In desperation,
Sid scooped the
gleanings from
the floor, and
swallowed them
one by one.

As he boxed up his belongings
for the move to Florida,
Michael came across a picture of
himself as a boy in his father's lap,
and suppressed the urge to cry.

David Chalmers's brief for metaphysical dualism (in The Conscious Mind) is sporting (like Berkeley is sporting), and I appreciate that. It does not turn out to be field-transforming, however (Wittgenstein, Putnam, Fodor: field-transforming, for better or for worse). Too much of the work is done by Chalmers's claim that we can conceive of zombies: humans who behave (function) exactly like other persons, but who have no phenomenal experience (who are quale-free). Chalmers takes this counterfactual to be, by itself, an argument for mind-body dualism. For myself, I doubt that one can conceive of a zombie. There are several possible lines of argument here. Today I am thinking of Wittgenstein's claim that the semantics of psychological descriptions (like the semantics of all descriptions) must be public, as language is essentially (necessarily) intersubjective. All phenomenal terms, then ("pain," "taste," "sensation"), have double lives: their nominal referents are qualia, but their conditions of use (W. would say their "grammars") are public. My view is that the mind-body problem is a complex problem, specifically that we need one theory to deal with intentional properties and another to deal with phenomenal properties. Functionalism is the kind of theory that deals with intentional properties, which I take to be some sort of formal, relational, "public" properties. For phenomenal properties we need reductive materialism. That is, phenomenal properties are not multiply realizable. When we say that David Chalmers, Flipper the Dolphin, My Favorite Martian, and Commander Data all like chocolate, we are referring to something that instantiates a particular functional role. It is not required (it does not follow) that they all have the same qualitative experience. If this is right, then the (alleged) conceivability of zombies does not constitute a proof of mind-body dualism, only of the inadequacy of functionalism.

You got to hold on
love is soon
moving in
you know in your soul
that you have committed no sin

Just wait and see
what joy love will bring
it will make your
heart sing

You must believe in fate
it is never too late
soon love will be flowing
like melting ice in the spring

You've got to give it all
there is no time
to be lying on the ground
feeling shot down


You've got to keep on looking
you never know
what will show
don't be so slow
free your mind
and the rest will follow
and your life will turn
into what it is
supposed to be
and you will feel
so good forever
but you must want it
to happen
nobody can ever
do it for you

You must never give up
your hope
and never choose
the rope
as the last way out
because there is love
to be found
just take a look around
and you will finally
find a partner
to share your life


You've got to hold on
it is not easy
but you have to be
very strong
in your lonely heart

Watch the sky above you
and prepare to die
because they are closing in
willing to erase
the whole human race
just for the pleasure of it

Ready or not
they won't stop
we have already let them in

People call them
flying saucers
but that is a big lie
they are deadly weapons in the sky
and there is no place to hide

Have you not heard
the stories about the people
they took away
for medical experiments and pregnancy
and when they came back to earth
they had completely lost their brain
and went totally insane

Watch the sky above you
they are circling into smaller circles
watch the sky closely above you
they will soon dive for their prey
which is you and me

We can move in all our military forces
but still we would look like horses
the crafts have landed everywhere
and we can all feel that clean fear
that the end is near
so say the Generals
and for God's sake give us more guns
rockets bombs artillery
and laser canons just for safety
then maybe we can force them away
so long my friend
Tellus is gone

It is a bright day
and I have just finished
my last pray
what have I done
and what will come
at the end of the road ahead

Sun Sun I wish
I could run
Sun Sun I am your son

It is a dark night
and nothing feels right
where have you gone
I feel like well done
inside this strange room
they say it is my home

Sun Sun I wish
I could run
Sun Sun don't forget your son


It is a clear morning
time has come
and I have to pay
for the things that they say
when I will be lead
into that fear hall of justice
where they serve us all

Sun Sun I wish
I could run
Sun Sun I am there soon

It is a wonderful day
everything feels OK
for once in my life
I am not afraid anymore
I know now
that my soul is at home
Sun Sun here I am

Boy - what do these words mean? Have you looked in your dictionary but still don't understand? Read on to see if this explanation helps, and if not, let me know!

A person who dislikes and distrusts mankind is a misanthrope.

A person who dislikes and distrusts women is a misogynist.

But what's the name for a person who hates all men?

A friend's wife suggested *intelligent*,
but the real word is misandrist.

:D

The English language is an amazing thing, with many fascinating words and phrases ... enjoy learning new things every day!