All Questions
20,812
questions
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2
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45
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Can the ultimate explanation of everything really be God even if He exists?
I was pondering about the explanatory power of God and was wondering about whether, even if God exists, He is doing any fundamental explanatory work.
Suppose that the universe is caused by God. If He ...
- 8,228
1
vote
3
answers
63
views
Is philosophy male-dominated? If so, why?
"Philosophy is for posh white boys with trust funds". A report by the Equality Challenge Unit in 2015 showed that over 70% of employed philosophers in the UK are white men. Of course, other ...
- 1,492
0
votes
4
answers
72
views
How does quantum mechanics affect the probability of macro events?
Events in the world can be described on the macro scale or the micro scale. For events that occur in the macro scale, such as the shape of a particular rock that forms, would the rock have formed in ...
- 8,228
3
votes
1
answer
55
views
What does mean “realitas objectiva” in scholastic ontology?
Descartes uses the term in his third meditation (Med. III) to demonstrate the existence of God, see a previous question.
The term “realitas objectiva” is a technical term from scholastic ontology.
...
- 23.9k
1
vote
3
answers
152
views
Do unicorns exist in the mind?
Do unicorns exist in the mind?
Do just a concept of unicorns exist in the mind? Or are unicorns a concept?
Anselm said God exists in the mind. But I wonder whether just a concept of God exists in the ...
- 451
3
votes
2
answers
350
views
What logical arguments have been made to say an effect cannot be greater than its cause?
I'm currently writing a paper on Descartes argument for God based on his third meditation. One premise of the argument that seems fairly important is the claim that "no effect can be greater than ...
- 301
0
votes
0
answers
17
views
Trying to avoid a modal explosion: if anything can be obligated, and ought-implies-can, then would everything be possible?
Where by "anything"/"everything" I mean atomic propositions (and I am quantifying over atomic propositions). The argument would seem to be something like:
◊OBA, ∀anyA
OBA → ◊A
◊◊A
...
- 12.2k
0
votes
2
answers
67
views
Does god have freewill and if so did can 'it' choose to be god?
From my (admittedly not very comprehensive) understanding of determinism in a physical universe, it seems like the only free agent outside of our causal universe could be argued to be god (assuming a ...
- 9
0
votes
0
answers
32
views
Deductive systems which deduce the structure of logics
“Logics” are frequently defined as having both a “syntax” and a “semantics”.
For example, first-order logic is a deductive system or formal language with an alphabet (collection of symbols) and ...
- 116
0
votes
0
answers
22
views
Applying “properties” of logical systems to natural language semantics
Is there a logically definable complete set of logical properties? Like soundness, consistency, decidability, completeness, etc?
Has anyone tried to apply them to natural language semantics?
In other ...
- 116
1
vote
1
answer
112
views
Are we too quick to assume that the most recent evidence is inevitably the strongest?
In what contexts is this true and in what contexts can this be considered true and vice versa? Personally, I think it has a lot to do with confirmation bias, especially in natural sciences where for ...
- 11
6
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Is mathematics analytic or synthetic?
This question is related to another question I posted but I think it requires its own treatment since of the already wide scope of the other question i.e. Is the classical theory of concepts ...
- 89
4
votes
0
answers
31
views
Can erotetic logic be used to devise a noncognitivist moral realism?
The IEP article on moral realism says that noncognitivist realism is logically possible, but goes on to assess the one attempt at such a position (Bruce Waller's) thusly:
Waller’s divide-and-conquer ...
- 12.2k
2
votes
1
answer
56
views
According to theories of embodiment, am I in all my body?
According to theories of embodiment, am I in all my body? Am I in my fingernails and teeth, even when I do not feel them? If I pick up a large stick, then am I in the stick, when I poke things with it?...
user69165
1
vote
3
answers
247
views
Is probability a concept derived from the wavefunction? Since the p.d.f. is found by finding the modulus of the wave function in Q.M
I am studying the different probability interpretations (frequentist, bayesian etcetera) but for me it keeps bugging that since the probability density function in quantum mechanics is found by ...
- 119
0
votes
5
answers
271
views
In philosophy, why are feminism and transsexuality so controversial? [closed]
Is it possible for feminism and transsexuality to be discussed philosophically? Is this hindered by the domination of philosophy by males?
- 1,492
3
votes
2
answers
164
views
Objects and Platonic Forms
According to Plato, can an object have multiple forms depending on its uses? For example, can a table have the form of tableness but also the form of chairness if people decide to use it as furniture ...
