Official Website for Amitabha Palmer
The American Dream IntroductionI’ve mentioned before that philosophers distinguish between lumpers and splitters. Splitters take a category of things, actions, concepts and show that there are important distinctions to be made within that category such that we should really see it as two (or more) distinct categories. For example, someone might argue that ‘motor vehicle’ […]
Read More Value and Gun RightsI just finished working my ass off renovating an older house I bought earlier in the year. Here are the before, during, and after pictures. This post doesn’t have any philosophy except for that I wouldn’t have finished the project if I hadn’t been reading the Stoics in the evening… Part 1: The house had […]
Read More Reno Round 1: A ComedyIntroductionA few months ago I bought an older house. I knew it would need a bit of work before I could rent it out. As is the case with any old house, it’s turned into even more work than I’d originally thought. Although not part of the original plan, I’ve had to rip out the […]
Read More Grinding and Loving: Two Approaches to Installing PlumbingIntroduction The comments section of the internet is the battleground of the future; thus, in my critical thinking course I like to give my students advice on how to be great internet warriors. In any combat sport, pattern recognition facilitates a quick and effective response. And so, with internet battles, being able to recognize and […]
Read More Internet Warrior’s Guide to Surviving a Level 7 Tu Quoque AttackEDIT: After I wrote this post, Google tweeted a statement clarifying why Natural News had been delisted. It had nothing to do with the content, rather they were using redirect techniques prohibited Google’s webmaster guidelines. Regardless of why Google delisted, my arguments still apply but should be interpreted as a policy going forward.The Situation Here’s the dealy-yo. The […]
Read More Democracy and Free Speech in the Age of Ignorance: Google Delists Natural News from Search ResultsArticle II of the Constitution allows the POTUS to bypass Congress and issue orders that are binding on federal administrative agencies. Lately, we’re hearing about–and should continue to hear about–the issue of “executive overreach”. The general claim is that the executive branch’s exercise of power through executive order is used excessively. Currently, liberals and liberal-leaning media are […]
Read More Thinking Critically about Politics: Executive Orders and Executive OverreachIntroduction I always enjoy writing my annual fitness post. I’m frequently surprised by how much I learn about fitness each year even though I’ve basically been involved in it my whole life. Before we get started here are my past fitness posts for future reference: Injury Prevention without Giving Up Intensity or Gainz How to […]
Read More Annual Fitness Post: How to Be Aristotle in the GymIntroductionIn philosophy it’s often said that there are ‘lumpers’ and ‘spliters’. Lumpers try to unify discrete kinds under one category while spliters argue for maintaining (and insisting on more) distinctions between kinds. When it comes to critical thinking, I tend toward the former. Especially at the end of a semester, I always find myself obsessing […]
Read More RRAR! A Four Step Method for Critical Thinking in the Digital AgeIntroduction Post-Trump and leading up to his election there’s been much hullaballoo about fake news. Various online publications have weighed in providing lists of fake news sources. Reading these articles leads me to believe there’s some conceptual cloudiness that needs clearing away. “Fake news” is being used to refer to several different phenomena. Let’s distinguish […]
Read More Fake News vs “Fake” News: Critically Thinking About Media in a Fact-Free WorldIntroductionBefore you get all offended ‘n stuff, this blog post applies to me. Before the election, from my ivory tower I looked down upon the low information voter. They are ruining democracy! They don’t even know what they’re voting for! People ought to have to pass basic knowledge tests to be eligible to vote! Plato […]
Read More Your Probably a Dum Voter: Let Me Tell You Why
Wrestling with Philosophy 