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One of my favorite courses so far was last semester’s “Natural Kinds”. Everything from the unique subject matter to the seminar-like structure made the class a blast, up until the final paper was due.
Never one to procrastinate (cough), I got started early and buried myself in the literature. I was on the hunt for a good topic, something I could sink into to keep the required twenty pages tightly focused. I ended up – not surprisingly – back in the sciences, studying natural kinds in chemistry.
I worked feverishly in the final weeks and was rather proud of the finished paper. So, with some encouragement I submitted it to the department’s scholarship program, and was surprised to learn that I won.
The paper is long, probably pretty dull, and in such a tiny niche that I’d only recommend it for someone with at least a bit of experience in the area. For some support material, Natural kinds and the seminal works of Kripke and Putnam.
Archive
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Conscious Conversation: Computation
This interview is part of a series exploring what different people think about consciousness. The plan is to pose the same basic question to people of different backgrounds (philosophers, religious...
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State of the Species
My fellow humans, we’ve come a long way. Throughout our brief history on earth, we’ve tried to come to terms with a remarkable ability, its source, and what best to do with it. Through relatively...
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Conscious Conversation: Science
This interview is the first of a series exploring what different people think about consciousness. The plan is to pose the same basic question to people of different backgrounds (philosophers,...
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260.
On Subjectivity
Science places a heavy emphasis on the objectivity of the physical world. As a result, consciousness, and specifically its subjective aspect, is often understandably ignored. What interests us is not...
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Just Animated Stardust
“Through science, we human beings are able to grasp at least some of nature’s secrets. We have cracked part of the cosmic code. Why this should be, just why Homo sapiens should carry the spark of...
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Prodigious Savants and their Abilities
Savant syndrome, a condition occurring most often in autistic patients, is a rare disorder where mentally retarded individuals have incredible abilities in isolated fields like memory, mathematics,...
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Why Medicine Again?
Medicine isn’t what it used to be. I’ve talked to alot of physicians, researchers and residents recently and I’m not encouraged by what I’ve heard. What seems to motivate many...
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What of the Soul?
I received a question recently that asked what I thought about the existence of a soul given the relative secularity of most of the content on this site. Soul, Mind, whatever you call it refers...
