What exactly is the nature, scope, and origin of "methodological naturalism"? What are the most authoritative sources to learn about the origin and nature of methodological naturalism as it is employed in the sciences? I would appreciate any reply to this question. Thanks!

Despite all the modern protestations of liberalism and political correctness, I have yet to meet a straight person who is fully comfortable with the idea of homosexuality. They claim to have no problem with the lifestyle, but inevitably succumb to negative gay stereotypes or latent discomfort (people are, I find, generally more accepting of me as a lesbian, but admit that they find the idea of gay men bizarre/wrong/funny etc). The increasing number of "out" gays seems only to have had an effect on the legal system, rather than people's general morality (and I do speak generally, from personal and first-hand experience alone). Why is it that the lessening gap between percentages of gay and straight people is not accompanied by similarly decreased prejudice? Imagine that the number of gay people outnumbered the straight population (unlikely, but I maintain that all humans are essentially bisexual) - would the minority straight population still see the gay population as "abnormal" due to the fact that they...

Suppose a woman decided, for whatever reason, to put a pregnancy 'on hold' indefinitely, even for the rest of her life, while the fetus was at a stage of development in which it is currently permissible to abort it. That is, the woman takes a potion and stays pregnant, but the fetus remains insider her and dependent on her, and it never develops any further than it already has. I think many people would find this morally problematic in ways in which they don't find abortion problematic. But where is the moral difference?

I never loved my wife, but I married her. We have a child. I’ve been in Love with another woman for the past year, but now I’m moving soon and will lose her. Would it be wrong to have an affair? Doesn’t Love, by nature irrational, transcend my duty to my wife? What is right: to be true to my promise of fidelity, or to be true to myself, my heart, to love? I want to be an authentic person. Recently I read Soren Kierkegaard’s telling of Abraham sacrificing Isaac in his _Fear and Trembling_. He demonstrates that confrontation with the religious can, and often does, go beyond the ethical, the rational. All I know is that it feels right with this other woman, and time is short. It's not just about sex, I love her soul. I don’t know where it will lead. Is adultery always wrong?

At the moment, I'm particularly concerned about the 'personal heresy' in philosophy. Recently, Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, gave a speech in which he quoted several racist statements by key philosophers of Western civilisation. David Hume, for instance believed that "of all the 'breeds' of man, the darkest breed was inferior.."(quote from Mbeki's speech) and it's also believed that Kant believed black people were 'beasts'(again, Mbeki's belief). Whether these quotes are accurate or not, it's indubitable that the milieu in which these philosophers formed their various normative frameworks was a deeply prejudiced one. If philosophy proceeds from deductivism, i.e a set of axioms are laid out, rules of inference determined, and from these various judgements made, is it possible that inherent within western thought is a kind of racial prejudice? And if so, is it possible to account for it, using some kind of 'personal equation' of the kind invoked by Gauss in his work with astronomy?

Can sentences refer to themselves? Take the "Liar" paradox: (1) This sentence is false. Does "This" really refer to the sentence I've labeled as (1)? Can sentences predicate properties to themselves in this way?

I teach Philosophy of Law to Law students in Brazil, a discipline that lasts no longer than one semester and does not count on the students' previous affinity, and I am always wondering about the best way of investing the short time I have. I'm an enthusiast of the analytical tradition and its way of approaching the problems of the field. May you give me some advices or tips? For example: Which units are better: subjects, problems, schools, authors, theories? Which model is better: cases and problems, or authors and theories? What is more important: learning a little on many subjects (authors, theories etc.) or learning more on one or two subjects (authors, theories etc.)? Is the direct reading of the authors' texts indispensable or is it replaceable by good introductions and commentaries? Should I spend some time with the history of the discipline, or only with the present debates? I know I asked too many questions, I know a lot of the answers depends on my options and preferences, I know that almost...

Is Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" still valuable in any philosophical and non-historical sense to think about knowledge and its conditions of possibility? André C.

Is it emotionally difficult to be a professional philosopher? Sometimes philosophical questions and subject matter seem so disturbing and intense, that it must surely be taxing psychologically. Does non-philosophical subject matter become pale and boring in comparison? Are professional philosophers socially isolated because of boredom with the non-philosophical, concomitant with the disturbing nature of the philosophical (so that it may not be acceptable in non-philosophical company)? Thanks.

I am a freshman in college, and I am studying liberal studies to become an elementary school teacher. Do you think that to be a good elementary school teacher, philosophy is an important subject to study?