What's What: Philosophical Writings
Bill Meacham got his college and university degrees in philosophy, and then left that field to make his living as a programmer, software designer, project manager and requirements analyst. But he never quit thinking about the nature of reality and his place in it, the nature of human beings and how it makes sense to live our lives. He writes it all down in a way that is accessible to an interested person who is not trained in philosophy but also rigorous enough that professional philosophers will find merit in it, or at least something worth arguing with.
He would like to hear your ideas and comments. Please email him at .
Philosophy for Real Life, a blog about philosophical concerns and how they affect our lives.
The book How to Be an Excellent Human.
Research Papers for the Book
These papers are the precursor to How To Be an Excellent Human.
The HTML versions are better for viewing on-line. To download a printable copy, right-click (Windows) or ctrl-click (Mac) a PDF link and select "Save Target As" or "Download Linked File". You can use the free Acrobat Reader to open the PDF files.
Introduction
Introduction (html); PDF 36 KB
Part I: Being Human
Posing the Question (html); PDF 20 KB
Facets of Human Nature (html); PDF 375 KB
The First-Person Point of View (html); PDF 97 KB
The Transcendental Self (html); PDF 101 KB
Part II: Supplementary Essays
Human Nature
Do Humans Have Free Will? (html); PDF 103 KB
Ethics
The Good and the Right (html); PDF 85 KB
The Goodness Ethic (html); PDF 53 KB
Metaphysics
Tao Te Ching Ontology (html); PDF 192 KB
Metaphysics, or The Nature of Reality (html); PDF 131 KB
The Quantum Level of Reality (html); PDF 545 KB
Self, Soul and Ego (html); PDF 116 KB
Insight
The Fundamental Insight (html); PDF 100 KB
Spiritual Practice (html); PDF 25 KB
Phenomenology
Consciousness and Experience (html); PDF 130 KB
Phenomenology of the Self (html); PDF 573 KB
Epistemology
Other Articles
How to Derive "Ought" from "Is" (PDF only)
Permaculture Ethics and the Chain of Benefits (html); PDF 65 KB
Consciousness and Human Excellence (html); PDF 72 KB
Talking About the First-Person
How are the Mind and Brain Related?
What is the Nature of Reality?
Works by Other People
These are works Meacham considers important enough to reproduce here.
'Right and Good' from The Dictionary of the History of Ideas
William James: A World of Pure Experience
William James: Does 'Consciousness' Exist
William James: The Will to Believe
William James: What Pragmatism Means
C. S. Peirce: The Fixation of Belief
C. S. Peirce: How to Make Our Ideas Clear
Phone: +1 (512) 291-4300