humanities – On the Human http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human a project of the National Humanities Center Thu, 14 Sep 2017 16:39:50 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Final Thoughts of a Disenchanted Naturalist http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2012/01/final-thoughts-of-a-disenchanted-naturalist/ http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2012/01/final-thoughts-of-a-disenchanted-naturalist/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:21:44 +0000 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/?p=3126 In Geoffrey Harpham’s first contribution to “On the Human” he wrote,

One of the most striking features of contemporary intellectual life is the fact that questions formerly reserved for the humanities are today being approached by scientists in various disciplines such as cognitive science, cognitive neuroscience, robotics, artificial life, behavioral genetics and evolutionary biology.

“Approached”

Continue reading Final Thoughts of a Disenchanted Naturalist

]]> http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2012/01/final-thoughts-of-a-disenchanted-naturalist/feed/ 5 A Suicidal Tendency in the Humanities http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2012/01/a-suicidal-tendency-in-the-humanities/ http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2012/01/a-suicidal-tendency-in-the-humanities/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:09:23 +0000 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/?p=3088 There is an interesting question as to why those in the humanities – most notably literary studies – have felt so dissatisfied with their performance as not just to re-invent themselves – which is fine and healthy – but to attempt to destroy their very rationale. I want to examine a tendency amongst some of

Continue reading A Suicidal Tendency in the Humanities

]]> http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2012/01/a-suicidal-tendency-in-the-humanities/feed/ 4 Participants and Spectators http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/04/participants_and_spectators/ http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/04/participants_and_spectators/#comments Mon, 19 Apr 2010 04:07:16 +0000 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/?p=1015 I

There remains great controversy in philosophy over the issue of how we should make sense of what people do, of their actions, as opposed to explaining what happens to them. Some philosophers believe that if the question is: what distinguishes naturally occurring events like bodily movements in space from metaphysically distinct purposive doings initiated

Continue reading Participants and Spectators

]]> http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/04/participants_and_spectators/feed/ 38 Moral Skepticism and Moral Disagreement: Developing an Argument from Nietzsche http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/03/moral-skepticism-and-moral-disagreement-developing-an-argument-from-nietzsche/ http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/03/moral-skepticism-and-moral-disagreement-developing-an-argument-from-nietzsche/#comments Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:24:41 +0000 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/?p=983 By “moral skepticism,” I shall mean the view that there are no objective moral ‘facts’ or ‘truths.’ Moral skeptics from Friedrich Nietzsche to Charles Stevenson to John Mackie have appealed to the purported fact of widespread and intractable moral disagreement to support the skeptical conclusion. Typically, such arguments invoke anthropological reports about the moral views

Continue reading Moral Skepticism and Moral Disagreement: Developing an Argument from Nietzsche

]]> http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/03/moral-skepticism-and-moral-disagreement-developing-an-argument-from-nietzsche/feed/ 32 Humans and Humanists (and Scientists) http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/03/humans-and-humanists-and-scientists/ http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/03/humans-and-humanists-and-scientists/#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:07:42 +0000 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/?p=963 Continue reading Humans and Humanists (and Scientists)

]]> http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/03/humans-and-humanists-and-scientists/feed/ 8 Science and the Humanities http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/01/science-and-the-humanities/ http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/01/science-and-the-humanities/#comments Mon, 18 Jan 2010 06:27:19 +0000 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/?p=776 At odd moments, often when I’m distracted, it occurs to me that a song or a piece of music has been repeatedly running through my head. It’s an experience nearly everyone has. Sometimes it’s invigorating to realize that you have been striding through the day to the chords of Beethoven, but it’s often quite irritating

Continue reading Science and the Humanities

]]> http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/01/science-and-the-humanities/feed/ 25