All Questions
21,623
questions
2
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3
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418
views
What are some strong arguments that argue that apriori knowledge doesn't exist?
It seems all or almost every philosopher who addressed the question seem to think that apriori knowledge exist, but I couldn't hear a single good argument that seeks to prove that apriori knowledge ...
0
votes
0
answers
232
views
The Byzantine intellectual tradition....an underreported History?
There are of course volumes and volumes of questions on Ancient Greek Philosophy and Philosophers; this is to be expected since Ancient Greece was and is still largely viewed as the Fountainhead of ...
0
votes
1
answer
199
views
What would be virtue ethics' response to the stranger drowning problem?
I just finished reading Strangers Drowning by Larissa MacFarquhar. It is a collection of profiles for people who go to extreme length to help strangers. The title comes from Peter Singer's famous ...
1
vote
4
answers
107
views
Is "sometimes necessary" valid in necessity and sufficiency
I recently learned about this concept and in discussing with a peer, I was wondering, is it ever right to say "x is sometimes necessary but not sufficient for y to be the case". In my mind I ...
0
votes
1
answer
132
views
Mistake in Kenny's New History of Western Philosophy
I have been reading the chapter on logic in Ancient philosophy and I think I have noticed a mistake. On page 96, Kenny introduces Aristotle's syllogism with:
Every Greek is human, Every human is ...
1
vote
2
answers
324
views
Metaphysics beyond quantum physics
Is there a metaphysics that seeks to explain what might exist beyond quantum physics? Beyond what we can know about quantum physics? What are the laws of reality beyond those we were able to find ...
-1
votes
1
answer
126
views
What ethical philosophy can decide between me eating or not?
If I'm with a number of people and therr is too small supply for everyone but just enough for one, should I choose for all eating a bit but dying shortly after, one eating it all and dying later with ...
2
votes
3
answers
165
views
Will a person without memory be able to experience time?
Imagine a person who can't remember anything. Idon't think this is possible in reality but let's assume he misses the part of remembring that can be temporally related to other experiences. He will ...
1
vote
1
answer
180
views
Is Tarski's theory of truth widely accepted
Tarski's truth theorem asserts that a truth definition for a (reasonably strong) theory cannot be formalized within that theory.
It seems that Tarski's theory of truth has met with a lot of criticism. ...
-1
votes
1
answer
172
views
Can time slow down when you are traveling to or exploring a historic destination? [closed]
There is an old saying, "Time waits for no one".
While the phrase is rather elementary sounding, its meaning is actually quite profound. The phrase is essentially saying that the presence of ...
3
votes
1
answer
80
views
What part of a universal propositions is the antecedent?
The wiki article on vacuous truth says:
a vacuous truth is a conditional or universal statement that is only true because the antecedent cannot be satisfied.
I'm familiar with identifying the ...
0
votes
1
answer
124
views
Can Mathematics be a tool to analyse immaterial existences
Doubt: Can we say that Mathematical thoughts (arguments) can be independent of physical (Time-space continuum or material) world since it is an abstract science. In other words can Mathematics be a ...
-1
votes
1
answer
158
views
i don't understand modus ponens
I'm learning about modus ponens in propositional logic but it doesn't makes sense to me
I can think of an examples where a true premises leads to a false
conclusion:
p -> q
p
Therefore q
If the kid ...
1
vote
6
answers
1k
views
Can time be understood conceptually without experiencing it?
Can time be understood conceptually without experiencing it? I think Wittgenstein said that most concepts cannot be understood unless we have an image or an experience of it, but how true is this? ...
1
vote
3
answers
273
views
Is truth singular or not?
Is truth singular or not? In physics, there's general relativity and quantum mechanics, and both are true, but these are theories. Within reality itself can two contradictory systems coexist, or is ...
2
votes
1
answer
507
views
What is alienation from Hegel's perspective?
I'm not a professional philosopher. I'm only a curious person taking an interest in Hegel and Marx and I was reading Peter Singer's book named Hegel: A Very Short Introduction since I was trying to ...
