What, Why & How do we Know ?
I’ve reduced my engagement with Gender Critical / Radical Feminist & LGBT activists several times in several stages, each time as common sense appeared to be gradually breaking out. But no: Last night Alice Dreger – a hero of mine on the right side of this for a long time – posted an emphatic tweet … Continue reading “TERF Wars Revisited”
Reaction to the recent bullying of philosopher Kathleen Stock at Sussex Uni has maybe brought this awful “war” to a head? A “TERF War” as a symptom of wider culture wars, cancel culture and woke identity politics in general. As someone with no direct skin in the games of Feminism and LGBplus rights it has … Continue reading ““TERF War” Culmination?”
Getting the feeling more sensible voices are prevailing in this war at last. Maybe I can stop posting about it sometime soon. (To me – without specific skin in the feminist<>trans-gender debate aka “TERF War” – this is simply a raging example of my meta-agenda about received rationality in a world where everyone has rights … Continue reading “Back to the TERF War – at Last?”
I’ve been following and writing about the “TERF War” (transgender debate / gender wars) for about 8 years now, since 2015 when I read Alice Dreger’s “Galileo’s Middle Finger“, her book about her expert practitioner – and very personal – involvement in “The Controversy Surrounding The Man Who Would Be Queen: A Case History of … Continue reading “Gender Wars 2023”
Over a period of years I’ve posted a fair bit on the “TERF Wars” (*) not because I have any skin in that game, but because (a) it’s a perfect example of divisive “identity politics” polarising a should-be-caring set of technical and human issues and values under sloganising ideologies and (b) that as well as … Continue reading “Beginning of the End for Trans Activism?”
Ricky Gervais can be a bit “Marmite” – love him or loathe him – but there can be no arguing with the fact he is one of our highest-level official court-jesters. Capturing this here for two maybe three reasons: “I love the new women, you know the new ones we’ve been seeing lately… the ones … Continue reading “The Exemplary Court Jester”
Still drafting a longer thesis on my full metaphysics, prompted in this earlier post, but the premises are quite straightforward: IF – we allow that physics (physicalism / materialism) are fundamentally about information and processes (ie computation). THEN – I’m happy to be considered a physicalist, and that all evolved phenomena, including those of subjective … Continue reading “IF, THEN, ELSE – It’s Not Complicated”
Or does the money follow them? The “TERF War” has been topical here because it exemplifies the “woke” culture wars that have totally disfigured public discourse. Essentially that wider rationality has been “captured” by a simplistic, selective, PC, polarising and sloganising objectification of facts and rights that squeeze out all care for individuals, nuance and … Continue reading “Follow The Money?”
Promised myself I wouldn’t post anymore about the “TERF War” since it seemed that at last common sense was starting to prevail, and I could shift my attention to the wider issues of identity politics in philosophy and science (and hence “science-led” politics) generally. ie There’s an even bigger issue than the “TERF War” even … Continue reading “Trans “Debate” Optimism”
Start the Week – Rationality in an Irrational Age – BBC Sounds Another fantastic edition. Well done @amolrajan – it really is possible to have intelligent dialogue on “tricky” subjects.@amiasrinivasan and @sapinker on sex between student and professor anyone? https://t.co/pzjjdUeCnE — What, Why & How do we know? (@psybertron) October 18, 2021 So as defined … Continue reading “Rationality According to Pinker”