John Dewey and The Philosopher's Task
Most educators think of John Dewey as an educational theorist, but philosophers read Dewey as a late pragmatist, a writer trying to balance the needs of the mind with the dictates of experience and especially science, to reconcile rationalism with empiricism. This explains the tension in Dewey's work - and in my own work - as an empiricist eschews the study of experimental result for a less certain enterprise. More...

Philosopher's Critique of Online Learning Cites Existentialists (Mostly Dead)
I missed this one when it came out. Just as well (speaking as a philospher). The cynicism aside, the article does a good job of placing Dreyfus's critiques of online learning into the wider context of Dreyfus's thought generally: "Dreyfus also draws on 20th-century existentialists such as Martin Heidegger and especially Maurice Merleau-Ponty, who argues that the body plays a crucial role in all elements of life, from perception to politics. Without physical bodies, people can attain only intellectual competence in skills." This is the gist of Dreyfus's criticism of artificial intelligence generally, but I believe it is misplaced, not because the knowledge Dreyfus talks about can be acquired by cognition alone (I am not (and never will be) a rationalist), but because we need to think of of the computer and computer networks in an important sense as an extension of the body. More...

Google’s Philosopher
Robert Herritt, Pacific Stamndard, 2015/01/02
This argument from "Google's philosopher" (actually Oxford ethics professor Luciano Floridi) has been flagged as "novel", but they're actually in line with a lot of contemporary thinking. According to Floridi, 'you are your information, which comprises everything from data about the relations between particles in your body, to your life story, to your memories, beliefs, and genetic code." This reminds me immediately of McLuhan's argument that our tools and devices are extensions of ourselves, and George Siemens's suggestion that our thoughts and ideas are contained in the network beyond our physical brain. More...

How to Criticize with Kindness: Philosopher Daniel Dennett on the Four Steps to Arguing Intelligently
Maria Popova, Brain Pickings, 2015/04/10

Now let me put this in context: Dennett (author of Consciousness Explained  and The Intentional Stance) is one of the world's most respected philosophers today. He, probably more than anyone else in the world, knows how a good argument works. Here is his method (and, I might add, my method):"

1. You should attempt to re-express your target’s position so clearly, vividly, and fairly that your target says, 'Thanks, I wish I’d thought of putting it that way.'
2. You should list any points of agreement (especially if they are not matters of general or widespread agreement).
3. You should mention anything you have learned from your target.
4. Only then are you permitted to say so much as a word of rebuttal or criticism."

What do you think the point of OLDaily is. More...