Issue 6 • st quarter

Contents

ACTIONS & EVENTS

FORUM

4 From the editor 6 NewsEvilutilitarians

9 Obituaries 11 MediawatchPhilosophyandphilosophers in the mass media

12 ThreadsNaturalismas dogma

14 Feature: Philosophy in schools Julian Baggini on why kids actually can be reasoned with

18 Word of Mouse Faster than light?

59 Getting to know Wittgenstein Ray Monk catches his tone

66 Messy lives Revel in the details, says Sarah Bakewell

70 The time of our lives David Edmonds shows how context matters

75 Know thyself James Miller explores the long history of philosophical biography

81 The emotions behind the ideas Nigel Rodgers and Mel Thompson on hidden motivations

87 Damage control Do philosophers meet their own standards, asks

Annette C Baier

THOUGHTS

90 Dying a philosophical death Simon Critchley faces the final curtain

20 The Interview Elliott Sober’s take on atheism and evolution

28 Sci-PhiMonkeyminds

31 TPM Essay Ernie Lepore and Matthew Stone on metaphor

42 What is a shadow? Roy Sorensen’s dark materials

47 Letter from … Hans-Johann Glock in Zurich

51 Sensing God’s presence Stephen Law against psychics and theists tpm 1ST QUARTER 2012 THE LOWDOWN

95 Pop culture How to interpret Inception

100 Snapshot: Michel de Montaigne Ann Hartle considers the accidental philosopher

REVIEW

102 New books, etc Ethics, Buddhism, and a very, very bad musical

115 Author Q & A Stephen Gardiner on climate change

117 Imagine that Saying how you hear what you hear

119 Review of reviews What the critics say about Parfit and Pinker

LAST WORD

121 My philosophy How postmodern are you?

127 The Skeptic Awaiting the machine revolution

The Philosophers’ Magazine,

Unit S , Kelham House, Lancaster Street, Sheffield S AF Tel: /Fax: editor@philosophersmag.com www.thephilosophersmagazine.com Editor James Garvey Editor-in-chief Julian Baggini Reviews editor Jean Kazez Obituaries Adam Ferner News Carl A Fox, Jane Clare Jones,

James O’Connor, Simon Riches, and George Rowe Editorial Advisory Board

Miranda Fricker, Simon Glendinning, Daniel D Hutto, Susan James,

David Papineau, Nina Power, Anthony Price, Jonathan Rée,

Richard Schoch, Barry C Smith, Jonathan Wolff

Illustrations/Graphics

Felix Bennett, Adam Ferner, Esther McManus, Gareth Southwell

Contributors

Sarah Bakewell, Annette C Baier, Ophelia Benson, Russell Blackford, Elizabeth Cripps, Simon Critchley, David Edmonds, Adam Ferner, Luciano Floridi, Julia Galef, Stephen Gardiner, Hans-Johann Glock, Wendy M Grossman,

Ann Hartle, Mathew Iredale, Jean Kazez, Stephen Law, Ernie Lepore, Antonia Macaro, James Miller, Ray Monk, Duncan Richter, Nigel Rodgers, Mark Siderits, Roy Sorensen,

Jason Southworth, Matthew Stone, and Mel Thompson

UK distribution Central Books, 99 Wallis Road, London E9 5LN Tel: 020 8985 4854

North America distribution

Source Interlink, 27500 Riverview Center Blvd., Bonita Springs,

Florida 34134 Tel: (239) 949-4450

Printed by CPI Group Subscriptions +44 (0) 114 272 5957 See page 5 for full details Abstracting and Indexing Indexed by Philosopher’s Research Index

(Philosophy Documentation Center) © 2012 Acumen Publishing Ltd and contributors ISSN 1354-814X (print) ISSN 2048-4674 (online)

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

Cover Original artwork by Felix Bennett

1ST QUARTER 2012 tpm 1ST QUARTER 2012 tpm