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One man's struggle against impermanence
John Wilkins is an eternal student, who thinks philosophy of biology is at least as interesting as politics or sport and twice as important. He has a PhD from the University of Melbourne and worked at the University of Queensland, in Australia, before taking up a research fellowship at the University of Sydney. After a varied career, involving factories, gardening, civil service, publishing, graphics, public relations but not, unfortunately for the CV, driving a truck, John finally completed his thesis on species concepts in 2004, which he has worked into two books.
This blog is designed evolved to host any random thoughts that happen to be passing through my forebrain at a given moment. So there will be errors...
I also have an Australia-focussed blog: The Drought Resistant Philosopher
The previous instantiation of this blog is accessible here.
November 29, 2008
Category: Administrative
I haven't done much philosophical blogging lately. There are Reasons. I'm preparing to move to Sydney over the next few months (and there may be a period in which I have no laptop too), and trying to catch up...
Posted by John S. Wilkins at 3:38 AM • 12 Comments •
November 28, 2008
Category: Humor
... to his doctors. Here. Late Note: Ronan in the comments points out this was in 2006. I think I was sleeping that year......
Posted by John S. Wilkins at 9:15 AM • 1 Comments •
November 27, 2008
Category: Censorship
The Greens (who I am considering joining, despite their unreasonable opposition to nuclear power) have said they will oppose the "clean feed" proposal in the Senate, so unless the Coalition decides it is a good idea after all, or...
Posted by John S. Wilkins at 7:44 AM • 16 Comments •
November 26, 2008
Category: Censorship
GetUp! is an excellent organisation that has been attacking the draconian laws of the "war" on terror, antigay laws, and so on. They now have a petition against ISP filtering. Go for it... Hat tip Samuel Douglas...
Posted by John S. Wilkins at 1:11 AM • 6 Comments •
November 24, 2008
Category: Evolution
Sgt Pepper... oops, wrong oeuvre... On the 24th of November 1859, a green bound book was published. It made something of an impact on the way we think...Hat tip to Professor Olsen @ Large...
Posted by John S. Wilkins at 3:29 AM • 8 Comments •
Category: Censorship
At last the MSM seem to be picking it up. A Perth newsmagazine has reported it unfavourably (although are Xenophon and Fielding really waiting for the results, given they are major motivators of the idea?), and an online opinion...
Posted by John S. Wilkins at 2:45 AM • 2 Comments •
November 23, 2008
Category: Fiction
I am a fan of science fiction as far back as I can recall. The flights of imagination about large things, ideas and worlds, was enough to trigger off my own imagination. I read pretty well everything I could...
Posted by John S. Wilkins at 9:43 PM • 31 Comments •
Category: Philosophy of Science
Siris has a nice short post on the use of "truth" in discourse: This appeal to truth is incantatory: it is not an argument but a rhetorical ploy that usually involves a false dichotomy. By ritually displaying one's 'interest...
Posted by John S. Wilkins at 12:12 AM • 17 Comments •
November 21, 2008
Category: Humor
Phil Plait linked to this guy, Louis CK, on why it's alright for the world to go back into the dark ages, but I rather like this one, in which it becomes clear that philosophers are, after all, just...
Posted by John S. Wilkins at 5:04 PM • 5 Comments •
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