"The Utility of the Concept of the Philosophical Zombie, Explained Briefly Through Example"

(c) 2014

by Jordan S. Bassior

The android screamed piercingly as Jeff inserted the red-hot poker.

"That's cruel!" said Mary.

"It amuses me," said Jeff.  "And anyway, it's not a real person.  Just an android ( Read more... )

(Wherein, having tackled Sex, I will now discuss something much less controversial) ;-)

So I was thinking about the issue of religion in Equestria, and beyond it on the whole planet.

There is a concept in TV Tropes called the "Flat Earth Atheist," whose article points out:

Atheism in a clockwork universe ostensibly overseen by a completely non- ( Read more... )

Expanded from a reply to a post in jaylake's journal ("Where should the rules come from?")

The problem is that the examples offered of attempted atheist reorganizations of society, in particular totalitarian Communism but also (for some values of "atheism") various kinds of Fascism, are frightening. Not so much because a society with atheist roots has to ( Read more... )

The modern American Left likes to call itself "Progressive."  But "Progressivism" is an inherently meaningless term by itself, as "progress" merely means "forward motion."  By definition we all "move forward" into the future:  the question is, "In what direction?"

The European civilization of the 19th century "progressed" technologically from 1815 ( Read more... )

The arrests of three Occupy Oakland protestors for mugging a critic is but the most recent failure of the Occupier movement. Time and time again the Occupiers have demonstrated boasting of their invincible numbers and widespread support, only to be swept aside whenever local municipalities have chosen to act, and treated as criminals when they ( Read more... )

Made this comment to the esteemed erudito at

http://erudito.livejournal.com/982047.html?view=4601119#t4601119

and decided that it deserved to becomne its own entry.

====Property derives from the nature of things, that a specific lot of a given resource may ( Read more... )

We live in a world in which a large percentage of the population -- most of whom are otherwise basically law-abiding, are technically undiscovered felons, simply because they choose to make, sell, buy or use any of a number of psychoactive substances which we have chosen to criminalize as "illegal drugs." Because we do this, those people learn a ( Read more... )

(this started as a comment to a post of akilika at http://akilika.livejournal.com/1072154.htmlRead more... )

Recently, in a thread started by polynarch (http://polyanarch.livejournal.com/320745.html), deadpansev expressed the opinion that America could safely have stayed out of World War II, without fear of what a victorious Axis might have done later to America, because (quoting deadpansev, with the spelling cleaned up):

( Read more... )

Continuing the analysis of Suicidalism and its effects on the West, begun in "Suicidalism" (earlier today, http://jordan179.livejournal.com/184945.html#cutid1Read more... )