0
votes
1
answer
191
views
The meaning of the word theory
The normal, day-to-day meaning of the word 'theory' denotes the uncertainty regarding factuality. For instance, when we say that "it is just another theory" what we imply is that there can ...
1
vote
0
answers
51
views
What is greek or ancient greek word for counter-productive? [closed]
Is there a word in the ancient times for counter-productive? Just wondering.
1
vote
2
answers
312
views
What is an objective property? [closed]
This question seems to be at the very hart of philosophy? How do we know that a property of an object is part of the object itself? When is the propery objective? Can the object be seen when standing ...
0
votes
1
answer
145
views
Does Plato ever call God "Father"?
This article suggests in several places that Plato at times called God (or, perhaps the Demiurge) by the name of "Father". However, I cannot find any such primary sources to validate the ...
11
votes
14
answers
5k
views
Would philosophy be useless if there were a box of answers?
All of the ideas are mine, I don't know a lot about philosophy's terms, I'll be clear and I'll speak in human's terms.
Imagine someday everything is normal, kids going to schools, doctors going to ...
1
vote
2
answers
201
views
criticisms of mathematical structuralism
A popular, pretty modern trend in the philosophy of mathematics has been to treat mathematical objects as only possessing properties within the context of a mathematical structure. Does anyone know of ...
2
votes
1
answer
231
views
How does Spinoza deduce substance must cause itself?
Prop. VII. Existence Belongs to the Nature of Substance
Spinoza demonstrates this by arguing substance must be the cause of itself, i.e. existence must belong to the nature of substance (by def. 1). ...
2
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Does the Aristotelian standpoint agree with the Boolean standpoint on existential import when talking about non-existent things?
According to the Boolean standpoint, it rejects the notion that a universal statement implies existence. For instance, the statement "all S are P" does not tell us whether or not any members ...
0
votes
2
answers
125
views
What kind of fallacy is "X have this property, Y have this property too, so Y is X"?
Let's say someone states "One well-known property of tables is that they are supported by four legs. This chair is supported by four legs. So this chair is a table".
What kind of fallacy ...
1
vote
2
answers
169
views
Can inductive reasoning support the beginning of the universe?
Is it reasonable to use induction to conclude that the universe probably had a beginning?
0
votes
3
answers
465
views
Isn’t ‘color’ itself an abstract noun?
An abstract quality such as the color “green” will never change! ... we would normally say that the object's appearance has changed rather than the object itself.
I also think that color is ...
1
vote
0
answers
38
views
Does the quantifier 'all' satisfy the definition of the quantifier 'some?'
Since 'some' means at least one and 'all' refers to an entire group of things then at least one member of that group is being referenced thus satisfying the definition of 'some,' right?
If this is the ...
4
votes
1
answer
209
views
Where is it that I go when I dream?
This is a question that I had posed regarding the nature of mental images described by patients who suffer from Charles Bonnet Syndrome here:
What is the nature of the mental images that are perceived ...
0
votes
5
answers
137
views
Mathematical and Physical Spaces
I think that mathematical spaces that are homeomorphic to the Euclidean space are physically real. By extension, all mathematical spaces that are homeomorphic to such spaces would also part of the ...
-1
votes
1
answer
105
views
Why does language get more objective while growing older? [closed]
It's my experience that language gets more objective the older one gets. For example, instead of "talking" one uses the expression "vocalize" or instead of saying "I'm happy&...
0
votes
0
answers
125
views
What do you call an illogical statement that seems logical because of grammar?
What do you call an illogical statement that seems logical because of grammar? Do you have any example of a philosopher who wrote a grammatical sentence in the hope of constructing an logical argument,...
1
vote
1
answer
172
views
Correspondence theory of truth and analyticity
The correspondence theory of truth states that truth is essentially correspondence to a fact or state of affairs. How does this theory handle analytic truths - that is, 'true by definition' type ...
