The Mind Renewed

27/10/2021

23/04/2021

Many people say it's irrational to believe in conspiracy theories. But is that really true?

We are joined by Dr M R. X. Dentith—Associate Professor in the International Center for Philosophy at Beijing Normal University—for the first instalment of a two-part interview on the subject of Conspiracy Theory Theory. Focusing upon the essential (and approachable) book edited by Dr Dentith entitled "Taking Conspiracy Theories Seriously" (Rowman and Littlefield, 2018), in this first instalment we lay the groundwork for the conversation and then go on to discuss the first section of the volume entitled, "The Particularist Turn in the Philosophy of Conspiracy Theories".

M R. X. Dentith, PhD (Auckland), is the author of The Philosophy of Conspiracy Theories (Palgrave, 2014), the first single-author book-length treatment of the philosophical issues surrounding conspiracy theory, and editor of Taking Conspiracy Theories Seriously (Rowman and Littlefield, 2018), an edited collection of the most recent work on conspiracy theory theory. They have been a Fellow in the Institute for Research in the Humanities (ICUB) at the University of Bucharest and the New Europe College in Bucharest, and they are currently Associate Professor in the International Center for Philosophy at Beijing Normal University. Their current research project focuses on conspiracy theory, conspiracy theory theory, and secrecy.
https://www.themindrenewed.com/interviews/2021/971-int-193

Many people say it's irrational to believe in conspiracy theories. But is that really true? We are joined by Dr M R. X. Dentith—Associate Professor in the International Center for Philosophy at Beijing Normal University—for the first instalment of a two-part interview on the subject of Conspirac...

01/04/2021

For this exclusive interview with TMR, we are joined by Dr Malcam B Splead—Head of Snow Studies in the University of Devizes, UK, for an in-depth conversation on the intriguing subject of The Snowosphere, a hitherto much neglected topic in the field of Snow Studies, but one that is quietly gaining attention in the halls of scientific academia.

Under the right conditions, snow simply "falls" to the ground. Or does it? What if this so-called "falling" should turn out to be merely a feature of human perception? What if, contrary to all expectations, this oh-so-familiar phenomenon should best be explained by counterintuitive interactions between the Earth itself and this strange, neglected entity - The Snowosphere?

As Dr Iain Livermore explains:

"Should a scientific consensus on the matter be finally reached, Snowosphere Theory not only promises to revolutionise the discipline of snowology, it may even come to challenge our ideas about gravity, mass and the role of mathematics in the description of empirical observations." (Iain Livermore, ed., "An Introduction to Snow Studies", OUP (2009))

For this exclusive interview with TMR, we are joined by Dr Malcam B Splead—Head of Snow Studies in the University of Devizes, UK, for an in-depth conversation on the intriguing subject of The Snowosphere, a hitherto much neglected topic in the field of Snow Studies, but one that is quietly gaining...

01/04/2021

In this special "swapcast" between TMR and Film Gold we are joined by our good friends Antony Rotunno (host of the new Film Gold podcast) and Jenifer Thyssen (classical singer) for the 8th in our Movie Roundtable series. This time our subject is the wonderful 1993 "fantasy romcom" (or is it "fantasy comrom"?) Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell, directed by Harold Ramis.

While on location filming the annual celebration of Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, cynical and jaded TV weather presenter Phil Connors (Bill Murray) finds himself inexplicably caught up in a mysterious time loop that forces him to re-live the same day—Grounhog Day (which he loaths)—over and over again for a seeming eternity. The inexorable repetition (which he alone experiences) thrusts him into a succession of psychological states—confusion, denial, nihilistic anger, extreme selfishishness, and finally acceptance—as he is forced to interact with the events and people of that seemingly endless February 2nd. Yet only at the point when he himself has changed inside, such that he gains the true affection of TV producer Rita Hanson (Andie MacDowell), does the time loop cease and his life begin again in a new way.

Join us as we discuss the production, and reflect theologically/psychologically on the film's messages and implications.

In this special "swapcast" between TMR and Film Gold we are joined by our good friends Antony Rotunno (host of the new Film Gold podcast) and Jenifer Thyssen (classical singer) for the 8th in our Movie Roundtable series. This time our subject is the wonderful 1993 "fantasy romcom" (or is it "fantasy...