Simon Blackburn discusses his career, his approach to writing accessible philosophy, and his book Think.
Uploaded by Prof Alan Macfarlane - Ayabaya, 2010 · Watch on YouTube ·
Blackburn argues that Richard Dawkins misunderstands religion by viewing it merely as a matter of doctrine and belief rather than as a set of human practices with adaptive and social functions. He criticizes Dawkins's metaphorical language, such as genes having agency, describing it as poor philosophy.
Blackburn identifies Ruling Passions as his best academic book, in which he articulated quasi-realism to reconcile the practical, prescriptive function of ethics with the objective, propositional language commonly used to express moral judgments.
Blackburn personally authored almost the entirety of the Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, finding that delegating entries to external collaborators often created more editorial work than drafting the material himself to maintain consistent tone and clarity.
Blackburn attributes much of his writing efficiency to teaching himself to touch-type on a manual typewriter, allowing him to draft quickly once his thoughts have developed through teaching and conversation.
1 books; 1 reviewed on LuvemBooks. Dates and covers from Amazon.
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