tpm t h e p h i l o s o p h e r s ’ m a g a z i n e

Issue 44 • 1st quarter 2009

Contents …

AC T I ONS & E VE NT S

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F ro m t h e e d i t o r

Ne ws Obama is analysed and a Stoic is dug up

Me d i a wa t c h Philosophy and philosophers in the mass media

Wo r d o f Mo u s e Computers don’t fool Luciano Floridi

Ho b b e s f e s t ‘ 0 8 Malmesbury wakes up to Leviathan

T h re a d s Ophelia Benson’s regular look at the blogs

T HOUGHT S

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S c i - P h i Mat Iredale bisects brains

F ORUM

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59

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Po d i o p h o b i a The audacity of speech

L i t e ra r y l i n e s Ignoring language’s richest mines

E d i t o r s ’ c h o i c e The books we missed

L o c a t i on , l o c a t i on In search of space

Ra d i c a l Ka n t Misreading the Critique

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27

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T h e I n t e r v i e w Luce Irigaray shares her world

T h e T P M E s s a y David Cooper digs for art and beauty

T h e o r y o u t How Wittgenstein ditched dogmatism

L e t t e r f ro m… Varol Akman in Turkey

P h y s i c s g o n e ma d ? What scientists make of multiverses

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Wh a t a l i f e Collingwood’s autobiography

Pe t t y mi n d s Lovers of wisdom or status?

Tr i a n g u l a r l o g i c Three sides to every story

Re a d e r s ’ p i c k s Your secrets

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t h e p h i l o s o p h e r s ’ m a g a z i n e

T HE L OWDOWN

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S n a p s h o t : C l i v e B e l l His significant form

Po p c u l t u re On not being Batman

RE VI E W

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Ne w b o o k s Reviews of new books, from Habermas to sport

Au t h o r Q&A Morality gets messy

I ma g i n e t h a t Novelty and women’s novels

Re v i e w o f re v i e ws What the critics said about BHL and Alexander Waugh

L AS T WORD

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My p h i l o s o p h y Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

T h e S k e p t i c Wendy Grossman feels Sisyphean

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Philosophy Press, Dunstan House, 14a St Cross Street, London, EC1N 8XA UK Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7841 1959 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7242 1474 editor@philosophers.co.uk www.philosophersnet.com

Editors

Julian Baggini (print edition) Jeremy Stangroom (new media)

Associate editor

Reviews editor

Ophelia Benson

Nina Power

Production editor Matthew Humphrys Publisher Edward Milford

Editorial Advisory Board Tim Crane, Miranda Fricker, Simon Glendinning, Susan James, David Papineau, Nina Power, Anthony Price, Jonathan Rée, Richard Schoch, Barry C Smith, Jonathan Wolff

Design

Paul Cooper

Layout

John Perkins

Illustrations/Graphics Felix Bennett (cover), Pipo di Bressana, Gareth Southwell.

Contributors Varol Akman, Tony Bruce, Jenny Bunker, John Collins, James Connelly, Jeff Dean, Luciano Floridi, Peter S Fosl, Wendy Grossman, Alistair Hannay, Lawrence Harvey, Mathew Iredale, Jean Kazez, Oskari Kuusela, Brendan Larvor, Peter Momtchiloff, John Mullarkey, Christopher Norris, Ron Novy, Benjamin Noys, Nicholas Rescher, Michael Sayeau, Finn Spicer, Mark Vernon.

Contributors’ Notes Contact the editor to submit proposals. Please do not send unsolicited manuscripts.

Distribution by (UK) Central Books, 99 Wallis Road, London E9 5LN Tel: 020 8986 4854 (North America) Source Interlink, 27500 Riverview Center Blvd., Bonita Springs, Florida 34134; Tel: (239) 949-4450 Ubiquity Distributors Inc., 607 Degraw Street, Brooklyn, NY 11217 Tel: (718) 875 5491

Printed by Warwick Printing, Leamington Spa CV31 1QD

With thanks to Denis Collins.

Subscriptions UK & ROW: +44 (0) 1442 879097 North America: 1 800 444 2419 See page 54 for full details

© 2008, The Philosophy Press Ltd and contributors

ISSN 1354-814X

All views expressed in TPM represent those of the authors of each article and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors or publishers.

Cover: Original artwork by Felix Bennett. Design by Paul Cooper.

1ST QUARTER 2009 tpm I