Nathan Hawkins

On the 20th of December at 5pm GMT I will have a discussion with Professor Michael Potter centred around Frege's discovery of the sense-reference distinction and the ideas that followed from that regarding meaning, thought, and truth. But we will also discuss Russell, Bradley, truth and idealism too.

Michael Potter is Professor of Logic and a life fellow in the Philosophy Faculty at Cambridge University. His research interests lie mainly in the history of analytic philosophy, the philosophy of mathematics, philosophical logic, the philosophy of language, and the philosophy of religion. He is a giant in his field, with countless publications and books.

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 weeks ago | [YT] | 22

Nathan Hawkins

This Saturday, the 6th of December, from 5-7pm GMT, I will be explaining and discussing R.G. Collingwood's famous paper 'On the so-called idea of causation' along with theories of causation more generally. My presentation will then be followed by a discussion of the topic.

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!

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 14

Nathan Hawkins

WILL THE REAL BERNARDO KASTRUP PLEASE STAND UP?

I recently received a free copy of Kastrup's latest book: The Daimon and the Soul of the West. The front cover carries a subtitle: "Finding identity, meaning, and purpose in a sacrificial life". The back cover says the following: "This book is... about re-encountering our natural selves and guiding Daimon, re-tuning into the archetypal dispositions we embody, and re-learning how to navigate the choppy waters of life in a spontaneous and fulfilling manner."

That is one Kastrup. The Jungian idealist, pointing to the depth of meaning in existence and the world as reflected in our own internal psychology. In our YouTube discussion he even drew on this Jungian conception of the world via mind at large to explain the basis of our rational truths such as those found in mathematics. (I thought this was a problem given his non-metacognitive view of mind at large). There are 'mental facts' out there, he said, that ground the truth of our own reasoning via correspondence, since they exist in seed form in the archetypes present in the world via Mind at large. This, we could say, is the 'idealism' in his analytic idealism.

But another Kastrup emerges when emphasis is placed on the scientific basis of his idealism. At such moments Kastrup is at pains to point out that he, like all no-nonsense scientists, is committed to the same principles they are. For example we read the following in Analytic Idealism in a nutshell (p 56): "More than once have I debated scholars who came into the debate expecting--no, knowing--that Idealism means that the world is supposed to be inside your head. But when it dawns upon them, at some point in the first 20 minutes of the debate or so, that I'm defending a realist, naturalist, rationalist, and reductionist position... as opposed to a 'spiritual' one, one can palpably see the bewilderment in their eyes." He said the same in his recent conversation with Alex O'Connor too. This, we could say, is the 'analytic' in his analytic idealism.

But can Kastrup hold both of these positions at the same time? Or is this a case of him wanting to both have his cake and eat it? I suspect it is the latter.
Read the rest of the post (for free) on my Patreon: www.patreon.com/posts/143931230

1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 43

Nathan Hawkins

On the 23rd of November at 5pm GMT, I will be having a live discussion with Chris Oldfield about his philosophical work understanding and distinguishing the ideas of Materialism, Physicalism, Naturalism, Atheism, and Scientism.

Chris is a research associate at the Faraday Institute based at Cambridge University, and focuses on scientific metaphysics, with special interests in the history and interpretations of “physicalism”.

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.

1 month ago | [YT] | 15

Nathan Hawkins

In case you missed it... I have a Patreon page (free and paid options) with lots of philosophical goodies in the works, like a chat group, live interviews with academics you can join, and online discussion groups doing deep dives into your most voted for topics. I explain my reasons and give more details in my latest video. I'd love to have you join us!

1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 6

Nathan Hawkins

Interesting. Looks like Alex O'Connor is being pretty drawn to Idealism after his chat with Bernardo Kastrup. My differences with Kastrup are known, but he is an excellent ambassador for mind-first views of reality, and he really lands his points in this interview. Exciting times! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrMEL...

1 month ago | [YT] | 18

Nathan Hawkins

My book on Frege is now being marketed! It is slated for release in April 2026. It's aimed at a pretty narrow audience, but it's great to see years of my work being made available in book form like this. Thank you Palgrave! Link here: link.springer.com/book/9783032097750

2 months ago | [YT] | 35

Nathan Hawkins

Last chance to register for Saturday's webinar on Free Will! Come and learn about the main theories of Free Will and explore what you think in discussion with others and me. Only a handful of places available. Details here: drnathanhawkins.com/free-will-webinar

2 months ago | [YT] | 12