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Dig Deeper: Hindu Ideas of Creation - In our time Podcast

31/1/2016

 
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Having just finished studying the Cosmological Argument with my Y12 students and starting the Science and Religion unit this week I have had my fill of western ideas of creation and logic over the last weeks. So it was interesting to listen to this pod-cast of In Our Time (a programme I blogged about last year) which comes at the issue of creation from a totally different perspective - that of Hinduism.

Whereas the western intellectual tradition has tended to look at the question "why is there something rather than nothing" and come up with answers that involve proposing that there must be an utterly different being to the universe to explain the existence of the universe (from thinkers such as Aquinas, Al-Kindi and Liebnitz) the Hindu tradition sees this issue in a rather different way. Rather than what happened in the west Hinduism was less interested in giving a complete explanation (of the kind Copleston is accused by Russell of trying to produce) but is happy to leave many of the questions open and unanswered.

Monotheism in the West leads to a belief in a God that must be the creator of all "Ex Nihilo" - out of nothing. This is arguably logical for an Omnipotent being, and as a result this style of creation God is omniscient as he is the creator of all. But by contrast the Hindu tradition is Polytheistic and so the gods are generally part of created order and instead of creating "Ex Nihilo" they create from themselves - "Ex Deo". So it is that the the Hindu myths have the gods creating the world out of themselves - they make a great egg or a primordial being who becomes the world. One might argue that his in many ways fits much better with our experience of the world and therefore is more coherent reasoning (after all we have never observed anything that creates out of nothing - but rather we always see things being created out of something). 

Of course this doesn't pass muster for thinkers such as Libnitz and Coppleston who want a sufficient reason and suggest that a cause within the universe is not a sufficient reason at all. However the Hindu approach fits with Russell's conclusion that one cannot expect to come to a sufficient reason and the universe should simply be accepted as a "brute fact". Whilst this not be very acceptable and satisfying to our minds, one might concede this is as good as it gets. Indeed this programme shows how in different cultures, such as Hindu culture, there is not such a strong intellectual desire for a sufficient explanation. People are happy to simply ponder the mystery without necessarily hoping for an answer. It might not be as satisfactory, but it might be more realistic?

Listen to the pod-cast here:
In Our Time - Hindu Creation Stories

Dig Deeper: In Our Time

8/10/2015

 
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Image: www.bbc.co.uk
In Our Time is a long running BBC radio 4 programme, presented by the polymath Melvin Bragg, that discusses the history of ideas. It has been running since 1998 and has a huge number of topics (610!) available to download for free.

There are normally three experts in their subject who are questioned and cross-examined by Bragg - he knows exactly how to extract ideas from them and is a master of questioning. His general knowledge must be phenomenal - a true renaissance man!

If you need any further endorsement it is Mr Hopcroft’s favourite radio programme and he allegedly has a poster of Melvin Bragg on his bedroom wall!
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The main BBC website can be found here. You can then click on Podcasts and find radio programmes by categories such as Religion, Philosophy, History and Culture. They are also developing a very good Archive for searching as well.

A few episodes that you might find relevant to the GCSE/IGCSE and A-level courses are (Click on the image to listen to them):

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The Ontological Arguement
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Utilitarianism
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The Mind Body Problem
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Free Will
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Logical Positivism
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Heraclitus
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Ockham's Razor
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The Trinity
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David Hume

Dig Deeper: One to One

12/7/2015

 
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Source: www.bbc.co.uk
The BBC is running a three episode series on Radio 4 called “One to One” in which the presenter Selina Scott interviews three individuals on the subject of ghosts and spirits. In her first interview, which aired on Tuesday morning, she interviewed Canon Paul Greenwell from Ripon Cathedral. He is licensed by his diocese to carry out “home blessings” and even exorcisms and he provides advice to clergy about what to do if they encounter something or someone from “the beyond”. During the course of the interview he recounts a number of interesting, but in my opinion unconvincing, anecdotes about ghosts and his role in apparently getting them to “move on” from peoples’ homes or lives.
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Selina Scott Source: www.mirror.co,uk
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Canon Paul Greenwell Source: www.riponcathedral.info
Whilst very interesting to listen to, ultimately I found two things unconvincing about his interview.


