Utopias, Dolphins and Computers : Problems of Philosophical Plumbing

BOOK COVER......Page 1
TITLE......Page 4
COPYRIGHT......Page 5
CONTENTS......Page 6
DEDICATION......Page 7
FOREWORD......Page 8
WATER AND THOUGHT......Page 10
QUARRELS BETWEEN PHILOSOPHY AND POETRY?......Page 11
THE VISION THING......Page 12
EXAMPLE: THE SOCIAL CONTRACT......Page 14
THE DESTRUCTIVE SIDE OF INDIVIDUALISM......Page 15
LEGO IS NOT LIKE LIFE......Page 16
NO MODEL IS AN ISLAND......Page 18
THE ROLE OF IMAGERY......Page 19
DIGNITY AND DEPENDENCE......Page 20
WHAT SHOULD WE DO?......Page 21
COMPREHENDING THE INCOMPREHENSIBLE......Page 22
HANDY DEFENCES AGAINST THOUGHT......Page 23
DIVISIONS OF LABOUR......Page 24
IDEALS ARE NOT INERT......Page 25
THE UNSEEN CAMPAIGNERS......Page 27
THE ROLE OF UTOPIAS......Page 28
HOW IMAGINATION WORKS......Page 29
PLURALISM IS NOT NIHILISM......Page 30
WHO IS SPEAKING, PLEASE?......Page 32
SCIENCE, APPLIED AND PURE......Page 33
ON THE BEAUTY OF NOT KNOWING THINGS......Page 35
PURITY PUZZLES......Page 37
WHERE QUESTIONS ARISE......Page 38
IS IT TOO SPECIFIC?......Page 39
THE ONE AND THE MANY......Page 40
‘REAL’ PHILOSOPHY......Page 41
THE KNOWLEDGE MINES......Page 43
POPPER’S SCIENTIFIC METHOD......Page 44
IDEAS ARE FOR SHOOTING DOWN......Page 46
MY ARGUMENTS ARE BIGGER THAN YOURS......Page 47
ENTER WITTGENSTEIN......Page 48
KNIFE-GRINDERS TO THE INTELLIGENTSIA......Page 49
THERAPY FOR THINKERS......Page 50
THE PROBLEM OF PRIORITIES......Page 54
MEANS AND ENDS......Page 55
EFFORT, REWARD AND VALUE......Page 56
THE PLACE OF KNOWLEDGE IN LIFE......Page 58
DO WE WANT TO SEE THE WOOD OR THE TREES?......Page 59
BEING PREPARED......Page 60
HOLIER THAN THOU AND EVEN MORE USELESS......Page 61
COMMISSIONED OR SPONTANEOUS RESEARCH?......Page 63
WE’LL KNOW WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR WHEN WE FIND IT......Page 64
VARIETY IS NOT A LUXURY......Page 66
CONCLUSION: WHAT IS KNOWLEDGE FOR?......Page 67
DIFFERENT DIFFERENCES......Page 68
MEN ON WIMMIN......Page 69
REPLUMBING THE GENDER SYSTEM......Page 70
LIBERTY AND EQUALITY, STRICTLY FOR THE FRATERNITY......Page 71
CAN’T SEE, WON’T SEE......Page 73
SUPERMAN RISES ABOVE IT......Page 74
PROMOTING CHOICE......Page 76
7  FREEDOM, FEMINISM AND WAR......Page 78
QUESTIONS OF PRIORITY......Page 79
THE DANGER OF TOURNAMENTS......Page 80
IS THERE AN ABSOLUTE PRIORITY?......Page 81
THINKING ONESELF INTO A CORNER......Page 82
THE FREEDOM OF SOLITUDE......Page 83
THE PLACE OF CHOICE......Page 84
THE COMPLEXITY OF AIMS......Page 85
WHAT IS IT TO BE CENTRAL?......Page 87
SPECIES POLITICS DURING THE ENLIGHTENMENT......Page 88
DOUBT SEEPS IN......Page 89
THE PARADOX OF SCIENCE......Page 90
ANTHROPIC ESCAPISM......Page 91
WHY ALL OR NOTHING?......Page 92
WHAT SHOULD WE CALL IT?......Page 93
THE UNDOUBTING JUDGE......Page 96
WHAT ARE PERSONS?......Page 97
FINDING THE RIGHT DRAMA......Page 98
ATTENDING TO THE MIDDLE GROUND......Page 100
INDIRECT JUSTIFICATIONS......Page 101
MORAL CHANGE AND THE LAW......Page 102
THE MEANING OF FELLOWSHIP......Page 103
VERTIGO TROUBLE......Page 105
FINDING THE MIDDLE GROUND......Page 106
THE APPEAL TO EGOISM......Page 107
SURGEONS, LIFEBOATS AND FIRST-CLASS PASSENGERS......Page 108
THE REDUCTIVE PROJECT......Page 110
WHAT DO WE REALLY THINK?......Page 111
LOOKING OUTWARDS......Page 112
MORE WORDS ARE NEEDED......Page 113
CONFUSED REDUCTIVISM......Page 114
YES, BUT WHICH GENERAL PRINCIPLE?......Page 115
HOW THEN SHOULD WE TALK?......Page 116
POLARIZATION PROBLEMS......Page 118
REVERSING THE ROLES?......Page 120
WHY IT MATTERS: THE NEED FOR VISIONS......Page 121
A SHARED PROBLEM......Page 122
IMAGINATION MATTERS......Page 124
OUT INTO SPACE?......Page 125
THE CYBERNETIC ANGLE......Page 126
THE ROLE OF THE NUMINOUS......Page 127
CAN WE DO BETTER?......Page 128
LOVELOCK......Page 129
WHAT KIND OF RESCUE?......Page 131
WHY SMARTNESS IS NOT ENOUGH......Page 132
HOPES OF HARMONY......Page 133
PROBLEMS ABOUT CREATIVITY......Page 136
SOMETHING WRONG?......Page 137
SURPRISING DETOURS......Page 138
THE DEMAND FOR MECHANICAL ORDER......Page 139
ON BEING ORDERLY WITHOUT BEING OMNISCIENT......Page 140
THE SHADOWY SCENE......Page 141
OBJECTS AND SUBJECTS......Page 142
CREATIVITY, NOVELTY AND NEED......Page 143
CREATIVE OF WHAT?......Page 144
STORIES ARE FOR SUBJECTS......Page 146
ART IS FOR ACTIVE BEINGS......Page 147
SEEING THROUGH THE TURING TEST......Page 148
CONCLUSION......Page 149
NOTES......Page 151
INDEX......Page 157