All Questions
22,435
questions
3
votes
2
answers
22
views
What is the need to become an achiever in life?
What is the need to do anything beyond plainly living, consuming food and water, and occupying some space?
Is it necessary for someone with the capability to use their intellectual or material skills ...
- 41
-1
votes
2
answers
34
views
At what point should we suspect unfair game?
In probability theory, there are two primary approaches to interpreting events: the frequentist perspective and the Bayesian perspective.
From a frequentist standpoint, each spin of a fair roulette ...
- 2,038
1
vote
2
answers
43
views
Questions Regarding Rational Egoism
I was reading this article and I have many questions :
https://iep.utm.edu/egoism/
What does Rand mean by the concept of "selfless selfishness"?
What exactly does rational mean in rational ...
- 319
4
votes
0
answers
22
views
Is non-cognitivism self-undermining?
Not quite self-defeat, though: by argument:
The version of non-cognitivism we're addressing: generic or "naive," such as in translating, "X is good," into, "Hooray for X!&...
- 16.7k
4
votes
1
answer
49
views
Why is modal logic not focused more on strict implication?
Modal logic is designed to capture various notions, such as necessity, time, provability, etc. These notions are captured via a box operator or sometimes the letter L.
For example, in systems capable ...
- 1,554
0
votes
2
answers
36
views
deductive reasoning and first principle
In continuation of Are the concepts of reductionism and first principles the same? my next question is what is the relationship between first principle thinking and deductive reasoning ?
- 1,567
0
votes
0
answers
29
views
Are there logical facts absolutely necessary in modal logic across possible and impossible worlds?
If we consider weird universes or ones in which impossibilia exist alon others. Are there any logical things or laws of thought which have to exist across all types of wild conceptions?
Roujd squares ...
1
vote
0
answers
17
views
Spinoza's Ethics. He didn't explain why substance has infinite attributes
My point of reference is up to Proposition 11:
God is defined as a substance of infinite attributes, yet in Ethics, Spinoza didn't prove that substance necessarily has infinite substances. He proved ...
- 11
1
vote
1
answer
177
views
Benjamin Libet Free Will Experiment
I'm unable to understand this GIF of Benjamin Libet's free will experiment.
Please look at the bottom left of the diagram and you'll see the numbers 1 followed by 2 and then by 3.
What I think is ...
- 4,361
4
votes
7
answers
566
views
How to save oneself from this particular angst?
This question relates to the angst depicted in the movie Annie Hall, when the younger version of Woody Allen's character feels demotivated about life when he realizes that the universe is expanding.
...
6
votes
3
answers
151
views
Relation between Unity of Apperception and judgements in Kant
Insofar, what I've got is that for anything to be (in my perception as a subject), it needs to be synthesized into a set that belongs specifically to me, i.e., anything that appears to me should be ...
- 61
6
votes
5
answers
598
views
Is it fair to say truth is used more in logic than in math? If so, what are the reasons for doing so?
Right out of the gate in logic we see sentences (propositions) like "all men are mortal" and we say both that it is a true proposition (e.g. independent of being a premise) and that in a ...
- 2,942
1
vote
0
answers
30
views
Carl Polanyi's fictitious commodities
I really don't understand his concept of fictitious commodities. For example housing. Why is housing, according to Polanyi, a fictitious commodity? Why is it bad to have a housing market according to ...
- 163
0
votes
0
answers
43
views
How many academic research papers were devoted to the study of Aristotle's intellectual inheritance? [closed]
"The vast range of Aristotle’s contributions to various fields of knowledge, from philosophy and science to arts and politics, makes him a fascinating subject for academic research. "
100 ...
-6
votes
0
answers
41
views
I think Im onto something with this contradiction [closed]
Overcoming the contradiction
‘’Nothing is impossible’’ – Bible 1 37
The contradiction is perfectly exemplified by the liar paradox: ‘’This sentence is false’’. We find the opening of a domain, marked ...
1
vote
0
answers
36
views
What is the meaning of this Zaman Ali quote? [closed]
“Creating individuality, which creates and protects others' individualities is good.”
― Zaman Ali
- 11
2
votes
0
answers
37
views
The study of intelligence is an interdisciplinary field of study. What other academic fields, beyond philosophy, theorize/explore intelligence? [closed]
I have embarked on a project developing a unified theory of intelligence, based on the thesis that there is one essential form of intelligence - biological human intelligence (leaving aside the idea ...