1. Throughout the interview Canon Paul tries to use pseudo-scientific terms to describe these phenomena; terms such as “place memory”, “poltergeist”, “negative energies”. He tries at one point, rather lamely, to suggest that “in the brain, memory and smell are very close together” to explain why a family were being haunted by the smell of mothballs. He even professes to be a “Scientific Vicar” and claims that his training as a Biologist means that he is a rational thinker. Yet he does not offer any actual evidence for this paranormal activity beyond anecdotes and even says that what he does “is very hard to explain scientifically or rationally” and “don’t ask me how it happens”. He comes across as little more than a charlatan relying on the irrational fears of people to make them feel better. Do the ends justify the means? Surely just being a good priest and discussing with them their fears would be enough? Why does he need to go round sprinkling holy water everywhere?
2. The second thing I found frustrating was his lack of coherent theology to explain what was happening when he performed his “house blessings”. He suggests that the Church needs to “bring Christ’s healing touch to that situation” and that these souls are “lost” or cannot “pass on”. This sort of talk is totally spurious and baseless within the Christian tradition. OK, the Church could have a more systematic and complete explanation for what happens after death but one thing that Christians profess to on a weekly basis is that they believe in the Resurrection of our bodies and that Christ will come to judge between the “quick and the dead”. The Church may not teach very much but nowhere does it teach that souls of the unhappy in life hang around to bother the living. Certainly in the course of this interview he makes no real attempt to make coherent his belief in Christianity and his belief in the paranormal.

Next week’s episode is a discussion with Yasmin Ishaq, a spiritual healer, who does not believe in ghosts but in Jinn; supernatural creatures in the Islamic tradition. I hope you’ll be listening to dig deeper...
Click here to listen to "One to One"

Francis Bacon Lecture 2015: Rectificatory Justice and Amending Action – Prof. Onora O’Neill

22/6/2015

 
Below is a summary of the 2015 Francis Bacon Lecture given by Professor Onora O'Neill at the University of Hertfordshire on Monday 22nd June. I wrote about this opportunity in this "Dig Deeper" post.
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Rectificatory justice refers to actions that help people to deal with the past – it is retrospective reasoning that takes account of violations in either human rights (those we all hold by virtue of us being human) and special rights (those formed by transactions, contacts, marriages etc) or both. It is the kind of justice that has occurred in South Africa under the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in Northern Ireland and for indigenous peoples in countries such as USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

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Justice is an ancient topic for Philosophy that began with philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle and runs throughout Philosophical history. Prof. O’Neill outlined three types of Justice; punishment, compensation and restitution that might be employed for ancient injustices but for one reason or another don’t really work very effectively on their own. Instead she suggested a combination of these that she called Rectificatory Justice.

Punishment (retribution) – This form of punishment focuses on the perpetrator of the crime and might employ methods such as Capital Punishment, loss of state, torture etc. It provides a limited basis for securing true justice – especially in a global scenario. The big risk is that through using it we might violate someone else’s rights. The International Criminal Court is one body that tries to enact this form of justice – but she questioned the efficacy of these bodies for ancient crimes. The problem is that justice for ancient wrongs must not be vicarious - they cannot be carried out on someone else in the place of another, even if this is an ancestor. So this is not a good way of dealing with ancient wrongs.

Compensation – This method focuses on the victim and can be given even when the perpetrators are dead, so it is potentially useful. And, unlike retribution it can be done vicariously – but it does require that cause is properly established. One simple example of compensation is insurance pay-out, reparation after sub-standard treatment by regulated industry such as medical services. The problem is what happens when the cause of an injustice is multifarious and hard to determine? Or the result of unintended consequences? This is especially difficult in putting right ancient wrongs.

Restitution – This is a form of justice that restores the state of affairs that existed before; one example she gave was of looted art taken by the Nazis being given back after WW2. However in many cases this is not possible. Restitution may be vicarious for ancient wrongs but only if it is symbolically adequate. For example it may be done by the heirs of wrongdoers who are symbolic of the wrongdoers. Prof. O’Neill suggested that it can be “a deep and important response”. One example she cited is in New Zealand or Canada – those given restitution may those who are of mixed descent now. For it to be symbolic there must be a common view of who represents the past victims.

Prof. O’Neill then outlined various types of what she termed “amending action” that leads to Rectificatory justice  –  this can be as simple as an apology and forgiveness, or other more symbolic of practical actions to restore relationships. It does not need to be monetary compensation or for boundaries to change hands but can can be actions that restore relationships between nations or within a state. She suggested that an apology both in personal life and in politics can be very effective – as long as the person apologising is the right person to be apologising.

The most effective Rectificatory Justice cases mix up these different methods of compensation and amending action – e.g. in South Africa at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. But even this case was fraught with problems. These two can’t be spliced easily – She gave the example of the loss of sacred spaces; the sacred is beyond price and so offering money just adds insult to injury. They want the actual place or artefact back.

Prof. O’Neill did not try to suggest what should be done in any particular case and indeed in the questions afterwards she avoided getting embroiled in political cases such as Iraq. But all in all it was a very illuminating and thought provoking talk.

Questions that I had following the talk:

Another reason why governments seek justice is to deter others from doing the committing the same. Does Rectificatory Justice deter people or states from committing offences in the same way?

Who is the best judge that we have for Rectificatory Justice?

Does a symbolic apology count for anything in reality?

