All Questions
3
votes
1answer
58 views
What forms of democracy allocate variable numbers of votes to their citizens?
Some are pointing out that democracy with equal vote is not optimal and they propose that people should have variable numbers of votes based on their education, usefulness or other social factors.
...
2
votes
3answers
112 views
What does this quote from Albert Camus means?
As title suggests, can someone explain the following quote specially the last part about everything becoming a question of style.
“To be born to create, to love, to win at games is to be born to ...
-2
votes
1answer
57 views
What can and cannot be used as an argument? [closed]
What is accepted as an argument in logic or philosophy and what you cannot use as an argument? If possible, please provide also the basic meaning of argument or different types of argumentation in ...
1
vote
1answer
60 views
What is the best way to learn logical fallacies? [closed]
I want to learn logic better, I know a few fallacies but I've read no books mostly just stuff on the Internet. I see them everywhere, but sometimes I don't know what the fallacy is called. I am a ...
2
votes
1answer
51 views
What is the origin of the concept of “axis mundi”, and how has it influenced Western philosophy?
Historically, many civilizations have contained in their culture, in one way or another, the concept of the "axis mundi" or world axis. Examples of this include Yggdrasil from Norse culture and Mount ...
3
votes
1answer
65 views
What is the symbol (c with a line through it)?
Can someone please advise as to the meaning of the symbol here?
Please note that this is a symbol utilized in logic or possible calculations utilizing triangles (though still logical).
Its not the ...
-3
votes
0answers
83 views
Is Agrippa's Trilemma about inadequacy of the logic solved yet? [closed]
I was reading about philosophical branches: What are the most important branches of philosophy? if they would give some hints, but then I had to make a small research on Google and I found something, ...
3
votes
1answer
75 views
What is Hofstadter's ontology for symbols?
I really liked GEB a few years ago, and have been following up with "I am a Strange Loop" recently. In the book, Douglas Hofstadter tries to better explain his concept of symbols and in particular the ...
4
votes
0answers
50 views
What's the relationship between epistemology and ontology in different traditions?
I'm asking as a relative novice, but have come across the debate in the field of information architecture and classification (and technology studies too). In this field, Aristotle is often quoted as ...
-2
votes
0answers
38 views
What are purpose of dreams [closed]
We all dreams at some point of time
Some dream at night
some are day dreamers
I would like to know what is its purpose
Does it link with our life
in any way ?
If yes, what's its purpose
4
votes
2answers
62 views
What does “activity without action” mean?
In 1804, poet Robert Southey said of Coleridge:
His mind is in a perpetual St. Vitus dance—eternal activity without
action.
In The Inconvenience of Being Born, the Romanian philosopher Emil ...
-1
votes
1answer
75 views
Post-structuralist view of physics? [closed]
What is the post-structuralist approach to natural sciences, especially physics?
Maybe post stucturalism is a bit too scattered to ask for a specific clear position, but what are the common ideas of ...
3
votes
2answers
83 views
Can an extensionless atom be also round?
In Nyaya-Vaisesika atomic theory atoms are both considered to be both without magnitude and round. How is this possible? For anything to be round, it must have at least a non-zero radius which ...
-1
votes
1answer
41 views
Is it possible to use intuitionistic logic in some everyday situations?
Intuitionistic logic is the same as the usual boolean one apart from excluding the excluded middle, that is not(p) and p is not neccessarily true, so that boolean logic is a specialisation of the ...
9
votes
1answer
60 views
A question regarding Naive Set Theory and Cantor's definition of set as communicated in a letter to Dedekind
Consider the following definition of set given by Cantor in a letter to Dedekind:
If on the other hand the totality of the elements of a multiplicity can be thought of without contradiction as ...
0
votes
0answers
56 views
Were there any efforts made by early physicists to discover and explain how composite bodies fall? [migrated]
At the dawn of the modern era, Galileo discovered and described how composite bodies fall through the air (or at least the discovery is usually attributed to him).
I'm interested in whether this had ...
-2
votes
0answers
46 views
Whats the name of this argument of requiring a “belief” in science? [closed]
I have encountered this argument, an argument that I view as flawed.
It goes something like this:
"You've never seen you're brain, therefore you have no evidence for it. Dont you see that science ...