- 21
5
votes
4
answers
116
views
How do analytic philosophers ground analytic philosophy?
Analytic philosophy tends to not be concerned with meta questions and resolves a distinction between analytic truths and synthetic truths, favouring an analysis on the analytic aspect, usually in ...
- 220
3
votes
10
answers
2k
views
Does the universe include everything, or merely everything that exists?
Does the universe include literally everything? Or merely everything that exists? I am asking this because I think that, to give an example, unicorns are not part of the universe, because they don't ...
- 7,696
0
votes
0
answers
19
views
In The Leibnizian Cosmological Argument, is it allowed for necessary being to have alternatives(like different versions of that category)?
In the Argument of Contingency and Leibnizian Cosmological Argument, it is said that if something could have been diffferent then that thing can not be necessary. My question is can a simultaneosly ...
- 13
5
votes
1
answer
307
views
Implementing stoicism in daily life
In the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius there is a quote:
"Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and ...
- 51
3
votes
0
answers
27
views
Aristotle definition of irony
Several internet sources quote Aristotle describing irony as “dissembling toward the inner core of truth.” I wonder if this is an elegantly worded butchery of Nicomachean Ethics 1108a20. But it ...
- 1,270
5
votes
1
answer
162
views
How to distinguish philosophical works from self-help books?
I imagine that the terms philosophical work and self-help book elicit different responses in most people, but there seems to be some overlap. For instance, the works of Epicurus are all about actively ...
- 197
1
vote
1
answer
70
views
Normative ethics from a non-realist
I'm having some trouble understanding exactly what position a non-realist takes when they present a normative ethical theory.
Definition: Normative ethics is the study of ethical behaviour and is the ...
- 153
2
votes
2
answers
171
views
How to Study Aristotles Ethics
I know that there have been several posts on where to start reading Aristotle, but I think this one would be a little different approach than usual so I think I should ask.
My aim to study Aristotle ...
- 29
6
votes
4
answers
337
views
Can every kind of object perform actions?
I am researching about actions and if things that aren't animals can perform them. Does anyone know whether the class of actions includes things done by inanimate objects like clocks and machines?
I ...
- 1,113
0
votes
0
answers
64
views
Resources on the Creation of Economic Value [closed]
I'm searching for comprehensive treatises on how the various philosophical traditions see the creation of economic value.
The Wikipedia page linked in the comments isn't as exhaustive as I'd like, e.g....
- 41
2
votes
1
answer
298
views
Infinite regresses and AI: are they compatible?
I haven't been thinking about this very long, but when I encounter an infinite regress, I recognize it as a problem and then look for ways around that (avoid, make it virtuous, I don't know). I may ...
- 1,671
4
votes
0
answers
43
views
Does direct realism rely on colour realism?
It seems to me that, to avoid the idea that the 'colouring' of the data one receives is in the mental representation of it, one would have to say that colours exist in the real world, so the data is ...
- 1,138
4
votes
0
answers
45
views
Does second order integrity matter?
I was googling/thinking about 'integrity', and wondered if, similar to second order desires, when one desires that one desires certain goods, and second order virtue, abstract concepts of e.g. ...
- 1,671
7
votes
8
answers
1k
views
Can loops/cycles (in a temporal sense) exist without beginnings?
I know this might seem like a question that might belong in a Computer Science forum but I wanted a more philosophical explanation and example.
When programming, I sometimes write poor implementations ...
- 1,539
2
votes
0
answers
53
views
Have there been computer searches for Quine's permutations?
In "Word and Object", Quine describes what are effectively automorphisms of languages:
"The infinite totality of sentences of any given speaker's language can be so permuted, or mapped ...
- 171
3
votes
0
answers
47
views
Relations without Relata?
Ladyman’s ontic structural realism posits to the world is comprised of relations without relata. Can somebody please explain what this means conceptually? What are the reasons someone would have for ...
- 384
5
votes
5
answers
829
views
Are there any philosophers who clearly define the word "consciousness" in their arguments?
My view of consciousness lies somewhere in the illusionist camp, i.e. more or less with the likes of Daniel Dennett. However, while reading through the literature, I am frustrated by the fact that it ...
