New essay on my Philosophy Site!

I added an epistemology essay on my philosophy site. This was one of my fav's at the U of MN and it won me a T-shirt with our Vice President saying "Go @!## Yourself" on it from my anti-Bush professor. Hmmmm. Anyway, you can tell by the preview paragraph below that it's gripping, controversial stuff, eh? I hope I don't crash the blogger server with the increased traffic. (more mainstream posts are coming, I promise)

Testimony and Knowledge:
Contrasting and Evaluating the Humean and Reidian Models

According to David Hume, "There is no species of reasoning more common, more useful, and even necessary to human life, than that which is derived from the testimony of men, and the reports of eye-witnesses and spectators." The majority of a person's knowledge is based on second-hand evidence (I read in a book that Mt. Fuji is in Japan) rather than first-hand experiences (I traveled to Japan and saw first-hand that Mt. Fuji exists). As we are now overly saturated in propositions in this internet-fueled age of information, it is increasingly imperative that we have a guideline to help decide when it is reasonable to believe a proposition based on testimony. If we are overly strict in what we allow ourselves to believe based on testimony, we risk shutting ourselves out of a world of valid information. If we are too loose in our standards, however, we risk gullibly accepting false propositions. Both David Hume and Thomas Reid have offered guidelines that could help us decide when we are justified in believing testimonial evidence. I will examine Hume's view on testimony in Part I, then I will set out the contrasting view of Reid in Part II. In Part III, I will critically assess both views before concluding in Part IV where I will give support for the better of the two views.

Got ya hooked, didn't I??? (are you picking up any sarcasm yet?)

To read the full article: http://myphilosophypapers.blogspot.com/2006/08/testimony-and-knowledge-contrasting.html

Just Call Me Betty Lou...

Prologue: The Soccer Shoe

The indoor soccer shoe is by far the most comfortable every-day shoe available. They are form-fitting, sleek, and extremely light. Most importantly, they are the one type of athletic shoe that won’t make you look like a doofis. I hate soccer, but I love their fashion. Try on a pair; you’ll be sold for life.

The History of the Samba

In 1998, I purchased a pair of soccer shoes: the Adidas Samba. They are a simplistically lovely shoe: black with white stripes and an extra long tongue to cover the first few laces. More importantly, they fit my feet nice and snug and I thought they looked pretty rad. For eight years, I have been buying the Sambas. Each year they wear out and each year I get a new pair. There were times when I’d even plan ahead and purchase 2 pair at the buy-one-get-one-half-off sale so I’d be stoked for 2 years straight.

THE SAMBA: Soft, supple full grain leather upper with Brushed nylon quarter lining, HF molded tongue, and full rubber shell outsole with functional indoor sole profile.

Ever since I had the financial responsibility to purchase my own footwear without the help of my maw, I’ve been an Adidas loyalist. They fit my goofy feet and they have good style. My basketball shoes, my running shoes, my Sambas… all Adidas. Back in Kindergarten we all new what A-D-I-D-A-S meant and I stayed true to the philosophy of the three stripes.

On Sunday my wife and I made the annual trek to Famous Footwear to get my replacement set of Sambas as they were looking pretty ragged. On a whim, I tried on a pair of Nike Air Tempo Rivals. I felt a bit ashamed so I made sure that I did this a few rows away from my Sambas. The Nikes looked pretty rad, plus they fit a bit… (gasp!) better. To seal the deal, they were $10 cheaper.

The Betrayal… or The Midlife Crisis?

I bought the Nikes.

I don’t know if my feet just perked up after 8 years of being in the same shoe or what, but they told me to do it. Maybe my arches are in a midlife crisis and they need to fulfill some sort of Indonesian Sweat Shop fantasy or something. My ankles seemed to have perked up as they look down upon a white shoosh.

Say goodbye to your rivals in this throwback with style and substance. The Nike Air Tempo Rival offers a comfortable fit, and provides the perfect touch on the soccer ball.

I felt guilty as I walked up to the Famous Footwear counter, leaving the 9.5 US Sambas behind. Karla gave me a pat on the back and told me that all would be okay. Oh well, most guys buy floppy hats and convertibles when a midlife crisis happens. I bought shoes. It could be worse, I suppose.

Requiem for a Samba

I would now like to take a moment to thank my many pairs of Sambas for the 8 years of happiness you’ve given to my feet. Yes, you had no arch and you had little cushion, but boy you were light, streamlined, and really cool looking. You are the true sneaker as I could imagine ninjas donning Sambas before infiltrating some secret dojo. Yeah, the extra long tongue flap would occasionally flap upwards and make me look dorky. Yeah, you gave me blisters when I forgot my basketball shoes one Wednesday night. Yeah, you wore out a bit faster than most shoes… but we’ve been through a lot together, Samba, and my feet miss you already.