3
votes
1answer
44 views
Do knowing quantities, which are measurable imply that one knows numbers?
Does a kid, which learns the meaning of the term "distance" (or any other expressions which might be thought of as physical quantities) automatically also develope a concept of numbers?
If I know ...
3
votes
3answers
86 views
Do Godel's incompleteness theorems support the idea that the examination of a 'system' should only be undertaken to arrive at the inconsistency?
Roughly, Gödel demonstrated that in a logical system, that contains a model or arithmetic, there are statements which may be true, but are unprovable within the system.
If a statement is not ...
2
votes
4answers
135 views
Does the notion of an all-powerful God conflict with the idea of free will?
In Abrahamic religions, God is often believed to be wholly omnipotent. People also seem to believe that humans have "free will", esp. insofar that they feel they are in control of their own actions. ...
5
votes
0answers
45 views
What gives the Categorical Imperative moral weight?
After reading The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, I'm still unsure why human beings have a duty to obey the Categorical Imperative. I understand Kant's argument why a rational will ...
0
votes
3answers
98 views
Am I still the same person as I was yesterday?
Since every living being has a metabolism, we all live in non-equilibrium state. We keep on exchanging molecules and atoms with our environment. I assume that our brain is affected by this as well as ...
1
vote
3answers
184 views
What are the characteristics of consciousness which seem to pervade all sentient creatures? [closed]
There seems to be a great disparity when it comes to the definition of Consciousness in the western and eastern schools.
Now, in India, according to Advaita Vedanta(non-dualistic school of ...
-3
votes
0answers
44 views
Should a state criminilize not providing reasonable aid to someone in distress? [closed]
I know there are many situations, instances, and circumstances that may branch out of this question, but if all things equal as by Cetris Paribus, should it be illegal to deny reasonable aid to ...
-2
votes
1answer
98 views
Collapse of Wave Function of Physical Theories [closed]
The collapse of the wave function in quantum mechanics, describes the fact that the state of a quantum system, that was in a superposition of several basis states before a measurement, reduces to only ...
2
votes
2answers
63 views
Clarification of this stoic quote by Marcus Aurelius in Meditations, “Art thou angry with him whose armpits stink?”
Consider this quote by Marcus Aurelius:
Art thou angry with him whose armpits
stink ? art thou angry with him whose mouth
smells foul ? What good will this anger do
thee ? He has such a ...
6
votes
0answers
52 views
David Lewis' conception of properties as classes
David Lewis' conception of abundant properties which he identifies with sets/classes ("no matter how oddly defined") is not quite clear to me. Since according to this position there cannot be - in no ...
3
votes
1answer
56 views
What were Descartes's justifications for the human ability to doubt, and why did he think it was so important?
In his Meditations on First Philosophy, Rene Descartes resolved to systematically doubt that any of his beliefs were true. This was done in order to build a system of belief that would consist of only ...
3
votes
1answer
92 views
What is morally wrong about altering someones behavior using conditioning techniques suggested by psychologists such as Skinner?
I am reading the novel "A Clockwork Orange" if you are familiar with it. The priest is very angry at the behavior altering technique being used on criminals to make them "good" and feels as though it ...
7
votes
1answer
135 views
Is it possible to be truly selfless or altruistic?
Is it possible for people to actually be selfless? It seems that in many cases where someone is being kind, they are actually performing in a manner that will benefit them. Either the recipient of the ...
-2
votes
0answers
27 views
Recommended readings for Love without attachment [closed]
Are there any essays or articles that expound the concept of 'love and devotion without attachment'? Or 'intimacy without attachment'? I am very clueless on this topic :)
-3
votes
0answers
45 views
Taken from 'The Atlantic Magazine - 4/23/2012' Have the physical sciences ended philosophical investigation or usefulness? [closed]
Original article for basis of question
Where does philosophy fit in the modern world and what role does it play in advancing or improving human life? Does philosophy play a role other than ...
6
votes
1answer
102 views
Did Nietzsche read Kierkegaard?
Kierkegaard and Nietzsche are often treated together as early existentialists. This is rather odd, as Kierkegaard was self-consciously seeking to be an orthodox Christian, and Nietzsche was ...
