Razões metafísicas

<p>Richard Taylor apresenta abordagens interessantes de quatro tópicos importantes da metafísica, entre outros; a saber: o problema da mente-corpo, a relação entre determinismo e liberdade, a natureza do tempo e a existência de Deus. Taylor defende teses com relação a esses tópicos e, ao argumentar a favor delas, mostra-nos também as teorias tradicionais concorrentes. Isso faz desse livro uma ótima introdução argumentativa a alguns dos grandes problemas da metafísica. Exporei a seguir, resumidamente, o que se encontra nessa obra, fazendo-o a partir da tradução brasileira de Álvaro Cabral (Rio de Janeiro: Jorge Zahar, 1969), há muito esgotada.</p>

Soldiers, Scouts and Spies: A Military History of the New Zealand Wars 1845–1864

Military historian Cliff Simons says one of the inspirations for Soldiers, Scouts and Spies was “hearing a well-known Pākehā host on national radio vehemently declare that ‘Māori never lost a battle’” during the New Zealand Wars (21). At its launch, fellow military historian Richard Taylor described the new book as a “watershed publication” that marked a new era in research on the New Zealand Wars, supplanting the allegedly flawed work of James Belich.[i] It is a bold claim to make for a history of the role of military intelligence in some (but not all) of the conflicts fought between 1845 and 1864, especially given the omission of all of the wars fought after that date through until 1872. Simons himself makes some further claims for the work, suggesting that his own background as an officer in the New Zealand Army gives him special insights into the wars not available to other historians and writers from a non-military background. [i] Launch speech for Soldiers, Scouts & Spies, by Lieutenant Colonel Richard Taylor, 15 October 2019, https://www.masseypress.ac.nz/news/2019/october/launch-speech-for-soldiers-scouts-and-spies/

Epiphenomenalism, causation and explanation

Epiphenomenalism is a view that mental events are caused by physical events yet they themselves do not play any causal role in the physical world. This view is worth considering for those philosophers who do not accept physicalism for some reason or another. However, a common objection to this view, which can be found in Richard Taylor?s work, is that it leads to an unacceptable consequence that existing mental events are not important in explaining or understanding our behaviour, given that it predicts that nothing would change even if corresponding mental events had not occurred. In this paper, a response to this objection is provided. It is argued that the objection above at best relies upon the assumption that all explanations have to be causal, which is rather implausible in the context of present debates in the philosophy of science that make room for noncausal explanations. Furthermore, by using an interpretation of the Aristotelian view of the nature of geometrical objects as analogy, a model of how noncausal (and nonphysical) phenomenal consciousness could be explanatorily powerful is provided, which renders epiphenomenalism intelligible.

Pukeko Pictures and the Kiwi DIY Spirit: Building Global Partnerships from the End of the World

Wellington, New Zealand is a major international screen production base for movies including Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. New Zealand production companies like Jackson’s Weta Group producing content for international markets benefit from local policy settings that support such productions. In 2008, a group of long-time Jackson collaborators including Richard Taylor established Pukeko Pictures. In a small country with a deregulated media system, no dedicated public service broadcaster, and minimal supports for children’s television, Pukeko is a successful, globally oriented producer of children’s content. This article examines the strategies that underpin Pukeko Pictures’ production portfolio, which includes the 2015 reboot Thunderbirds Are Go, and a preschool coproduction with China. The combination of dispersed production practices, local subsidies, and quality infrastructure contribute to Pukeko Pictures’ success. We suggest, however, that strategic international relationships managed by Taylor are also critical to Pukeko Pictures developing a significant foothold in transnational television services.