Does the apology made as part of amending action have to be heartfelt to be make it truly effective? 

Dig Deeper: 1000-Word Philosophy

20/6/2015

 
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PictureDr Andrew Chapman
This elegant blog has a very simple but effective format - it posts essays by a range of contributors that are 1000-words long on lots of topics within Philosophy. It provides a very good introduction to a large, and ever-growing range of topics, that go beyond A-level knowledge and so are a great opportunity to “dig deeper”.

In the words of the website itself: “1000-Word Philosophy is a constantly-growing collection of original essays on important philosophical topics. These essays are introductions rather than argumentative articles. Each essay is as close to 1000 words (while never going over!) as the author can get it. A 1000-word essay takes between five and ten minutes to read. That’s about the length of a bus ride or a waiting room stay or the lead-up to a class meeting.

“Professional philosophy can seem abstract, esoteric, and hyper-specialized. But we all ask and try to answer philosophical questions myriad times daily—philosophy is the purview not just of the expert, but of all thoughtful people. Our goal in writing and sharing these essays is to provide high-quality introductions to great philosophical questions and debates. We hope that philosophers and non-philosophers alike will benefit from perusing these essays. Our authors generally provide references or sources for more information for readers whose interest is piqued by a particular topic or debate”. (https://1000wordphilosophy.wordpress.com/about/)

The essays are helpfully organised at the bottom of the landing page into different categories including Ethics, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Science, and Social and Political Philosophy. The blog is edited by Dr Andrew Chapman, a Philosophy lecturer at the University of Colorado.  All of the essays are well referenced but my only criticism is that the authors are not given any context - it would be nice to know who they were to provide them with more credibility.

A few essays to look out for which are very relevant to A-level are: Just War Theory, The Problem of Evil, The Ontological Argument for the Existence of God, Because God Says So: On Divine Command Theory, Can We Believe in Miracles?, Situationism and Virtue Ethics, and Introduction to Deontology: Kantian Ethics  

You can also follow them on Twitter (https://twitter.com/1000wordphil) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/1000wordphilosophy)


Visit 1000-Word Philosophy Essays

Dig Deeper: MOOCs, edX and The Ethics of Eating 

26/2/2015

 
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Want to be able to explore new subject areas? Perhaps you want to find out what a course might be at University? Want to study in your own time, at your own pace and wherever you want? If the answers to these questions are “yes” then MOOCs might be for you!

A MOOC stands for Massive, Open, Online Course. They are massive in that a huge number of people can sign up to them; open in that anyone can join in and they are free (to an extent); and online so available pretty much any time anywhere. This video from @davecormier explains it very well!
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There are a huge number of providers of MOOCs online (find them here https://www.mooc-list.com/) but three sites dominate the market; Coursera, Udacity and edX. I have no idea what Udacity is like because it is all programming and tech subjects. Coursera is a very good platform and there are a good number of courses that readers of this blog might be interested such as “Introduction to Philosophy”, “Logic, Language and information” and “Moral Foundations and Politics” - the problem is that some of these courses (e.g. that last two I mentioned) cost money to complete - £30 or so - however some can be done for free.

The platform that I have used the most is edX and I love it! All the courses are free to audit - but if you wanted a certificate to show an employer or university you can pay for this. In total they offer 434 courses on a huge range of subjects. When it comes to Philosophy and Ethics there are some great ones to take up. The great thing is you follow them assiduously (watch every video and read every text) or you can dip in and out, selecting what you want to access.


Here are a few courses you might be interested in:


Introduction to Philosophy: God, Knowledge and Consciousness - a great introduction to lots of the topics we study at A-level (Ontological, Cosmological etc) but at degree level. Lots of primary texts and videos to explain it.





Justice (with Michael J. Sandel) - This course explores a huge range of ethical approaches to justice including utilitarianism, Libertarianism, Kantianism and Virtue Theory.




Jesus in Scripture and Tradition - This course has not started yet but promises to explore the figure of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament, Gospels and Early-Church writers. This should be great course for anyone thinking about a degree in Theology.





The Divine Comedy: Dante's Journey to Freedom, Part 1 - A very good course for those interested in English Literature and Philosophy; exploring concepts such as human freedom, responsibility and identity through the writings of Dante’s Divine Comedy.






The Science of Everyday Thinking - A course which challenges us to “Think better, argue better and choose better”. It is a great course with really innovative ideas and some brilliant interviews with scholars from all over the world.


The Ethics of Eating - Finally this really exciting new course which starts soon  hopes to explore the ethics of eating and purchasing food. The course promises it will consult with a diverse group of philosophers, food scientists, activists, industry specialists and farmers. This course deals with an area of ethics that is not really very well covered at A-level and so this could be great to show that you are interested in Ethics and its application to the real world. I will definitely be doing this course!

