Blogs van Jan Bransen

• Language, humankind and expertise 01/05/2017

  I place significant emphasis on the way human beings rely upon language. We are talking animals, I argue. We live by and in language. We do what we do under certain descriptions. We articulate our reasons for what we do and ask others for their explanations and justifications. This all comes very naturally in the … Continue reading “Language, humankind and expertise”

• Common sense and intuition 30/04/2017

  Common sense is an attitude towards our environment that can be summarized by the slogan: Automatic pilot if possible and investigative attitude if necessary. This slogan nicely captures the fact that there is no need to acquire common sense. Everybody always already possesses it. Yet, we can always continue to improve and edify our common … Continue reading “Common sense and intuition”

• The main argument of Don’t be fooled 29/04/2017

  I argue in the book that common sense is of crucial importance to live our lifes as human beings. This, I claim, is an urgent reminder for those impressed by the contemporary abundance of scientific expertise. The argument begins with the recognition that experts and laypeople are actually in deadlock because both force the other … Continue reading “The main argument of Don’t be fooled”

• Don’t be fooled 20/04/2017

  Here is the blurb of Dont’ be fooled, the translation of my Laat je niets wijsmaken, to appear next week by Routledge. Fulco Teunissen and Kate Kirwin of Twelvetrees Translations did a wonderful job. In the debate leading up to the EU referendum in the United Kingdom, the British politician Michael Gove declared that “people … Continue reading “Don’t be fooled”