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 43 • 4th quarter 2008

Contents . . .

AC T I ONS & E VE NT S

45

9

10

12

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

Ne ws It’s good for Adam Smith and Thomas Hobbes, but bad for David Hume

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

Wo r d o f Mo u s e Luciano Floridi on how IT is changing sport

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

T HOUGHT S

15

24

T h e T P M E s s a y Mark Rowlands is puzzled by girls going wild

S c i - P h i Mathew Iredale’s regular look at science and philosophy

XXI I WORL D C ONGRE S S S P E C I AL

41

50

56

60

67

72

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Da v i d C h a l me r s The first of five congress interviews

Wh a t ? Wh y ? Wh o ? The story behind the WCP and its organiser

I o a n n a Ku çç u ra d i Talking and acting on human rights

An g l o - S a x o n re s e r v e Where were the British in Korea?

E r n i e L e p o re Words about words

T h e p l u ra l i s m p ro b l e m Managing diversity in philosophy

Jo n a t h a n I s ra e l Why philosophers need history

28

28

35

S e o u l s e a rc h i n g Our overview of the week-long congress

Wo r d Po we r Peter Kemp’s opening address

83

88

94

99

T h e mi n d o f t h e h o s t Inside Korean philosophy

Al v i n Go l d ma n Knowledge gets social

Un i t i n g n a t i o n s ? UNESCO’s love affair with philosophy

T h e d e l e g a t e s ’ v i e w Perspectives from Africa and Asia

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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

41

103

106

107

S n a p s h o t : Ru d o l f C a r n a p Time for a come-back?

Di re c t o r y National and local philosophical associations

Po p c u l t u re Why House isn’t nice, but good

RE VI E W

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121

123

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Ne w b o o k s Reviews of new books on the environment, Adorno, finitude and French TV

Au t h o r Q&A Clare Hay rewrites a classic

I ma g i n e t h a t Jean Kazez on dating as art

Re v i e w o f re v i e ws What the critics said about Simon Critchley and Alan Sokal

L AS T WORDS

127

T h e S k e p t i c Wendy Grossman goes to the theatre

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Philosophy Press, Dunstan House, 14a St Cross Street, London, EC1N 8XA UK Tel: 020 7841 1959 Fax: 020 7242 1474 editor@philosophers.co.uk www.philosophersnet.com

Editors

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

Associate editor

Ophelia Benson

Reviews editor

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 Réée, Richard Schoch, Barry C Smith, Jonathan Wolff

Design

Paul Cooper

Layout

John Perkins

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

Contributors John Appleby, Luciano Floridi, Méélanie Frappier, Wendy Grossman, Mathew Iredale, Jean Kazez, Peter Kemp, Antonia Macaro, Mark Rowlands, Jonathan Webber, Julian Willard.

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: 01442 879097 North America: 1 800 444 2419 See page 14 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.

4TH QUARTER 2008 tpm