by Neil Van Leeuwen As far as I can tell, nothing on earth is fairer — and closer to being something worth calling “meritocracy” — than competitive running. True, people in different places have access to different coaches, nutrition, training facilities, etc. And all these differences influence (in ways that…

by Neil Van Leeuwen In my last blog, I continued my tradition (hopefully a temporary one) of presenting philosophical puzzles in order to take your mind off the Corona crisis. We’re now up to solving Puzzle 4. Why Do People Argue About Fiction — Part 1 by Neil Van Leeuwenphilosophy-talk.medium.com Puzzle 4 was about why humans argue with each other about fictional stories…

by Neil Van Leeuwen Since the Corona crisis is far from over, I’m keeping my promise to attempt to distract you with philosophical puzzles for yet another month. This month, the puzzle has both psychological and philosophical dimensions. Here’s a bit of simplified background evolutionary thought that will point the…

by Neil Van Leeuwen Many of you know by now that I’ve committed to presenting philosophical puzzles for the duration of the Corona crisis. The idea is to distract you from the woes of the world. My first two puzzles were on whether beliefs are under voluntary control and on…

by Neil Van Leeuwen Since the Corona crisis rages on, it has come time for a second blog whose purpose is to distract you from the woes of the world. …

by Neil Van Leeuwen Need a distraction from the incessant stream of information (good and bad) and speculation (mostly bad) that has consumed the airwaves lately? I certainly do. Well, here’s my attempt to give you one. For my next sequence of blogs, I’m going to post about philosophical puzzles…

by Ray Briggs Do we really have the right to own our fellow creatures? Are there some animals that should never be kept as pets? Is it okay to declaw a cat, clip a bird’s wings, or dock a dog’s tail? …

by Joshua Landy Is there such a thing as a self, something that makes you who you are? Or is the self just a convenient fiction? Would the world be a better place if we all stopped believing in selves? …

by David Livingstone Smith As I write these words, my new book, On Inhumanity: Dehumanization and How to Resist It is poised to be released by Oxford University Press. This would normally be a joyous, exciting time for me. …