- 31
0
votes
3
answers
75
views
Can we paint or draw imaginary or nonexistent objects? [closed]
You know, imagainary objects are concepts and nonexistent objects don't have properties. I can't imagine drawing concepts (=imaginary objects) or nonexistent objects which we can't even see.
Can we ...
- 451
6
votes
4
answers
652
views
Chaos vs statistical mechanics vs complexity science
could someone shed some light on difference between chaos and complexity ?
What is the difference both ontological and epistemological between complexity science and statistical mechanics ?
- 1,157
-1
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0
answers
35
views
"we consider the claim that a more extensive state is justified, because necessary (or the best instrument) to achieve distributive justice"
I quote first para. of Chapter 7, on page 149, in Nozick's (1974) Anarchy, State and Utopia.
THE minimal state is the most extensive state that can be justified. Any state more extensive violates ...
- 29
1
vote
4
answers
100
views
Would a nonlocal interpretation of quantum mechanics be more parsimonious?
Under the traditional interpretation of quantum mechanics, there is no realism and no “definite” reality. However, arguably, there is also no locality, depending on how you understand the term. Of ...
- 8,228
3
votes
2
answers
103
views
Are MUH and IIT compatible
I really like Integrated Information Theory (IIT), i just discovered Mathematical universe hypothesis (MUH) i also feel pretty open to this idea i only wonder if there compatible since IIT disproves ...
- 31
2
votes
1
answer
112
views
Is the classical theory of concepts compatible with logical positivism's view on analyticity of mathematics?
Doing some work on theory of mathematical concepts and need a good framework that suits my own views. Is the classical theory of concepts, which seems to no to suffer very much when considered in ...
- 89
2
votes
3
answers
71
views
What did Robert Nozick mean by "subjunctive information"?
I quote pages 152-3 in Nozick, R. (1974) Anarchy, State and Utopia.
Idealizing greatly, let us suppose theoretical investigation will produce a principle of rectification. This principle uses ...
- 29
0
votes
3
answers
70
views
Queries and Thoughts on The Evolution of Free Will
I have been thinking on the differentiations between animal and man and it has yielded all but one viable point of divergence.
That point is free will. Not free will in it's typical chemically and ...
- 11
0
votes
0
answers
34
views
Could something prevent us from ever existing?
There are several ideas regarding the creation of our universe that suggest that our universe emerged from another one (eternal inflation suggesting our universe is the byproduct of an inflationary ...
- 1
2
votes
2
answers
46
views
How do you know two premises are combined to support an argument?
forgive me if I'm asking a simple question, but I'm trying to learn Introduction to Logic by Irving M Copi. I'm trying to learn how to analyse arguments. One of these arguments he uses as an example ...
- 21
13
votes
19
answers
9k
views
Is Christianity testable?
In a debate between John Lennox and Peter Atkins on the topic "Can science explain everything?", at minute 44:47 John Lennox claims:
Lennox: "And the major reason why I believe that ...
- 1,688
1
vote
3
answers
88
views
Will we ever have an answer? [closed]
Why am I always asking myself questions that do not have answers? What is my purpose, why are we here? These questions cause me great anxiety.
I wish I could find a way to stop asking and just accept, ...
user69125
1
vote
0
answers
33
views
What is a philosophical principle?
I cite this definition:- Fundamental law or assumption that is the basis of reasoning and action.
I see principles as philosophical tools. So are principles merely useful, or do they have fundamental ...
- 1,492
7
votes
12
answers
1k
views
Is to be able to describe something to be able to judge that it's true or not?
Unicorns don't exist, but I can still describe unicorns as "unicorns have four legs".
Does the statement "unicorns have four legs" have no truth-value or is it always false, ...
- 451
0
votes
1
answer
64
views
Is everything in philosophy and rhetoric just about where you draw the line? [closed]
Is everything in philosophy and rhetoric just about where you draw the line? So e.g. some things are real, some things are prohibted, some things make sense, etc..
Maybe not everything, in which case ...
user67675
1
vote
0
answers
28
views
Is the Form of the Good equivalent to the Form of the Intelligible Animal?
I'm reading the IEP entry on Plato's "organicism", which is the portrayal of the world as a universal animal. The article says that this entity participates in a Form of the Intelligible ...
