blunt

Thanks to today’s guest scriptwriter Caspar Melville.


Discussion (27)¬

  1. DapperAnarchist says:

    Epistemology?

  2. designsoda says:

    Epistemology!

  3. jerry w says:

    I studied a bit, therefore I knew this would happen.

  4. If Helen Keller fell over in the forest, would she make a sound? Okay, this is a dumb joke, but it was banned by an American network because it was taken to be insulting to Helen Keller, when in fact it was an epistemology joke. Rare things, those. I think this strip is only the second one I’ve encountered. Great strip, Author.

  5. nina says:

    i guess the problem is that what we think we know doesn’t always fall neatly in the overlap of truth and beleif

    but rather includes some truth and some beleif – and hopefully most of those two overlap

    but not really

  6. EpistemOLOGY.

    E pist em ology.

    E PIST em ology.

    Gimme an e, gimme a p, gimme an i, gimme an s, gimme a t, gimme an e, gimme an m, gimme an o, gimme an l, gimme an o, gimme a g, gimme a y. Whaddya got? EPISTEMOLOGY.

    Boomalacka, boomalacka, boomalacka, boom – GO epistemology!

    AND epistemology heads the ball right past the goalkeeper and the crowd goes wild.

  7. Carol875 says:

    Epistomology: “Don’t believe everything you think.”

  8. Stephen Turner says:

    A patient enters an epistemologist’s consulting room and says “Give it to me straight, Doc, I can take it on the chin. Is the sentence ‘This statement is false’ true?”

  9. Stephen Turner says:

    Ophelia: don’t be so shrill and strident! Is that Episte M. O’Logy who played silly mid-off for Blackburn Rovers in the Davis Cup third place play-off at the Neasden Olympics?

  10. Intelligent Designer says:

    Man: “So, who is right? Jesus or Mo?”
    Jesus: “The holy word of God is manifest through me. I think, therefore, I am right.”
    Mo: “You’re bonkers, you big ape! The holy word of God is manifest through me, peace be upon my name, so I think therefore I am right!”
    Descartes: “Hey! Chill out, dudes! I think, therefore I am. Right?”

  11. For sheer entertainment, look it up in the Catholic Encyclopedia.

  12. jerry w says:

    @Intelligent Designer:
    When Descartes’ father dropped the non-swimming young Rene in the river, the boy was heard to say “I sink, therefore, I swam”.

    This was the origin of an epic misquote that lasted the rest of his life.

  13. Hamilton Jacobi says:

    For sheer entertainment, look it up in the Catholic Encyclopedia.

    Was that article written by an octopus?

  14. Headbhang says:

    Actually, I quite liked the linked article.

  15. James says:

    “How do you know that what you know is really real?”
    “I don’t, but what else do I got?”

    If ya take a step back and really look at it, it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks or believes cuz the world was still spinning back when rocks tied to sticks were making their big break through. Even if we all were to finally agree to the same set of logic based deductions, that would probably be the same year the sun started to turn into a red giant

  16. Daoloth says:

    The linked article neatly captures much of what I find troubling about journalism. Shallow, sensationalist and specious.
    “We are bored with the new atheism”. “It used to sell column inches”.
    That pretty much sums up a number of journos for me, I’ afraid. They peddle sensation, not debate, however they frame it. Scientists need to be very careful how they deal with the media.
    A mate who liased between the MOD and the media once told me that there are only four characters in a journos world- Hero, villain, victim or freak.
    They pigeon-hole hole you into one of those and then proceed from there.
    All too frequently scientists are villains (“meddling, so-called experts”; sometimes freaks (“look what the crazy boffins are up to now”); occasionally heroes (“plucky outsider stands up to scientific establishment”)
    When you no longer fit one of these infantile narratives they get bored.
    Fuck ’em.

  17. Neuseline says:

    Which ology has ‘e pist, M?

  18. Author says:

    There is an interesting Philosophy of Religion discussion about this strip over at Jerry Coyne’s place.

  19. Andrew Hall says:

    I’ve had this conversation with my 8 year old all the time, “How do you know what you know?”

    http://www.laughinginpurgatory.com/2010/09/30-days-of-blasphemy-day-12-every-sperm.html

  20. Didac says:

    So, it’s good to let epistemology behind in order to create alliances between atheists and moderate religionist. Very good indeed! Epistemology assumes that knowledge is possible. To some extent, this is as absurd as Theology (which assumes that god is possible). So, forget epistemology! If you forget epistemology, then ontology can be also let behind. Then, the question of god’s existence is made irrelevant. Without epistemology and ontology, we can go further and reach a Nihilistic stand.

  21. Ketil W.Grevstad says:

    “sprooooing” hehe

  22. Beggar's Belief says:

    Well I for one certainly don’t “*suggest* that those who believe in God are *basically* stupid”…

  23. Kristian says:

    Quoting from the guest scriptwriter Caspar Melville’s article: ” Terry Eagleton says: “Imagine someone holding forth on biology whose only knowledge of the subject is the Book of British Birds and you have a rough idea of what it feels like to read Richard Dawkins on theology.” Put this way, Eagleton seems right.”

    No. It’s difficult not to believe in birds.

    (sorry, I know it’s completely irrelevant to *this* set of comments, I just had to get it out, and sensible chaps have closed the original article for commentary)

  24. Nassar Ben Houdja says:

    Atheists is so cute when they use big words.

  25. Michael Cooper says:

    This is my favorite Jesus and Mo.

  26. Acolyte of Sagan says:

    Andrew Hall says:
    September 26, 2010 at 12:17 am
    I’ve had this conversation with my 8 year old all the time, “How do you know what you know?”

    Don’t leave it at that, Andrew, what does he tell you? 😉

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