David Chalmers: The Easy and Hard Problems of Consciousness

The following discussion is from David Chalmers site. His page remains but the link I had for this material no longer exists.

"Consciousness poses the most baffling problems in the science of the mind.

Stephen Hawking: Philosophy Is A Waste of Time

I will be away until January
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Stephen Hawking believes philosophy as practised nowadays is a waste of time and philosophers a waste of space. "More precisely, he wrote that philosophy is ‘dead’ since it hasn’t kept up with the latest developments in science, especially theoretical physics.

Is There a Science of Happiness?

"Philosophers have been discussing the nature and possibility of happiness for as long as philosophy has existed. From Socrates on down, there have been many attempts to provide an understanding of the nature of happiness and the ways that individuals might attain it. Later, a more social theory of happiness emerged stressing the role education and knowledge play in creating a world free of superstition in which everyone has a chance to develop their capacities in a society that encourages self-development and the happiness of all. This movement culminated in the ethical theory of Utilitarianism, which self-consciously aims at promoting the happiness and well-being of the greatest number of people. The question before us now is whether there might not be a science of happiness in light of which we can collectively aim to create a better world in which increasing numbers of people have a chance to live happy and flourishing lives." More

A Study in Contrast: PhilPapers & Storm Front

A new website is available, and it looks interesting. I quote from it:

"PhilPapers is a comprehensive directory of online philosophy articles and books by academic philosophers. We monitor journals in many areas of philosophy, as well as archives and personal pages. We also accept articles directly from users, who can provide links or upload copies."

PhilPapers can be found here.

Not on topic but rather about the absence of rational thought. I found at CNN an article titled, "Growing Hate Groups Blame Obama, Economy." In such movements, there is an abysmal lack of philosophical thinking. Interest in the article led me to a site called Storm Front, a white supremacist group. Under a rather ironic heading, Ideology & Philosophy, I found a discussion forum with comments like this that are assumed by forum members to pass for philosophy:

"I know that if I don't cope with it .... I'll starve. It's unfortunate that we've been forced into this multicultural hell hole where the races are no longer free to segregate themselves and live apart as nature intended for us to do. Because of my own poverty and inability to pay rent in a nicer apartment complex; I live on the wrong side of the tracks where I pay a bit less rent but over 90% of my neighbors are black. My job simply doesn't pay me enough to live amongst fellow white people. That's a shame too. There was a time in this country where white people of all income levels could still enjoy the luxury of living in an all white neighborhood or apartment complex. Sadly, that's not the case anymore."

Although not always the situation, here is a comment showing that racism can be interwoven with alienation from mainstream society--alienation due to poverty and inability to find better employment.