Patterson In Pursuit: Philosophy | Politics | Religion

An increasing amount of "experts" do not seem to understand the basics of their field. Economics is no exception. To understand the world, I am convinced one must understand economics - and you have to start with the basic concepts. If the basics are wrong, your analysis will be foundationally flawed. I'm joined by Dr. Donald Boudreaux, who writes a lot about the basics, and we cover some of the important ideas that have to be understood before analyzing anything more complex. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

When two people disagree, their ideas are not automatically equally plausible. Some ideas are superior than others.  Proposition X is not equally reasonable as proposition Y simply because they are both propositions. I call this an "abstraction error", and you see it everywhere in the world of ideas. Cultures, ideas, political theories, epistemologies - we cannot evaluate them in the abstract. We have to dive into the concrete. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

Democracy is almost universally seen as a good thing, but it has serious drawbacks. Is there any alternative to democracy? Are there any constraints on democracy? Is there any recourse a minority has when a majority wants to oppress them? What makes democracy - and government in general - legitimate? To help me answer these questions in political theory, I'm joined by Dr. Bruce Cain of Stanford University. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

"You've just got to have faith!"  I heard that a million times growing up, and it never sat well with me. Once I understood the methodological error of faith, the world of rational analysis opened up for me. If you value the truth, there is no room for beliefs without reason. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

Physicalism does not escape from absurd conclusions.  Indeed, many physicalists have found a new kind of spirituality by understanding the implications of hard-determinism. If humans are essentially part of the universe, and humans are becoming aware of the universe, then - in a very real sense - the universe is in the process of becoming aware of itself. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

What is logic? Can something be true and false at the same time? Can we ever have perfect certainty? Those are some of the epistemological questions I asked the philosopher Dr. Timothy Williamson of Oxford University. We also dove into the metaphysics of concepts and mathematics - and here we had the greatest disagreement. Do concepts have any existence outside of our conception of them? He says yes, I say no, and the consequences are very large. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

"Trivial, dogmatic, and useless" - that's the professional reputation of tautologies. I don't think tautologies deserve their reputation. In fact, I think they are profound and foundational to any critical worldview. Here are three reasons why the orthodox philosophic position regarding tautologies is mistaken.   Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

Logic has been called many things - "the rules of language", "the rules of reasoning", "the rules of existence", and so on. I want to know what logic is, so I spoke with Dr. Timothy Williamson of Oxford University to help me find out. We cover a ton of great topics - the nature of logic, language, paradoxes, and the metaphysics of concepts and numbers. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

Imagine a hungry donkey standing exactly between two identical bales of hay. Could it choose between them? The paradox of Buridan's ass is an old, famous paradox going back thousands of years. I think it contains a mistaken premise, but if we're careful, we can formulate it in a way to paralyze our donkey. The example helps us think clearly about what it means to be "identical" and "different." Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

Anarchism is a scary word, but it's a sensible political philosophy. Over the last several years, I've been persuaded by libertarian anarchism, and I think it's important to cover the basic ways of thinking about political issues as an anarchist. In this episode, I want to give you the groundwork for an anarchist's intuition. Note: by "anarchism", I am referring to "market anarchism", not "socialist/communist anarchism." There's a big difference between the two. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

This sentence is false. Is that sentence true or false? If it's true, it's false. If it's false, it's true. This is the liar's paradox, and philosophers have been debating it for thousands of years.  From what I can tell, it's tricky, but it can be resolved with a little inspection. We don't need to throw out classical logic. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

A great deal has been written about how "weird" quantum physics is. Many wild and radical ideas are drawn from the field. However, few people seem to understand the basic concepts. Before we evaluate the different theories in quantum physics, we need to grasp the fundamentals - the theories, data, and philosophy surrounding quantum events. I am joined by Dr. Simon Saunders of Oxford University, who is a professor of the philosophy of physics, and he lays out the basic ideas. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

Logic is the secret to all critical thinking. It is the root of every philosophical tree. When you understand what "necessity" means, you'll start grasping the most fundamental principle in the universe. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

The Austrian School of economics is outside the mainstream, but I find their arguments compelling. Specifically, their claims about the epistemological status of economic theory - the philosophy of economics. My guest is Dr. Peter Boettke from George Mason University. He is an Austrian School proponent, and we dive into some of the deeper questions surrounding the nature of pure logic in economic theory. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

Can you judge somebody's intelligence by their beliefs? The polite answer is "No! Of course not!" But my own experiences make me think otherwise.  Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

Coming to you from London, England. Was the Brexit a good idea? As a libertarian, the situation is mixed. On the one hand, decentralizing power is a good thing. On the other hand, a Brexit might lead towards higher tariffs and protectionism. On the whole, I think the pro's outweigh the con's. The principle of self-governance is more important than short-term economic gains. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

I used to be a conservative, and then I was introduced to the libertarian political philosophy, which slowly turned me into an anarchist. It sounds like a radical conclusion, but it comes from basic principles in economics and ethics. This article covers my personal intellectual journey. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

This week is another breakdown episode, where I focus primarily on the interview about logical contradictions at Columbia. Dr. Justin Clarke-Doane was arguing that logical contradictions can be understood and incorporated into our worldview. I couldn't more strongly disagree, and I wasn't too impressed with his argument. This is why. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

When people talk about nothing, what are they really talking about? How can you talk about nothing - unless nothing is actually something? Many Eastern philosophies (Buddhism, in particular) believe that nothing is something, and a few Western philosophies do as well. But they are mistaken. If we value a rational and logically consistent worldview, we have to understand exactly what nothing is - or more precisely, what it isn't. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

Religion is too quickly dismissed by modern intellectuals. Religious or spiritual experience is a relatively universal phenomenon, and it deserves the same level of rational analysis as the rest of our worldview. My guest today is Dr. Bob Murphy, who is a professional economist, author, and a self-described "born-again Christian". We talk about his beliefs, justification, and personal experiences with the faith. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe