Philosophy News has posted a relatively short review of Sam Harris' new book 'Free Will' by Paul Pardi. The article goes through some of the key issues which are discussed in the background reading to this week's topic, so I think it may be of interest.
http://www.philosophynews.com/post/2012/05/15/An-Analysis-of-Sam-Harris-Free-Will.aspx
On the whole I am prone to reject philosophical arguments which claim that widely used terms are "meaningless" or "incoherent". My natural reaction is to challenge the author to sharpen their pencil and go back and try a bit harder to understand what we do in fact mean when we use a concept.
I agree with the author of the review that is seems inconsistent to say both that a term is meaningless and that it is false, if that is indeed what Mr. Harris does in his book.
Lawrence
http://www.philosophynews.com/post/2012/05/15/An-Analysis-of-Sam-Harris-Free-Will.aspx
On the whole I am prone to reject philosophical arguments which claim that widely used terms are "meaningless" or "incoherent". My natural reaction is to challenge the author to sharpen their pencil and go back and try a bit harder to understand what we do in fact mean when we use a concept.
I agree with the author of the review that is seems inconsistent to say both that a term is meaningless and that it is false, if that is indeed what Mr. Harris does in his book.
Lawrence
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