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James Fetzer

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James H. Fetzer
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Template:911tm James Henry Fetzer (born December 6, 1940 in Pasadena, California) is an American philosopher and "Distinguished McKnight University Professor" Emeritus at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Fetzer has published extensively in the philosophy of science and on the theoretical foundations of computer science, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science. Two of his most recent books have focused upon the evolution of intelligence and philosophical aspects of the Christian Right's crusade against science. He is also known for his advocacy of the 9/11 conspiracy and Kennedy assassination theories. He has published three collections of studies on the death of JFK, co-authored another on the plane crash that took the life of Senator Paul Wellstone, and edited the first book from Scholars for 9/11 Truth, an organization he founded. Fetzer makes frequent appearances on radio and television.

Biography

James H. Fetzer was born in Pasadena, California in 1940, and attended South Pasadena High School where he received The Carver Award for leadership. After completing high school, he went on to study philosophy at Princeton University and graduated magna cum laude in 1962. After four years as a commissioned officer in the Marine Corps, he resigned his commission as a Captain to begin graduate work at Indiana University. In 1970 he completed his Ph.D. in the history and philosophy of science.

Fetzer taught at various schools including the University of Kentucky, the University of Virginia (twice) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before he received tenure at the University of Minnesota Duluth, where he taught from 1987 until his retirement in June 2006. At the University of Kentucky, he was selected to receive the first Distinguished Teaching Award from the UK Student Government, which was presented to one of 135 assistant professors.

Works

Fetzer has published more than 100 articles and 20 books on philosophy of science, computer science, artificial intelligence and cognitive science. He also founded the international journal, Minds and Machines, which he edited for eleven years, the professional library, Studies in Cognitive Systems, which includes thirty volumes, and the professional organization, Society for Machines & Mentality. The Society for Machines & Mentality has been accepted as a special interest group (SIG) of the International Association for Computing and Philosophy (IACAP). His bio sketch has appeared in the Directory of American Scholars, Who’s Who in the Midwest, Who’s Who in America, and Who’s Who in the World, among other reference works.

Controversial views

Fetzer holds several views of recent American history. He has written about the John F. Kennedy assassination and has been interviewed on his theories about the September 11, 2001 attacks, by Richard and Kate Mucci, hosts of Out There TV, and radio hosts such as Laura Ingraham, Jerry Springer, Donny Deutch and several hosts on Air America, among others. He has been interviewed on Hannity & Colmes twice and on The O'Reilly Factor as well as other television programs. Some have questioned his apparent endorsement of a military coup to overthrow the Bush administration, members of which he believes have betrayed the country and violated their oaths of office. From the fall of 2006 to November 2008 he co-hosted an internet radio program "The Dynamic Duo" on the Genesis Communications Network gcnlive.com with Kevin Barrett in which they discussed, and interviewed guests on, controversial subjects including 9/11. He co-edits an on-line journal for advanced study of the death of JFK.

Assassination of John F. Kennedy

Fetzer maintains that John F. Kennedy was assassinated as the result of a well-planned and precisely executed conspiracy, which included altering the autopsy X-rays, substituting another brain, and recreating the Zapruder film using sophisticated techniques of optical printing and special effects. He has edited three collections of studies on the assassination, chaired or co-chaired four conferences on the subject, and made numerous talk show appearances on the topic. In June 2007 he published a review and rebuttal of Vincent Bugliosi's massive study of the assassination, Reclaiming History, for Assassination Research, where he refers to Bugliosi's work as "A closed mind perpetrating a fraud on the public." He has lectured on this subject at Harvard, Yale, and Cambridge Universities. In January 2009, in collaboration with Jack White, he published a new study of the Moorman photo and the Zapruder film of the assassination.

September 11, 2001 attacks

Fetzer supports the assertion that elements within the U.S. federal government orchestrated the September 11, 2001 attacks for political and economic gain and that World Trade Center One and Two were destroyed using a novel form of controlled demolition from the top down, while World Trade Center Seven was brought down by a conventional controlled demolition from the bottom. Fetzer also believes the hijackings were staged and that calls from passengers to relatives and operators were faked.

During recent lectures, Fetzer encourages the study of the possibility that high-tech weapons, including ground or space-based directed-energy military weapons, may have been used to bring down the Twin Towers. He has not endorsed any specific hypothesis about the destruction of the WTC, but he has expressed skepticism that conventional explosives, including thermite/thermate, could have brought about such devastating effects.

On June 22 2006, Fetzer was a guest on Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes where he discussed his stance on several 9/11 conspiracy theories. That weekend, he appeared at the 9/11 + The Neo-Con Agenda Symposium in Los Angeles, California. On December 18, 2006, he was the featured guest on a three and 1/2 hour television program devoted to 9/11, which was broadcast live from Athens by satellite worldwide. During June of 2008, he was flown to Buenos Aires to present a series of lectures on 9/11 and JFK. His visit received considerable publicity, including a 20-minute television interview broadcast across South America and articles in the News Service of the Republic of Argentina.

