Is Freud Back in Fashion?

Neuroskeptic thinks not.

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Call for Papers: “Spirituality in Action: Bringing Transpersonal Psychology to a World in Crisis”

I though this might be relevant for those working on Environmental Ethics, Philosophy of Religion, and/or Moral Psychology. Best of Luck!

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“The Obama Effect”

Readers who have followed recent philosophical discussions on implicit bias and schema disruption (here, for example) may be interested in this study reported at The Situationist attempting to test whether having an African-American president has changed the way African-American students perform on tests, and whether it has enhanced their ability to overcome stereotype threats that [...]

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A Situationist Interpretation of MLK Jr.

At The Situationist. Here’s a snippet:
To be sure, King is most revered in some circles for quotations that are easily construed as dispositionist, such as: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by [...]

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Conference Papers

Congratulations to the students whose papers have been accepted for presentation at the 12th Annual Northeast Florida Student Philosophy Conference at UNF on February 7th:
“How to Motivate the Maxim that ‘Ought Implies Can’ to Defend the Principle of Alternate Possibilities”
Sean Armil (University of Florida)
“On the Limitations of Formal Methods”
Wataru Asanuma (Florida State University)
“A Defense of [...]

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Knobe and Gopnik on Bloggingheads

Joshua Knobe (UNC-Chapel Hill) and Alison Gopnik (UC-Berkeley) talk about how children think, about scientific thinking, and plenty more!
Note: Further commentary at the Splintered Mind.

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The Milgram Experiment

The Milgram Experiment is standard in psychology classes and a hypothesis Stanley Milgram raised has been increasingly taken up and examined by philosophers, “[O]ften it is not so much the kind of person a man as the kind of situation in which he finds himself that determines how he will act.” This hypothesis, the situationist [...]

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Stimulating the Cerebral Cortex

Stimulating points on the cerebral cortex with the tip of an electrode can make a subject experience various sensations. A patient may move an arm and experience this movement as external, i.e., not originating from the subject, experienced as a reflex. Some have taken this to show there is part of the mind (higher order [...]

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H.M. Dies at 82

A famous participant in neuroscience research, H.M., died last week. NYT reports:
In 1953, he underwent an experimental brain operation in Hartford to correct a seizure disorder, only to emerge from it fundamentally and irreparably changed. He developed a syndrome neurologists call profound amnesia. He had lost the ability to form new memories.
For the next 55 [...]

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Cognitive Disability: A Challenge to Moral Philosophy

It’s a flurry of podcasts! Here’s information about the conference these podcasts come from:
“Cognitive Disability: A Challenge to Moral Philosophy” will explore philosophical questions about three specific populations — people with autism, Alzheimer’s disease, and those labeled “mentally retarded.” We will raise ethical and foundational questions regarding both theoretical and practical matters. The areas to [...]

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Evil Smells like a Fart

Via Eric Schwitzgebel I learn of what is quite possibly the best study ever, simply because it uses fart spray so awesomely. However, this sort of study is interesting for reasons beyond the creative use of fart spray.
As I’ve previously noted, explicit use of disgust-based arguments are often found in popular moral and legal debates, [...]

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Cognitive Neuroscience, Moral Psychology and Psychopathology

Interesting stuff right here.

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Whatever Makes a Person Human Seemed Somehow Missing*

JJ at Feminist Philosophers posted a recent case of a child who appears to have had little social contact for the first five or six years of her life. As JJ notes, feral children, while thankfully rare, are interesting to theorists for a variety of reasons. Questions about the nature of language, human capacity for [...]

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In Praise of Academic Effort

With the Spring semester right around the corner, I thought this article would be appropriate. The article is geared toward teachers and parents, but I think it’s helpful for students to think about what theory of intelligence they hold and how it might affect their academic performance:
Our society worships talent, and many people assume that [...]

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I Feel Your Pain

Well, no, I don’t. But apparently some people do!
(HT: Philosophy Sucks!)

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Philosophers’ Carnival #53

Class is officially in session for the 53rd Philosophers‘ Carnival!
Since we at the Florida Student Philosophy Blog have recently returned to class, we thought you should too. We would like to thank all those who submitted, and we hope that you find the current selection as engaging as we did. Courses (or posts if you [...]

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Do Ethicists Steal More Books?

That’s the question Eric Schwitzgebel (UC-Riverside) wants to answer. Join the discussion here.

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How Well Do We Know Ourselves?

Eric Schwitzgebel (UC-Riverside) has an interesting discussion of introspection and self-knowledge at The Splintered Mind. It’s worth a look.

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Studying Morality v. Behaving Morally

Eric Schwitzgebel (UC-Riverside) and Josh Rust (Stetson) report the latest on their attempts to evaluate the relationship between studying morality and behaving morally. I gather that Eric, at least, is rather suspicious that the former has a particularly positive influence on the latter. Are others inclined to share that sentiment?
- Rico Vitz

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The Checkershadow Illusion

Brian Weatherson of Thoughts, Arguments, and Rants has an interesting discussion of the Checkershadow Illusion here. The accompanying Powerpoint presentation is helpful in clarifying the illusion … and it might be a useful tool for those teaching (or attending) classes concerning, e.g., external world skepticism, philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychology, etc.
Josh Gert (FSU) has recently done some [...]

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