Nathan Hawkins
I am a philosophy graduate of Cambridge University where I teach and lecture. My thesis was on the nature of truth (soon to be a book with an academic publisher), and I specialise in metaphysics, logic, and the history of analytic philosophy. I believe philosophy should be made accessible to the curious and philosophers have a duty to reenter the public debate on the questions of importance to our age. This channel is my attempt to do that!
Join me (free or paid) on Patreon for updates, a philosophy community, exclusive videos, and special live events! I'd love to see you there: www.patreon.com/drnathanhawkins
Nathan Hawkins
The greatest philosophy quote of all time (by far). Not only is it very deep and accurate, it is beautifully worded too:
“It may come from a failure in my metaphysics, or from a weakness of the flesh which continues to blind me, but the notion that existence could be the same as understanding strikes as cold and ghost-like as the dreariest materialism. That the glory of this world in the end is appearance leaves the world more glorious, if we feel it is a show of some fuller splendour; but the sensuous curtain is a deception and a cheat, if it hides some colourless movement of atoms, some spectral woof of impalpable abstractions, or unearthly ballet of bloodless categories. Though dragged to such conclusions, we cannot embrace them. Our principles may be true, but they are not reality. They no more make that Whole which commands our devotion than some shredded dissection of human tatters is that warm and breathing beauty of flesh which our hearts found delightful.” F.H. Bradley
2 days ago | [YT] | 20
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Nathan Hawkins
LIVE EVENT with Prof Linda Zagzebski
On Saturday the 27th of June, from 8-9.30pm GMT, I will be having a live discussion with Professor Linda Zagzebski about her newest book: Omnisubjectivity: An Essay on God and Subjectivity. The book includes arguments for why God must be omnisubjective, models of how God can be omnisubjective, the theological implications of omnisubjectivity, and a discussion of the importance of intersubjectivity as a way of grasping the world as a whole.
The thesis she puts forward in this book has much overlap with Absolute Idealism and theistic idealism of other kinds. But there seem to be differences between her position and the Bradleyan idealism I find compelling, so we'll get into the weeds of that in our chat. Our discussion will be followed by a time of Q&A with attendees of Good and above. See details here: www.patreon.com/c/drnathanhawkins
Linda Trinkaus Zagzebski is the Emerita George Lynn Cross Research Professor, as well as Emerita Kingfisher College Chair of the Philosophy of Religion and Ethics, at the University of Oklahoma.
1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 18
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Nathan Hawkins
LIVE EVENT! Sunday, the 14th of June, from 8-9.30pm BST, I will be explaining and discussing Timothy Sprigge's paper 'Bradley's Doctrine of the Absolute'. There will be opportunities to ask question and discuss with all attendees.
This live event can be accessed by Beautiful members and above from my Patreon page: www.patreon.com/drnathanhawkins.
See you there!
3 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 11
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Nathan Hawkins
LIVE EVENT with Prof Howard Robinson (a leading contemporary idealist)
On Saturday the 30th of May (this Saturday), from 8-9.30pm GMT, I will be having a live discussion with Professor Howard Robinson about the famous 'Mary' argument against physicalism put forward originally by Frank Jackson. Our discussion will be followed by a time of Q&A with attendees which will be open to all Patreon members at the level of Good and above. See here for details: www.patreon.com/cw/drnathanhawkins
Howard has extensively published on the Mary argument replying to, among others, Daniel Dennett, David Papineau and Frank Jackson (who later rejected his own argument). Howard, who rejects physicalism on several grounds, has edited a collection of papers called 'Against Physicalism', and written his own book: Perception and Idealism.
This is a rare opportunity to hear from a leading contemporary defender of idealism.
1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 23
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Nathan Hawkins
MUST ATTEND LIVE EVENT: *The neuroscience of libertarian free will*
This Saturday, the 18th of April, from 4-5.30pm GMT, I will be having a live discussion with Prof Peter Tse. Peter is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, but is currently a visiting fellow at the University of Cambridge. In 2024 he published two books with Oxford University Press: “A Neurophilosophy of Libertarian Free Will” and “Free Imagination.”
I have been very interested in Peter's work since I heard of his talk at the serious metaphysics group at Cambridge. Peter presents a detailed account of the structures in the brain that result in a form of top-down 'informational causation' that provide the conditions for libertarian free will within a physicalist metaphysics. He has debated Robert Sapolsky on this issue and been on Closer to Truth, but to understand his work requires a stronger familiarity with its details. So I have recently been going through his (free) online course on his work, and will be eagerly waiting to have my questions answered. I am very excited for this as I think Peter is doing important and groundbreaking work.
This live event with Q&A can be accessed by Good members and above from my Patreon page: www.patreon.com/drnathanhawkins. An edited version of our conversation will be posted to YouTube a month later.
2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 19
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Nathan Hawkins
LIVE EVENT! Tomorrow, the 11th of April, from 4-5.30pm GMT, I will be explaining and discussing John Foster's paper 'The Succinct Case for Idealism'. There will be opportunities to ask question and discuss with all attendees.
This live event can be accessed by Beautiful members and above from my Patreon page: www.patreon.com/drnathanhawkins.
See you there!
2 months ago | [YT] | 26
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Nathan Hawkins
LIVE EVENT! This Saturday, the 7th of March, from 4-5.30pm GMT, I will be explaining and discussing J.M.E McTaggart's famous paper on time: 'The Unreality of Time'. There will be opportunities to ask question and discuss with all attendees.
This live event can be accessed by Beautiful members and above from my Patreon page: www.patreon.com/drnathanhawkins.
See you there!
3 months ago | [YT] | 21
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Nathan Hawkins
LIVE EVENT! This Saturday, the 7th of February, from 4-5.30pm GMT, I will be explaining and discussing Thomas Nagel's famous paper on consciousness: 'What is it like to be a bat?'. There will be opportunities to ask question and discuss with all attendees.
This live event can be accessed by Beautiful members and above from my Patreon page: www.patreon.com/drnathanhawkins.
I hope to see some of you there!
4 months ago | [YT] | 32
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Nathan Hawkins
LIVE EVENT! Tomorrow, the 24th of January, from 4-5.30pm GMT, I will be having a live discussion with Dr Farbod Akhlaghi, focusing on his research into truth in ethics. In it, Farbod puts forward novel ways of trying to make sense of the relation between moral truths and the world. And our discussion will be followed by a time of Q&A with attendees.
Farbod Akhlaghi is Assistant Professor in Moral Philosophy at Trinity College Dublin. His primary research concerns moral philosophy, metaphysics, and their intersections and histories. He has published in, amongst other places, Analysis, Ethics, Mind, and Synthese, and is currently writing a book for Cambridge University Press entitled Truth in Ethics. Further info about Farbod and his work is available here: farbodakhlaghi-g.weebly.com
This live event with Q&A can be accessed by Good members and above from my Patreon page: www.patreon.com/drnathanhawkins. An edited version of our conversation will be posted to YouTube a month later.
5 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 14
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