Category Archives: Philosophy

‘Leave the starry heavens alone’: Some old problems of mind and matter

Posted on January 23, 2020 by murphyblog

Scientific understanding can be roughly defined – as Chomsky once said – as a convergence between properties of the mind and properties of the world. What form does this convergence take? Heisenberg is supposed to have said to Einstein that ‘If nature … Continue reading →

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Real Methodological Naturalism: The Problem of Naturalism and the Limits of Inquiry

Posted on May 16, 2015 by murphyblog

In a recent paper, ‘Naturalism without metaphysics’, philosopher John Collins notes that scientific naturalism does not have to be a metaphysical position, and in fact any serious naturalist must suppose that their metaphysics reaches only as far as their theoretical … Continue reading →

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