Having watched “Bicentennial Man” yet another time last week I found Stephen Law’s article, “Could a Machine Think?”, really apt for my mood. The article obviously delves on the complex issue that has become more and more relevant with the advances in technology. The day when robots with super advanced artificial intelligence becomes a reality is no longer something that we can consider to be far-fetched. These are days when things from science fictions are becoming a reality. And as that day approaches we know that the day when a dilemma of titanic proportions is also drawing near. Will robots become advanced enough to achieve self-awareness? If so, what do we do then? What will be the right moral standpoint? How will we accept it and how will the AIs react to how we receive them?

These questions are all discussed in a very engaging manner in Stephen Law’s “Could a Machine Think.” This article is written in a script style showing the discussion between a machine, Emit, and its owner, Geena. This article is a great read whether or not you are interested in philosophy because it reads like a story. However, the questions posed are ones that will really make you think and the points raised shows sophistication in philosophical argument.

The “Could a Machine Think” is just one of the articles available in “Think”, a philosophy journal published for the Royal Institute of Philosophy. What makes “Think” really great is that the journal is aimed at a wide audience making the articles both interesting and readable for everyone from philosophers to laymen. Free online articles can be found at the Cambridge Journals website. For full access to “Think” journals you will need to subscribe.

Experimental philosophy is still a relatively new field of study, which started last 2000 when a group of students decided to apply experimental procedures used in psychology to philosophy. According to the Experimental Philosophy Society “experimental philosophy involves the collection of empirical data to shed light on philosophical issues.” This empirical data is usually gathered through surveys wherein the participants are ordinary people. This is obviously a much different approach than the traditional analytical philosophy wherein philosophers based their arguments on premises they come up with. As can be expected, criticism regarding experimental philosophy abound.

Despite the resistance of many philosophers to experimental philosophy this emerging field in philosophy is also being welcomed quite warmly, not only among seasoned philosophers but among people from other field of studies. The reason for this is that due to the nature or experimental philosophy (data collection) those from related fields of study can contribute much. As the mission statement of the Experimental Philosophy Society states, “it is expected that the membership of the society will include faculty, students, and interested amateurs not only in philosophy but also in psychology, anthropology, sociology, law, and other related fields.”

Right now areas of research in experimental philosophy include consciousness, cultural diversity, determinism and moral responsibility, and intentional action. For an updated list of research using experimental philosophy visit the X-Phi wiki. You can even add your paper, as long as it uses experimental philosophy of course.

With the Sotomayor hearings pervading the news it is no wonder that I have become a bit pre-occupied with judicial philosophy. The big hoopla the US senators, both for and against Sotomayor’s confirmation, have been making over empathy and it’s role or non-role in the judicial system is a very interesting matter.

Lately I came across Michael C Dorf’s article “What is Sonia Sotomayor’s Judicial Philosophy?” and just feel that I have to share his wonderful insights on “formalism” and “legal realism”. According to Dorf, “formalists believe that legal interpretation is a matter of finding the objective meaning of formal legal materials, such as the words of statutes and constitutional provisions.” He says that ideology has no place in formalism and the judges are seen as “simply a vehicle for the expression of the law.” On the other hand, he says that legal realists assert that “formalist’s view of the law is false, or at least radically incomplete.” He further explained that “legal realists believe that formalists are not being honest (perhaps, not even with themselves) when they disclaim any influence from their own values upon their judicial decision making. Nor, they say, could matters be otherwise in a complex and evolving society in which legislators and constitution writers cannot possibly have anticipated all of the circumstances in which the provisions they wrote would be applied.”

So it is quite clear that the contention between those that want to confirm Judge Sotomayor and not is caused by the differing jucidicial philosophy. The question of course lies in who is right – the formalist or the legal realist? I leave it up to the senate committee to sort it out.

With John Calvin’s birthday coming up in a few days, he was born 500 years ago on June 10, 1509, I though it would be fitting to do a post on the Calvinist theology.

Calvin is best known for the theological system that was named after him – Calvinism. Note that while Clavinist churches are still in existence today not all the churches adhere to all the classical features of Calvinism. As a theology what makes classical Calvinism distinctive is that it teaches the sovereignty of God in salvation and in life. The five points of Calvinism include:

The doctrine of total depravity – The inability of man to follow God and save himself due to inherent sin.
The doctrine of unconditional election – States that God’s choice in who is to be with him is based on his mercy alone and not on foreseen virtue, merit, or faith of the chosen people.
The doctrine of limited atonement – Says that atonement is only for those chosen by God even though he has the power to save everyone he has chosen not too do so.
The doctrine of irresistible grace – Says that those that God has chosen will be brought to faith in time and that these people would not be able to resist the call of the Gospel.
The Perseverance of the saints – Asserts that those that God has chosen has “eternal security” and that those that fall away from the faith are apparently not among the chosen.

As mentioned earlier, there are lots of variations of Calvinism today with modern variations being embraced more and more in North America. With his birthday coming up this would be good news to Calvin were he alive.