Meaning of Life, The
Philosopher Martha Nussbaum is critical of those who contend that life only has meaning if there's some external source of value. Professor Nussbaum favors an approach that focuses on what she calls "everyday questions, ..
Meaning of Life, The
Philosopher Ian Hacking confesses that he doesn't know what the meaning of life is, but adds that one way to live a full life is to live a life full of thought. Another way, he suggests, is to live a rich, emotional life..
Memes
Philosopher Daniel Dennett talks about memes, which he calls the cultural equivalent of the gene in biology. According to Professor Dennett, a meme is an idea, but not just any idea. To qualify as a meme, an idea must be..
Memory and the Soul
Philosopher Ian Hacking talks about efforts to make memory the subject of scientific inquiry. He discusses the argument that what it is to be a person is not the province of "the soul," but of the memories each of us has..
Merleau-Ponty and the Intentional Arc
Philosopher Hubert Dreyfus talks about 20th century philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty and his concept "the intentional arch." Stemming from Merleau-Ponty's focus on perception as a major component of understanding the wo..
Mind and the World (Part One), The
Philosopher Stephen Toulmin talks about Immanuel Kant's views regarding the relationship between the mind and the world. Professor Toulmin explains that it was Kant who originated the idea that our understanding of the w..
Mind and the World (Part Two), The
Philosopher Stephen Toulmin continues his exploration of the relationship between the mind and the world. He contends that while eighty percent of the way we see the world is based on the way the world present itself to ..
Minds and Matter
Philosopher Daniel Dennett talks about the link between mind and matter. He states that it is the mind that causes things to matter, noting that for organisms with very simple minds (like sponges or starfish, for example..
Minority Rights, Cultural Survival and the Self
Philosopher Charles Taylor talks about the devastating impact on personal identity when reference points like language, traditions and other elements of culture are destroyed.
Modern Dualism
Philosopher Charles Taylor talks about the tendency to see the mental and the physical as two completely separate and distinct categories. He notes that much of modern philosophy is concerned with blurring the rigid line..