3
votes
2answers
96 views
Who was the philosopher with the thought experiment about the king who dreamt he was a pauper?
The story went, a king dreamt he was a pauper every night, and a pauper dreamt he was a king every night. The philosopher asked whether there was a difference between the two.
2
votes
3answers
176 views
Does human evolution have a direction or purpose, and if so, does it have an end state?
Evolution seems to be commonly associated with genetic change which leads to the improved reproductive success of a species. This concept has itself evolved with the work of Richard Dawkins and ...
3
votes
2answers
95 views
What does this quotation suggest about Gurus in religion?
I was reading this article on the concept of "Gurus" in various religions, and the following quotation regarding Sikhism caught my attention:
On the importance of guru, Nanak says: "Let no man in ...
4
votes
1answer
70 views
Individualism and action in ancient Greek philosophy
When people speak about disrupting action, an action that often goes against the commonly accepted moral laws, the pople that comes to my mind are Nietzsche, D'Annunzio, Marinetti and the Italian ...
-5
votes
4answers
155 views
Can the existence of God be proved from mathematics? [closed]
This question of highest importance for everybody could not be answered in MO and will not be answered in Mathematics.SE. I can understand why the set-theorists there dive and attack it like vultures. ...
-3
votes
1answer
77 views
Make money and give it away [closed]
If a man makes a lot of money supporting a business that pollutes the environment, and then spends the money supporting environmentally focused charities, is he good or evil? What does philosophy say ...
5
votes
1answer
64 views
How are “conservation” and “happiness” the same thing for Kant?
Why does Kant equate "conservation" with "happiness" near the start of "Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals"?
These seem like very different things (especially looking through an ...
7
votes
1answer
99 views
Who was to first to apply the reductionist hypothesis to science?
I don't have much background in philosophy, but I recently read an interesting paper about "emergence" (Anderson, 1972). In that paper, Anderson relates to the "reductionist" hypothesis.
When and by ...
5
votes
1answer
113 views
What is Nietzsche saying about Physics in Beyond Good and Evil?
There is some confusion in my philosophy class about Nietzsche's statements on physics in section 14 of Beyond Good and Evil. The specific portion in question is below, although as with all of ...
-1
votes
0answers
58 views
Why Anti-Reductionism? [closed]
Why is physicalist anti-reductionism the orthodox view today? It is specifically the anti-reductionist part that I'm curious about. Is it due to multiple realizability? If so, how/why does that imply ...
4
votes
3answers
118 views
Does Cox's theorem implicitly assumes the three classic laws of thought?
I read about Cox's theorem a long time ago in "Jaynes Probability Theory: The Logic of Science". It was used to justify the so-called "logical" interpretation of probability. My impression was that ...
1
vote
1answer
99 views
“matra” vs “maya”, à la Bohm
There is a passage that I could not possibly regard as anything other than intriguing in David Bohm's "Wholeness and the Implicate Order", and I would like to share it with the esteemed readers of ...
1
vote
6answers
238 views
Fundamental differences between humans and other animals? [closed]
From a scientific (not religious) standpoint, what are (if any) the fundamental differences between humans and other animals?
EDIT
In my opinion, there is no fundamental difference between humans ...
4
votes
0answers
67 views
References on beneficent obligations
I'm interested in sources discussing the obligations we have to be "beneficent", e.g. through charitable donations. Famine, Affluence and Morality is one of the more famous articles of this type. SEP ...
0
votes
2answers
112 views
Would a concious computer naturally hold a solopsistic philosophy? [closed]
We're biologically incapable of ignoring our senses. I want to clarify what I mean by this, because as posters have suggested we actually can do so, for example by blinding or gouging our eyes. I'm ...
5
votes
0answers
73 views
How do Neoplatonic interpretations differ from original Platonic ideas?
The Wikipedia entry on Neoplatonism says:
Neoplatonists would have considered themselves simply Platonists, and
the modern distinction is due to the perception that their philosophy
contained ...
0
votes
1answer
164 views
Is the concept of “buying” and “selling” prior to bad conscience? [closed]
While attentively reading The Geneology of Morals over the past few days, I searched in vain for something resembling a reasoned philosophical argument. By a reasoned argument I mean one of the ...
