Category Archives: Philosophy

Book Review: Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony and Cass R Sunstein ~ Noise: A flaw in human judgment (2021)

Posted on July 8, 2021 by odeboyz

Reviewing this book puts me in a difficult situation. All I want to do is swoon at the feet of the authors proclaiming their genius. This makes me a groupie. However I’ll try to write something that looks like a … Continue reading →

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The UK Mayoral Elections, 2021

Posted on May 20, 2021 by odeboyz

Turnout in none of the eleven 2021 Mayoral elections came close to 50%+1.The electorate shunned the opportunity to participate. (see Addendum) Does this affect the legitimacy of the result? Let’s imagine an election in fictional Loncaster which has an electorate … Continue reading →

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Barack Obama: War Criminal

Posted on April 29, 2021 by odeboyz

Americans love painless war – painless for them that is. The current weapons of choice are Drones. Drones are murderous console games.1 Those using them claim US intelligence is flawless and drone attacks are entirely effective. Putting it crudely, ‘Only … Continue reading →

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Free Speech and the Paradox of Constraint

Posted on April 22, 2021 by odeboyz

The principal challenge free-speech presents is that constraints are necessary to make it meaningful. Unconstrained free speech simply means speech. A discussion about free-speech concerns the necessary constraints that there should be and, importantly, who says what they are and … Continue reading →

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The Changing Meaning of Statues: Actual and Potential

Posted on April 1, 2021 by odeboyz

“The extent of his [Edward Colston] charity was immense, exceptional and nationally recognised. When his portrait was published in London a year after his death in 1721, the engraved description described him as “the brightest Example of Christian Liberality that … Continue reading →

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Hitler, Chamberlain and Clausewitz

Posted on September 17, 2020 by odeboyz

Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement failed in 1939 and was replaced with something worse. He decided Britain was a lion. Chamberlain threatened Hitler with war if Germany attacked Poland. The German High Command knew Britain couldn’t defend Poland and Hitler believed … Continue reading →

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Climate Change and the Is/Ought Problem

Posted on July 30, 2020 by odeboyz

Introduction In the 18th century David Hume posited the Is/Ought problem. Hume said there’s no connexion between something being the case and an action. That someone is drowning isn’t a reason in itself for attempting a rescue. If a rescue … Continue reading →

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Black Lives Matter, Covid-19 and Democracy in Sydney, Australia

Posted on June 18, 2020 by odeboyz

“As tragic as it is that we are in a situation where freedom of speech isn’t as free as we would like it to be at the moment,” [Police Minister] Mr Elliott said.* When the Sydney Black Lives Matter planned … Continue reading →

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Time

Posted on April 26, 2020 by odeboyz

Shoulders slumped forward Elbows drag behind the chest Slightly tired bandy legs Above the flat feet, that ache. What happened, to that, once was physique The body that was so strong That mind that didn’t consider Time would take such … Continue reading →

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Wittgenstein as a school teacher

Posted on February 17, 2020 by odeboyz

Jonathan Rée writes insightfully about Wittgenstein’s life and work, but he does skate over one crucial detail (LRB, 21 November). After six years working in village schools in the Austrian Alps, Rée remarks, Wittgenstein ‘gave up teaching and returned to … Continue reading →

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