5
votes
2
answers
350
views
If someone doesn't believe in "the" theory of category mistakes
There are actually a bunch of these theories (per the SEP entry).1 But so suppose that one believed in no "ontological categories" at all. Or suppose someone were a skeptic about ontological ...
- 16.7k
3
votes
2
answers
100
views
Objection to indirect proof in Intuitionism
From my understanding, Brouwer's conception of intuitionism is that mathematical objects only exist in the mind once they have been constructed. And we can create constructions using computable ...
- 237
2
votes
8
answers
420
views
Is Philosophy decaying into an antiquated subject? [closed]
Is Philosophy decaying into an antiquated Subject in 21st Century whereas lots of questions could be answered within modern Science?
Yes or No? Explain Why for your answer.
I have longed for asking ...
- 147
1
vote
0
answers
59
views
Is freedom of the mind incompatible with freedom of the body?
Before gravity was known, people could imagine having a super power to fly in the sky, which is a kind of freedom of thought, our minds do not have to be bound by knowledge.
But the real realization ...
- 165
1
vote
3
answers
110
views
Which WILL is right or most important?
Will to Power (Nietzsche):
Proposed by Friedrich Nietzsche, this concept suggests that the primary driving force in humans is the will to power, which goes beyond mere survival or pleasure. It ...
- 1,567
1
vote
2
answers
77
views
Aristotle and "Every X is every Y" falsity
I am currently reading "On Interpretation" by Aristotle, and in the section 7 there is the following statement:
If, however, both predicate and subject are distributed, the proposition thus ...
- 119
1
vote
1
answer
43
views
In a very specific sense, what are the precise reasons why someone would not be able to verify whether or not their judgment is delusional?
I'm thinking of how people with dementia may not be aware that they have dementia, for example.
I'm also thinking about psychiatric syndromes associated with delusionality.
It seems like someone who ...
- 2,431
3
votes
2
answers
143
views
Why does the Curry paradox require a separate solution in dialetheism?
On the Dialetheism entry on SEP, it is stated that, although dialetheism can offer a solution to the Liar Paradox (by accepting the Liar sentence as a true dialetheia), dialetheists need a separate ...
- 139
3
votes
2
answers
326
views
Most Widely Held Theories of How "Moral Sense" Arises in a Culture [duplicate]
I am the kind of person who is slow to really "get" some of my fellow citizens moral sense (often codified in rules of thumb in proverbial sayings). I almost prefer the hard way of a ...
- 39
2
votes
3
answers
117
views
Does set-theoretic pluralism, about axiom systems, inevitably become an invitation to non-axiomatic systems of set theory?
Per Hamkins[[11][12]] (see also his [22]), if no individual axiom is too sacred to be denied in some possible world,Q and so if no collection of such axioms is so sacred either, yet then:
The ...
- 16.7k
1
vote
8
answers
227
views
Would an identical copy of me have the same thoughts as me?
Scenario:
You are placed within a sensory deprivation tank.
Unbeknownst to you, a perfectly identical copy of your current self has been placed in an identical tank, there are no differences in ...
- 39
1
vote
2
answers
906
views
"He who is destined to be hanged will not drown." Can we treat folk wisdom as philosophy? [closed]
It is not about religion, it is definitely not science. But folk wisdom often carries some truth confirmed by experience of generations.
Can it be part of philosophical understanding?
3
votes
1
answer
242
views
Can natural decreasing temperatures in the world create energy to power it? [closed]
When the compound water experiences a drop in ambient temperature it freezes and becomes a solid.
When water freezes it expands.
Can you harness the energy in this expansion to produce energy such as ...
- 961
-1
votes
2
answers
102
views
Would a sentient program have an afterlife when it has been deleted? [closed]
With the premise that what we experience is a base reality.
If we created a simulation inhabited with sentient programs.
Would we be responsible for that programs experience after it was deleted?
Or ...
- 961
0
votes
0
answers
21
views
Does higher order vagueness offers challenges to continuous accounts of changes to vague predicates?
A random quote follows:
looks like the degree theory has
accommodated only one part of the intuitive story about the vague predicates, namely the
intuition that they are first-order vague, but has ...
- 1,671
0
votes
0
answers
23
views
relation of metaphor, analogy, with categorification/classification
Continuing relation of metaphor, analogy, with symmetry my third question is what is the relation between metaphor/analogy with categorification/classification .Please provide examples
- 1,567