I haven’t yet figured out (a) how to make a list like my sidebar links to posts I see, or (b) whether I want to do this, so for now I’ll put interesting links in main posts. Here are two posts on causation:

bq. Joshua Knobe on “causal judgments and normative judgments”:http://peasoup.typepad.com/peasoup/2006/07/the_doingallowi.html
Wo on “causation and the Ramsey-Carnap-Lewis account of Theoretical Terms”:http://www.umsu.de/wo/archive/2006/07/15/Causation_and_the_Ramsey_Carnap_Lewis_account_of_theoretical_terms

I also haven’t decided whether to bring back the Monday Message Board. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

I’ve been working through Hume’s _Dialogues_, which I’ll be teaching in my intro class in the fall. Because I started doing this just after seeing _Pirates of the Caribbean_, I now have this unshakable image of Philo as Capt Jack Sparrow. Here are two quotes that reinforced this impression. The first is from Part VI, after Philo has introduced the idea that the universe should be take to be analogous to an animal rather than an artefact.

bq. This theory, I own, replied CLEANTHES, has never before occured to me, though a pretty natural one; and I cannot redily, upon so short an examination and reflection, deliver any opinion with regard to it. You are very scrupulous, indeed, said PHILO; were I to examine any system of yours, I should not have acted with half that caution and reserve, in starting objections and difficulties in it.

I can imagine a more modern version of this, where Cleanthes says that it would be imprudent, and improper, to object to a view without thinking it through, and Philo says “That wouldn’t stop me!”. Then (because I was reading the book somewhat out of order) I came across this in Part III.

bq. PHILO was proceeding in this vehement manner, somewhat between jest and earnest, as it appeared to me; when he observed some signs of impatience in CLEANTHES, and then immediately stopped short.

And this seemed exactly how one can describe Capt Jack. So now that’s my fixed mental image.

There may be several more posts on Hume over the week.