So I hope this has whet your appetite for MOOCs and that you will now go on to explore them and benefit from their learning opportunities. 

Dig Deeper: BBC Religion & Ethics 

19/2/2015

 
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I am not sure when it changed - but the BBC Religion & Ethics website seems to have undergone something of a face-lift. The results are very good! The website can be found here: http://ope.nr/2Kn

The site pulls together, into one place, all the BBC's content on Religion & Ethics and presents it in a really good way. You could follow a lead to a BBC news story, a Webpage on a particular subject or one the new iWonder pages.

A particularly good iWonder page for those studying Bussiness Ethics in Y13 or at GCSE that is up there at the moment is "Can banking ever be Ethical?" You can find it here: http://ope.nr/2Ko
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Steph McGovern (a BBC Economics Journalist @stephbreakfast) takes you thorough various elements of the subject - why we have banking at all, how banking has been unethical in the past, what the world would be like without banks, what examples of ethical banking are and gives you links to further research opportunities. The site is an excellent mixture of video, images and of course, text. 

This particular page would be excellent preparation for those coming to our upcoming Phil. Soc. talk next term by Graeme Cameron, a Director at RBS, entitled "Is Ethical Banking a possibility" on 30th April - more details to follow!
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Dig Deeper: Philosvids - University of Gloustershire

10/2/2015

 
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Click here to go to the Philosvids Website
Last week on Friday I took a group of students to a Candle Conference (http://candleconferences.com/ @puzzlevardy) run by Peter and Charlotte Vardy. The event also included a guest speaker - Dr David Webster (@davidwebster) who gave an excellent talk about Buddhist Ethics. Since then I have found that he contributes to this very good website which is run by the Religion, Philosophy and Ethics Department of the University of Gloucestershire (@RPEatGlos). The other contributors include Dr Roy Jackson, Dr William Large and Professor Melissa Raphael.

Between them they deliver various vodcasts about topics that A-level students will find relevant to their Philosophy and Ethics courses, and those considering Theology or Religious Studies at university can enjoy.

I have chosen to feature three videos here but if you go to their website you will find lots more, helpfully indexed on the right-hand side of the page. Just click on the button above to go to the website or find it here.

Dig Deeper: Putting your money where your mouth is

8/2/2015

 
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Click Here for the Radio Programme
On Sunday 1st Febrauary a very interesting radio programme aired on BBC Radio 4. Presented by Giles Fraser, formally a canon of St Paul's Cathedral and now often on TV and radio making the case for social justice, this programme looks at the logic of giving to charity and interviewed some great philosophers along the way.


In the words of the BBC:
If you believe the world should be a fairer place, does morality demand that you give away your money to those who are poorer than you - even if you don't think of yourself as rich? And if so, should you donate it to charity or pay it in tax?

In this personal exploration of the issues, Giles Fraser seeks to work through the tricky moral dilemmas involved in responding to poverty and inequality, both in the UK and internationally. He talks to those who have pledged to give away large portions of their income, and others who think that this is simply an irrelevant gesture. The interviewees include the the prominent moral philosopher Peter Singer, TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady, Matt Wrack from the Fire Brigades Union, the Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan, the writer George Monbiot, and Will MacAskill of Giving What We Can.
The programme can be heard here: http://ope.nr/2Ab


The "Giving what we can" website refered to in the show can be found here: http://ope.nr/2Ac


Peter Singers' website "The Life you can Save" can be found here: http://ope.nr/2Ad

Dig Deeper: BBC Radio 4 A History of Ideas

27/11/2014

 
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The BBC A History of Ideas series began a little over two weeks ago on Radio 4 and is both a fantastic listen and great learning resource for students of Philosophy. 


The format goes like this; the week begins with a group discussion led by Melvyn Bragg with four thinkers who then over the course of the week examine the subject in more depth. This range of lawyers, philosophers, neuroscientists and theologians use their own specialism to examine a key Philosopher’s thinking on the issue. So far the topics have been “What is Happiness?” and “What is Beauty?” and have examined the thinking of philosophers such as Hume, Aristotle, Mill, and Hobbs as well ideologies such as Darwinism and Determinism.

Each episode only lasts about 10 minutes and so is a great way into the subject, or a fantastic bite-size revision of something you have studied in class. You can download them as podcasts or you can find them all on the BBC website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04bwydw/episodes/guide). In addition there are also animations voiced by Gillian Anderson and The Simpsons' Harry Shearer. These can also be found on the Open University’s website (http://www.open.edu/openlearn/whats-on/radio/ou-on-the-bbc-history-ideas)

This week’s title is “How can I tell right from wrong” and contains a great example of Kantian thinking that students study in the L6th; Kant’s Axe Problem:

I hope this has wetted your appetite for what is set to be a great series – I will certainly be posting more of them over the coming months here on Fordthought.

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