I write about the big picture: what the world is like, what matters, and what we should do.
At the centre of the project is the question of what to do. I explore this by treating morality as part of practical thinking, and by developing a form of utilitarianism centred on conscious experience, within a naturalistic view of the world.
If you are new to the site, these essays introduce the main lines of thought:
The Architecture of Utilitarianism
Philosophy and the Big Picture
These move from questions of practical reason and morality, through value and consciousness, to a naturalistic outlook and a comprehensive worldview.
Consciousness is central to our worldview, yet our instinctive ways of thinking about it are often misleading. Science helps us replace the inner theatre, soul, and sovereign will with a more naturalistic view of consciousness as a limited, evolved subsystem of the brain.
See About for my biography and Blog for my most recent posts. The Blog has a mixture of my own writings and my notes on some favourite books.
There are separate pages with summaries of some of my Ideas – on Practical Reason, Utilitarianism and Effective Altruism.
There are further pages with lists of My Writing, lists of my Book Notes, lists of my favourite Podcasts and with assorted useful Links.
My aim with the website is to set out my ideas and to share books and resources that I recommend.