In July 2006, Fetzer discussed Bill O'Reilly's remark that, if Kevin Barrett had been at his alma mater, Boston University, "this guy'd be in the Charles River floating down, you know, toward the harbor", stating, "When public threats can be made to a citizen's life for expressing his opinions on a controversial topic and neither the government nor the media respond, that is a sure sign we are living in a fascist state." Fetzer agreed to appear on O'Reilly's show himself on October 12 2006. Fetzer has detailed his research and theories during the Midwest Social Forum held on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in a joint presentation with Kevin Barrett, also a member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth, which they recently reprised at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Fetzer is founder and co-chair of Scholars for 9/11 Truth, "a non-partisan association of faculty, students, and scholars dedicated to exposing falsehoods and to revealing truths behind 9/11". Differences in attitude and approach toward the science and the politics of 9/11 research led to a split with Steve Jones, whom Fetzer had invited to be his co-chair, in December 2006, almost exactly one year after its creation. Many 9/11 activists support Jones over Fetzer. A recent interview in which Jones was Fetzer's guest, which revealed the depth and breadth of their differences, elicited dozens of negative comments On August 3-5, 2007, he conducted the first conference sponsored by Scholars on "The Science and Politics of 9/11", and produced its first DVD.

Explaining the explanandum

Fetzer has spoken positively of Judy Wood and Morgan Reynolds, who left Scholars due in part to disagreement with the organization, objecting to the unwillingness of the society to consider 'no big boeing' theories (theories arguing that no big boeings hit the World Trade Center and that video evidence of the planes hitting the towers have serious inconsistencies showing them to be "doctored"). Fetzer has been impressed by their efforts to clarify the extent of devastation at the World Trade Center and mentions a wide range of theories, including that a "satellite-mounted military weapon" may have been used to destroy it, as among those that deserve investigation. He has written that "the range of alternative explanations that might possibly explain the explanandum must include non-classic controlled demolition from the top-down using mini-nukes, and . . . non-classic controlled demolition from the top-down using directed energy weapons. . . . The specific weapons used to destroy the WTC could have been ground based or space based." For Fetzer, "Judy appears to have done far more to develop her "proof of concept" than has Steve ". Steven Jones and others claim to have refuted the mini-nuke hypothesis Jones has responded to Reynolds and Wood directly, but they have not viewed his remarks as refutations. Wood and Reynolds both contributed chapters to his latest book and have rejoined Scholars.

Death of Paul Wellstone

Fetzer has co-authored a book in which the authors collect and analyze public information and witness statements, arguing that Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone's death in an airplane crash was not accidental but resulted from a small-scale conspiracy to ensure Republican control of the Senate. He has co-authored a study of the documents on which the NTSB’s report was based with John P. Costella, a Ph.D. in physics with a specialization in electromagnetism, which was published in Michael Ruppert’s “From the Wilderness” newsletter.

Disinformation

In Fetzer's words, “in this day and age, we all have to become experts on disinformation.” According to Fetzer, "disinformation... should be viewed more or less on a par with acts of lying. Indeed, the parallel with lying appears to be fairly precise." Misinformation Fetzer defines as "false, mistaken, or misleading information"; disinformation is misinformation propounded "in an intentional, deliberate, or purposeful effort to mislead, deceive, or confuse." As an author of scholarly articles on the subject, Fetzer describes five levels of disinformation. Ironically, Fetzer has been criticized for using many of these same types of disinformation in his 9/11 research. He has replied to these attacks several times.

Radio Work

Fetzer used to make regular appearances on Black Op Radio , an internet broadcast dedicated to conspiratorial subject matter, primarily the JFK assassination. He still appears on the show occasionally, but less often than before. For a time, Fetzer co-hosted "The Dynamic Duo", a show on the GCN network, along with fellow 9/11 Truther Kevin Barrett. Today, Fetzer solo hosts a show called "The Real Deal" on Revere Radio.

