Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Karl Popper - A Way Around the Problem of Induction

It is commonly thought that science proceeds by interpreting "free-floating" evidences which leads the scientist to a theory that would adequately interpret these evidences. This process is known as induction. However, is this process of induction ever justified?

The problem of induction is better explained by Wikipedia and Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

This is Popper's way around the problem of induction.

Part 1:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=feUA5qkzOjs
Part 2:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ_DJsenkek

Monday, April 28, 2008

Bernard Williams - Unavoidable Human Prejudice

Bernard Williams is an English moral philosopher of 20th century. He is well known for being critical of utilitarianism. He is described to be "analytic philosopher with the soul of a humanist" and is an avid admirer of Friedrich Nietzsche. He is well-known for questioning orthodoxies and traditional claims made in ethics. Williams also is an atheist.

Gilbert Ryle said that Williams "understands what you're going to say better than you understand it yourself, and sees all the possible objections to it, all the possible answers to all the possible objections, before you've got to the end of your sentence."

In this talk, Williams talks about unavoidable human prejudice and Singerian utilitarianism.

Part 1:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=D9xtDbW3p74
Part 2:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=5bC9AHjMQFc
Part 3:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=YjdtGXLVUME
Part 4:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=QlCI2GyJq6w
Part 5:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=FaMhaL5Hxvw
Part 6:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=u6k1DoWAKTA
Part 7:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=toMVIRnwxnA
Part 8:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=IqFUoOk5m50
Part 9:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=jUflDOahW_E