chance – PHILOSOPHICAL EGGS

Categories

Archive

165. Chance and Law

Can chance without law exist? It doesn’t seem so. It seems we have to appeal to laws to make sense of any chance changes that occur. W. B. Gallie, in his book Peirce and Pragmatism, claims that “the idea of… Read more ›

February 23, 2019

Dwight Goodyear

C. S. Peirce, chance

107. St. Gregory of Nyssa on the origins and nature of the soul

St. Gregory of Nyssa (335-394), in his work On the Soul and Resurrection (St. Vladmir’s Seminary Press, 1993), presents a very stimulating dialogue between two characters: Gregory and his sister Macrina. Through Macrina he argues that the existence of virtue… Read more ›

December 5, 2016

Dwight Goodyear

Metaphysics, Morality, The Soul, Truth

chance, evil as privation, On the Soul and the Resurrection, providence, soul, St. Gregory of Nyssa

35. Aristotle vs. Darwin

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) argues that all natural things have an end or purpose they are trying to consciously or unconsciously achieve. Nature is thus teleological: it is purposeful and all natural processes are undertaken for the sake of realizing essential… Read more ›

December 20, 2012 4 Comments

Dwight Goodyear

Aristotle, chance, Darwin, Empedocles, law, mechanistic explanations, teleological explanation

Michael Maier, Atalanta Fugiens (1618)

In alchemical lore, the philosophical egg represents a domain in which diverse materials undergo a fusion into something new, the philosopher’s stone, which can help one become wise. Heraclitus said: “Lovers of wisdom should be enquirers into many things”. My blog, full of long and short posts, is committed to this diversity and offers a domain in which various ideas come together in illuminating and often puzzling ways: they are like philosophical eggs. Cracking and digesting them should bring you some surprises and, hopefully, some nourishing wisdom.

Photo by Jackson Byrnes

My name is Dwight Goodyear and I am a philosopher who loves to teach. I am professor of philosophy at SUNY Westchester Community College in New York (although this site should not be taken to express the opinions of WCC). I teach a variety of courses every year including logic, ethics, ancient/medieval phil., modern phil., phil. of art, and phil. of love. I received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, the NISOD Excellence Award for Teaching, the Abeles Endowed Chair for the WCC Honors Program, and the SUNY WCC Foundation Award for Scholarship. I received my Masters and Ph.D. in philosophy from the New School for Social Research in NYC and wrote my dissertation under Richard J. Bernstein. My main areas of interest are aesthetics, American pragmatism, existentialism, and metaphysics. I am also a musician who composes, performs, and records experimental works for piano and guitar that I refer to as musical gates or compositions that feature a strong sense of passing into a realm of mystery and revelation. I have ten recordings available on iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby, youtube, and elsewhere. My website is accessible at the top of this page. When not working on philosophy and music I am spending time with my wife and son.

Copyright notification:

Dwight Goodyear holds all copyrights for the entries on www.philosophicaleggs.com

In accessing this site, you agree that any downloading of content is for non-commercial reference only.

No part of this web site may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of Dwight Goodyear.

Dwight can be contacted at:

Dwight.goodyear@sunywcc.edu