The Philosophers' Carnival #55

Welcome to the latest Philosophers' Carnival, number 55! Over the past several weeks, I have received any number of fantastic suggestions for inclusion in this edition of the Carnival. Without further ado, here is what this Carnival has on offer:

You must be dreaming
Curious about dream interpretation and meanings? Then zip over to Danogo's post 'Dream Interpretation Machine Makes Instant Vivid Moving Symbols Online'. I dontt agree with the post, but perhaps other readers will find 'dreams outside their minds' as well...

I just don't want to talk about it
Brian Leiter's Legal Philosophy Reports offers this thread on the question of why American legal philosophers no longer seem to talk about Hans Kelsen's work...or do they? We might better ask why no legal philosophers in the United States or abroad are devotees of Ronald Dworkin's jurisprudence...

Eureka!
Lukeprog offers a list of '16 Techniques of Critical Thinking' here, each with explanation, although I am not sure much will be news to readers of this blog.

Happy, happy, joy, joy
Over at loving-awareness.org, there is an interesting post here called 'joy at all times'. Of particular interest is a very helpful taxonomy of the experience of joy that is offered in the post, a post sure to make you smile!

...or is happiness a warm book?
At Nearly Nothing but Novels, there is an interesting post on Bradbury's To The Hermitage. What is of interest is that this novel concerns Denis Diderot. I warmly recommend all interested in Diderot and the philosophy of literature to read this excellent post. Alternatively, Brian Leiter's 'Leiter's Reports' has this outstanding thread on Raymond Geuss's criticisms of John Rawls on justice. Mandatory reading for anyone with an interest in political philosophy.

...just don't judge a book by its cover
A great post with comments here on the question of whether philosophers are too scruffy over at Crooked Timber. (See also here.)

...unless the book is by Frances Myrna Kamm
and, in particular, her Intricate Ethics. Over at Ethics etc --- perhaps the hottest new blog in philosophy --- there has been an online reading group for sometime on this book. Please check out recent posts by Michael Otsuka, Iwao Hirose, and -- why not? -- me.

It's only (metaphysically) natural...
Over at Evanescent, there is a post defending metaphysical naturalism for atheists here. Metaphysical naturalism is defined as 'Methodological naturalism is the assumption (most prevalent in science) that the universe and everything in it can be ultimately attributed to natural causes. Science assumes that only by empirical study can we derive understanding of the universe, and we understand the universe with natural explanations. Methodological naturalism does not invoke or reject the supernatural, but assumes it is irrelevant for understanding nature'. What follows is controversial, but worth a read.

It's all relative
Noah Greenstein has written a well-worth-a-peek post on 'Relativity in Evolutionary Biology' here.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words...
...may hurt me more, according to a post on 'guide to walking your talk' on the Guide to Life Blog. The blog is quite right to note that many of us, not least children, internalize remarks said about ourselves and that these words may wound. The advice offered is to only tell people remarks that you would like to be told. This is akin to the Gospel message of do unto others as you would have them do to you with a twist (e.g., say to others as you would like have them say to you). What is curious about this is that despite the bloggers many links to Eastern thought, especially Confucius, the great twist offered by Confucius is not acknowledged. Confucius tells us not to do to others as we would have them do to us, but do not do to others as we would not like them to do to us. Perhaps this 'negative' version is more useful and practical...

...are ok with the correct lexicon
I warmly recommend Lawrence Solum's excellent Legal Theory Lexicon to all interested in political and legal theory. The latest entry --- on 'The Law is a Seamless Web' --- can be found here.

Punishing for what you will do, but have not yet done yet
The topic of pre-punishment and the outstanding work of Saul Smilansky on this topic take centre stage at the Garden of Forking Paths and this thread here. Anyone interested in questions of compatibilism, determinism, metaethics, punishment, or freedom in general simply must read this thread!

Where am I?
The Universe of Success weighs in on the topic of 'alternative realities and parallel universes' here. Of interest in this post is the fact that it argues for the existence of alternative realities. If only I knew which one I were in...

Sure, but in an ideal world...
What is Hegel's idealism? I strongly recommend this fascinating post by Grundlegung on 'Hegel, Kant, and Idealism'. Grundlegung views Hegel's project as a further development of Kant's. There is much in what is offered, even if I believe the picture is far more complex than this --- and where Fichte plays a very important intermediary role.

...you should play fair
An excellent post by Nicole Hassoun can be found here ('An Argument for Fair Trade?') on the new blog Public Reason. Strongly recommended!

Would you poke Aristotle on Facebook?
Such is the juicy title of a fascinating post here on Engage. The post suggests that MySpace and Facebook place too great an emphasis on too many people to show off the number of friends, rather than developing the quality of their friendships. This may be true for the newer generations, but a helpful tool for the rest of us...

Meanwhile, the appeal goes on
...regarding an e-petition on the Prime Minister's website I initiated calling for increased funding for British universities. All UK citizens and residents are strongly recommended to visit the petition site located here. (The Brooks Blog previously posted on the petition here.)

I hope that readers have enjoyed this edition of the Philosophers' Carnival. The 56th Philosophers' Carnival will take place at Philosophy and Bioethics on 19th November.

P.S. In a few days, I will post an updated and expanded version of my advice for graduate students on how to publish their work. Watch this space!