autism research

Freedom of speech Outside of science, one of my favourite things to study as a hobby is history. I also deeply enjoy and appreciate philosophy. One thing I’ve learned in my time studying history and philosophy is that, when judged alongside the human character (insofar that we may establish such a generalisation), democracy is a …

Disenchantment and the anthropology of (re-)enchantment

I recently read an interesting essay by Egil Asprem entitled Dialectics of Darkness. Its original purpose was to serve as a review of The Myth of Disenchantment: Magic, Modernity, and the Birth of the Human Sciences by Jason Josephson-Storm. I have yet to read Josephson-Storm's book, so I shall have to reserve comment for another …

As a substitute for Christmas tales, let’s talk evolution

Some time ago I wrote a post on human evolution and civilisation. It was one of my first contributions to my general reading blog. But I feel it is worth thinking about this morning, as, generally, this is what I tend remind myself of at Christmas: our immaturity as a species. Instead of fanciful tales …

Thinking about philosophy and Carl Sagan’s “The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark”

I find philosophy to be an incredibly controversial subject, one that is difficult to get a handle on. There is a value to philosophy, though I often struggle to understand it or place it. Perhaps this is because I lack a satisfactory definition of philosophy - a term which can represent so many different bases …

‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’: Epistemology, Feedback Loops and the Science of Bias and Human Irrationality

R.C. Smith If we take as a stated assumption, based off the growing body of science, that prejudice is pervasive - that human irrationality is, to put it philosophically, a central theme in the human struggle toward a rational society - I think one of the lessons is epistemological in form. Its basic reduction is …

Social Pathology, Philosophy of Reason and Bloom’s “Against Empathy” – On Science, Ethics, and Knowledge

R.C. Smith To think of ethics is likely today to evoke the idea of empathy. Similarly, in the context of many mainstream discourses within social theory, to think of empathy is often to evoke philosophical consideration in the field of radical ethics. The same is true with the order of terms reversed. It is not …

Reclaiming the Enlightenment: Grounding Normativity

[An earlier unedited draft of this article was written with contributions by Arnold De Graaff. It has since become single authored and has been revised, updated and shortened.] R.C. Smith The Interrelated Nature of our Global Crisis: A Summary i) The situation today – A brief statement of need “The Enlightenment”, Theodor Adorno and Max …

An Engagement with Dialectic of Enlightenment

[Originally published by Heathwood Press – 10 July, 2015] Note: This is the second essay of a collection by R.C. Smith that examines certain key concepts of Adorno’s social philosophy, with a mind toward discerning which of these concepts are still alive and relevant to 21st Century critical theory. Heathwood will be publishing each essay …

Human History, the Existential, and Reason Against Orthodoxy

- R.C. Smith My first book, Consciousness and Revolt, was written almost like an existential treatise. It sought to analysis patterns and trends in relation to human behaviour throughout history, focusing in particular on the re-occurrence of popular forms of orthodoxy and the epistemology behind them. In simple terms, it sought to critique the tendency …