- 12.2k
7
votes
4
answers
471
views
Can private experiences justify private belief in supernaturalism?
Is it ever rational or justified to believe in supernaturalism on the basis of private experiences (of the kind for which publicly accesible evidence can hardly be produced)? If someone has private ...
- 1,688
1
vote
3
answers
61
views
Aristotle's virtue
In NE 1.7 1098a15, Aristotle claims that "human good turns out to be activity of soul exhibiting virtue, and if there are more than one virtue, in accordance with the best and most complete."...
- 23
1
vote
2
answers
30
views
Aristotle's function argument
My question lies in the reconstruction of Aristotle's argument that "The human good turns out to be activity of the soul exhibiting virtues, and if there are more than one virtue, in accordance ...
- 23
10
votes
6
answers
2k
views
What is the definition of real?
What is the definition of the word "real"? For example, we can all agree that Harry Potter and unicorns are not real, while Mount Everest and Mars are real. Some people even say ...
- 5,446
1
vote
0
answers
62
views
+500
How many possible worlds does SDL need (at a minimum)?
The SEP article on deontic logic, in sec. 2.3, reads:
We assume that we have a set of possible worlds, W, and a relation, A, relating worlds to worlds, with the intention that Aij iff j is a world ...
- 12.2k
-1
votes
0
answers
52
views
Does God create fresh souls, or are our souls a part of God? [closed]
With the premise that we have souls and the premise that the soul of God is eternal.
If God's soul is eternal, are the parts of that soul eternal too. If we are parts of that whole soul, then are we ...
- 319
0
votes
0
answers
20
views
Using the Universal Quantifier, Existential Quantifier, and logical connectives, write a description of a time when somthing bad for you was not bad
The following is an exercise in ethics, logic, the use of the universal quantifier and the the use of the existential quantifier.
In the following context, the syntax for the universal quantifier is ...
4
votes
3
answers
354
views
Is time not perceivable without motion or change?
As kind of a chicken or the egg question, does motion come before time?
Doesn’t motion allow time to exist and no motion negate time from existing?
If everything in the universe were completely frozen ...
- 141
0
votes
1
answer
55
views
Can an immaterial being not be conscious?
Is it possible for an immaterial being or object with causal powers to not be conscious? Or is this a contradiction?
The only immaterial being I can conceive of to have causal powers is a conscious, ...
- 8,228
0
votes
4
answers
82
views
Is there any context in which a divine, personal explanation is more likely than a natural one? [closed]
Suppose we somehow knew that the universe, along with all its matter and energy at t = 0, started. Suppose we also knew that it had an explanation or cause
Now, does this automatically imply that the ...
- 8,228
2
votes
1
answer
39
views
Inductive Reasoning: Enumerative Induction question
In enumerative inductions like the following, would the target group be "most Canadians" or would it just be all Canadians?
"Most Canadians agree that allowing the slaughter of dogs for ...
1
vote
2
answers
106
views
How can this argument by the philosopher Berkeley in favor of idealism be resisted?
I'd like to know how the following argument by George Berkeley can be challenged:
(1) If primary qualities cannot be abstracted from secondary qualities, then
primary qualities cannot exist apart from ...
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8
votes
4
answers
429
views
Is transgenderism a radical rejection of feminism?
A woman can be an engineer; a man can be a nurse. A woman can be aggressive; a man can let a woman take the lead. A little girl can play with toy trucks; a little boy can play with dolls; A woman can ...
- 7,444
6
votes
3
answers
1k
views
What's the name of a fallacy when a debater selectively picks facts and ignores others?
In many debates in various fields of political science, it happens that historical events are called upon to make a case or support an argument. However, it also happens quite often that a debater, in ...
- 493
5
votes
6
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585
views
Are laws separate “objects” or are they inextricably part of the universe?
This question came forth from a discussion I was having. Suppose that the universe is deterministic because of some laws. But those laws themselves exist for no reason.
Does this mean that the laws, ...
- 8,228
0
votes
0
answers
40
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A question about the foundations of information [closed]
I know all of the following are vastly developed topics, but I’m trying to cut through them to find a manageable personal perspective, from which to branch out and consider the many related angles on ...
- 116
-1
votes
1
answer
51
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Is physics in a way already inherently nonlocal?
Physical laws are mathematical constructs that define reality. However, given that they do define reality, we have a case where an abstract formalism defines reality in every corner of the world. Each ...
- 8,228