Reviving Material Theories of Induction
John D. Norton says philosophers have been led astray for thousands of years by their attempt to treat induction formally.
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Blog Posts
Natural Rights, Civil Rights, and Guns
Regulating weapons is a core responsibility for any government. It should be done in a way that protects the natural rights of citizens, including that of self-defense.
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Natural Rights, Civil Rights, and Gay Marriage
A proper defense of gay marriage requires distinguishing the natural right to marry and the civil right to a civil marriage.
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Induction Without the Uniformity Principle
Not all conceptions of induction rely on a uniformity principle. The Socratic, Aristotelian and Baconian didn’t.
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How to Think Through and Argue About Public Policies
Here is how to analyze—and argue with anyone about—any public policy, no matter what your political views are.
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The History of Induction
David Hume didn’t think he had anything important to say about induction. That’s just one myth in the history of induction.
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Mill Came to Bury Induction, Not to Praise It
Mill’s project was not to promote induction but to replace it with his own Hypothetical and Deductive Methods.
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Free Will: A Kind of Will
To understand free will, think about how your will differs from a dog’s. Don’t compare yourself to a rock.
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Ethics: The Science for Finding Happiness
You need a way to determine what will make you happy in life. The science that figures that out is ethics.
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Analytic Statements and Organic Concepts
Analytic statements have gotten a bad rap. But shorn of unfortunate associations, there is nothing wrong with them.
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I Have a Right. Don’t Try to Stop Me.
Why are rights to vote, to be angry, and to peaceably assemble all called rights? Because it would be wrong for someone to stop you.
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Evil Deeds Can Have Good Results
We have to accept that some people can benefit from the sins of others.
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Stop Pirating Copyrighted Course Readings
No, it is not legal for professors to upload or copy readings for your students, not even using password-protected course sites.
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Key to Induction: Distinguish General and Universal
To solve the problem of induction, we should distinguish general statements from universal ones and recognize the fundamental importance of the first.
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Make Your World a Better Place: Ignore Climate Change
If your goal is to make the world a better place for people, don’t worry at all about man-made climate change.
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New Libertarians: New Promoters of a Welfare State
A new libertarianism is coming. It is based on progressive rather than individualistic ideology and advocates a universal welfare system.
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A Dog-Eat-Dog World: Rand vs. Rawls
Today’s quiz: Match the political philosopher with his or her view of human nature. Hint: They both believe we should design political
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Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness, but Not Property
Property is not on that list with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And shouldn’t be.
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How Best to Attack Ayn Rand’s System
Ayn Rand’s whole philosophical system rests on a distinctive method of arguing. To refute her ethics, you must refute that method.
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Initiation of the Use of Physical Force
How does precluding the initiation of physical force preclude theft and fraud?
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Altruism Can’t Work
Altruism is not generosity, good will, or helping others. Those can be selfish. Altruism is the opposite of selfishness—and it cannot work, even by its own standards.
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Selfish Things to Do in Life
To live life to its fullest, don’t be a hedonist or a Nietzschean.
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It’s For Your Own Good
When is it moral to shove a stranger out of danger or to take the car keys from a drunken friend?
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Freeing Aristotelian Epagōgē from Prior Analytics II 23
Prior Analytics II 23 is not really about induction by complete enumeration, as all commentators have thought.
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Resignation from the Boards of ARI and the Anthem Foundation
September 3, 2010 [Corrigenda and addenda are identified at the bottom.] I have been on the Board of Directors of
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