Publications

Philosophy of Science:

  • Principles of Philosophical Reasoning. Rowman & Littlefield. 1984. p. 292 p. ISBN 0-8476-7341-3. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Definitions and Definability: Philosophical Perspectives. 1991. ASIN B000IBICGK.
  • Philosophy of Science (Paragon Issues in Philosophy). Paragon. 1992. p. 197 p. ISBN 1-55778-481-7. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Foundations of Philosophy of Science: Recent Developments (Paragon Issues in Philosophy). Paragon. 1993. p. 512 p. ISBN 1-55778-480-9. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Glossary of Cognitive Science (A Paragon House Glossary for Research, Reading, and Writing). Paragon. 1993. p. 288 p. ISBN 1-55778-567-8. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Philosophy and Cognitive Science (Paragon Issues in Philosophy). Paragon. 1997. p. 191 p. ISBN 1-55778-739-5. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Minds and Machines: Journal for Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy, and Cognitive Science, Vol. 7, No. 4. Kluwer. 1997. ASIN B000KEV460. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Science, Explanation, and Rationality: The Philosophy of Carl G. Hempel. Oxford. 2000. p. 384 p. ISBN 0-19-512137-6. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Artificial Intelligence: Its Scope and Limits. Springer. 2001. p. 364 p. ISBN 0-7923-0548-5. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Consciousness Evolving (Advances in Consciousness Research). John Benjamins. 2002. p. 251 p. ISBN 1-58811-108-3. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • The Evolution of Intelligence: Are Humans the Only Animals With Minds?. Open Court. 2005. p. 272 p. ISBN 0-8126-9459-7.

Conspiracy Research:

  • Assassination Science: Experts Speak Out on the Death of JFK. Open Court. 1997. p. 480 p. ISBN 0-8126-9366-3. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Murder in Dealey Plaza: What We Know Now that We Didn't Know Then. Open Court. 2000. p. 496 p. ISBN 0-8126-9422-8. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • The Great Zapruder Film Hoax: Deceit and Deception in the Death of JFK. Catfeet Press. 2003. p. 480 p. ISBN 0-8126-9547-X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • American Assassination: The Strange Death Of Senator Paul Wellstone. Vox Pop. 2004. p. 188 p. ISBN 0-9752763-0-1. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

References

  1. ^ Lederer, Sarah (April 2007). "James Fetzer's Home Page". Duluth: University of Minnesota. Retrieved 2009-02-02. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  2. Pope, Justin (2006-08-06). "9/11 Conspiracy Thriving". ABC News > U.S. ABCNews Internet Ventures. Retrieved 2006-08-21.
  3. ^ John Gravois, "Professors of Paranoia?: Academics give a scholarly stamp to 9/11 conspiracy theories", The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 23, 2006.
  5. Gatehouse, Jonathon (2006, May 16). "Hijacking the truth on 9/11". Macleans. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. http://assassinationresearch.com
  7. Cite error: The named reference autogenerated1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. Online version of the review/rebuttal
  9. http://h05.cgpublisher.com/proposals/488/index_html
  10. http://www.jfkresearch.com/Moorman/
  11. London Daily Mail: Fury as academics claim 9/11 was 'inside job'
  13. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08va1i6LYPc
  14. American Scholars Symposium
  17. [http://www.telam.com.ar/vernota.php?tipo=N&dis=1&sec=1&idPub=109367&id=235361&idnota=235361
  18. Jim Kouri, "Activist Kevin Barrett Claims Bill O'Reilly Threatened Him", National Ledger, July 23 2006.
  19. Megan Twohey, "Lecturer denounces critics of his 9-11 teachings: 'Inside job' theory draws calls for firing, UW probe", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 9, 2006.
  20. Scholars for 9/11 Truth - Who Are We
  21. .
  22. http://www.avatarproducts.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=AP-SP911&Category_Code=BMV
  23. http://www.nomoregames.net/index.php?page=911&subpage1=trouble_with_jones#NBB
  24. http://www.scholarsfor911truth.org/OpenLetterToJones.html
  25. http://www.scholarsfor911truth.org/OpenLetterToJones.html
  26. Testing the Hypothesis that Mini-Nukes Were Used on the WTC Towers
  27. Theories that Nuclear Weapons Destroyed the Twin Towers
  28. Jones: Reply to Reynolds & Wood
  29. Dameron, Eva (2005, October 31). "Author makes case for murder". Daily Lobo (University of New Mexico). {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ Jim Fetzer, "Disinformation, the Use of False Information, Minds and Machines, 14: 231–240, 2004."
  32. ^ Arabesque, "9/11 Disinformation and Misinformation: Definitions and Examples"
  33. Jim Fetzer, Information: Does It Have To Be True? Minds and Machines, 14, pp. 223–229."
  34. Jim Fetzer, Signs of Disinformation."
  35. Jim Hoffman, "ScholarsFor911Truth.org: Muddling the Evidence"
  36. Victoria Ashley, "Discrediting By Association: Undermining the Case for Patriots Who Question 9/11"
  37. "The Company You are Keeping: Comments on Hoffman and Green
by"
  38. What's the matter with Jim Hoffman? Abusing logic and language to attack Scholars for 9/11 Truth
  39. http://www.blackopradio.com
  40. http://www.revereradionetwork.com

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