0
votes
0
answers
70
views
What is the "logic of ejaculations"?
I was looking through a paper on one valued logic and it references something called the "logic of ejaculations", shocked by the name, I tried to find another reference to it in which I ...
0
votes
1
answer
97
views
The formal philosophy as a habit [closed]
I am a Computer Science Student, I have always loved philosophy and the way it makes the obvious logical , But sad to say I struggle with learning it and studying it in my life, Because philosophy ...
-1
votes
1
answer
106
views
Is experience a real thing? [closed]
Reality is both objective and subjective or neither , But what about experience ?
since experience is totally subjective does this mean it may or may not be real?
for example, You hear a person ...
4
votes
4
answers
482
views
Is Logic necessary to prove its own existence?
These are propositions I take to be true:
Our knowledge is based purely on empirical observation.
There is no way to directly observe reality or objective truths.
Therefore, there is no way to say ...
2
votes
2
answers
170
views
Tarski's sufficient conditions for the Liar paradox and self-reference
Tarski gave three sufficient conditions in his 1944 paper The Semantic Conception of Truth for the Liar paradox to occur:
The language in which the Liar sentence is stated in is semantically closed, ...
1
vote
1
answer
50
views
Did logical positivists consider subjective statements verifiable?
Did logical positivists consider subjective statements such as "I like this cake" verifiable and therefore meaningful? Or did they consider that verificationism doesn't apply to claims of ...
2
votes
1
answer
149
views
A "paradox" of foundationalism?
(Caveat: I use the word "paradox" here as in "Skolem's paradox," a quasi-contradictory (if you will) conjunction of facts, not an outright contradiction.)
I actually can ask the ...
0
votes
3
answers
149
views
Do probability and statistics apply to the decisions of an agent with libertarian free will?
Do probability and statistics apply to libertarian free agents? Can a libertarian free agent have a statistical tendency towards certain decisions? Would it make sense to say, for example, that there ...
-2
votes
2
answers
124
views
Is Political Correctness the enemy of Universalist Philosophy? [closed]
Political Correctness, was a sociocultural movement that began more than 30 years ago in the American Academy-(primarily within various the Humanities and Social Sciences). However, in the past few ...
0
votes
0
answers
58
views
Justification values
The concept of truth values is sometimes expressed in terms of "truth as an object vs. truth as a property." My in-a-slogan understanding of this alternative is "sentences being ...
1
vote
2
answers
532
views
Did any Christian philosopher explained why monotheism is better than polytheism?
Did any Christian philosopher explain why monotheism is better than polytheism as they rejected polytheism and accepted monotheism?
-2
votes
2
answers
329
views
Should one actually sit on Attila The Hun's outdoor Throne?
A few miles East of Venice, is the island of Torcello. It is a quaint, picturesque looking island with a history dating back to the Early Middle Ages-(and perhaps earlier). In the middle of the ...
-1
votes
3
answers
265
views
Expanding the definition of "Pilgrimage"
According to Wikipedia, the definition of "Pilgrimage":
"Is a journey often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, ...
0
votes
0
answers
82
views
Should History Educators reemphasize chronological aptitude?
As a former History Instructor I was absolutely stunned by the widespread chronological ignorance displayed by many of my students. I was told by most of my students that they rarely learned about ...
2
votes
1
answer
325
views
Working in academic philosophy as a physicist
I'm a theoretical physicist who largely works in areas relating to gravity. I also have some formal training in (philosophical) logic from taking some grad level classes. Other than that, though, I ...
0
votes
4
answers
360
views
Is it possible for an infinitely nested simulation to exist?
Is it possible for an infinitely nested simulation to exist? Such a scenario is impossible to imagine explicitly, and the scenario itself may seem like it is logically incoherent, but I am unable to ...
1
vote
0
answers
67
views
The structure of the epistemic regress
I just read this essay on coherentism, and it resonated with a question I have about reconciling foundationalism, coherentism, and infinitism. The gist of the essay is that there are graph-theoretic ...