The archive and the state
Archives, the collection of files and materials (electronic or physical) stored and maintained for future reference, have an intimate connection with state power – after all, those who are in power fund and create them, leading archives to reflect the ideas, beliefs and sometimes contradictions of those who control them.
Causation, faith, and intelligent design
There is a philosophical thesis (attributed jointly to Pierre Duhem and Willard Quine) that, when simplified, explains how a given set of facts can produce more than one apparently true conclusion: essentially, different background assumptions lead to different conclusions. A related concept is known as underdetermination: that a given set of evidence can be explained by more than one – potentially conflicting – theory.
Some commonalities of pro- and anti-vaccination rhetoric
Within the context of the contemporary vaccination debate, neither side has a monopoly on a particular kind of argument.
Truth vs. relativism in science
In Science and Social Inequality by Sandra Harding, I found a discussion of claims to “absolute truth” in science (and the fear of relativism) particularly interesting.
"Universities should not be in the social justice business"
This is a quote from Stanley Fish in an editorial in the New York Times, entitled Think Again. I highly recommend the discussion. It’s a well-reasoned and articulate argument for thinking over feeling in the classroom, for compartmentalization and intellectual passion for the material being taught. He counters the widespread postmodern argument that one cannot remove oneself ever […]
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