Questions tagged [evolution]
The evolution tag has no usage guidance.
70
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542 views
Is consciousness (as we perceive it) what really separates us from animals?
The last couple of weeks or even months, I'm thinking a lot about consciousness.
I have some ideas I would really like to discuss with some open minded, philosophical people. And in the search for ...
5
votes
3answers
304 views
The conflict of creationism and evolution. How can we know the truth?
the demands of evolution and creation cannot
be reconciled with each other because they represent two
fundamentally different, mutually hostile, and mutually
exclusive systems. They do not ...
0
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1answer
85 views
Kant, Idealism and Evolution
I'm certain this question must have been asked many times before, but I could not find an answer searching the archived posts here. So please excuse me as I am new to this forum and might have posted ...
5
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3answers
286 views
What is the utility of consciousness if free will is an illusion?
Introspectively speaking, it seems to me obvious that free will is illusion. Thoughts just emerge from background causes, and actions are just thoughts about actions that we have more thoughts about ...
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1answer
85 views
A quote from Godel to Wang About Evolution
Kurt Godel sent in a 1972 letter to Hao Wang, here what Godel wrote: here
I believe that mechanism in biology is a prejudice of our time which will be disproved. In this case, one disproof, in my ...
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3answers
3k views
Does Darwin owe a debt to Hegel?
I just realized that Darwin's theory of evolution is very much historicist, and resembles Hegel's notion of an arc of history: evolution is progressive and moves with purpose in an almost dialectical ...
1
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2answers
98 views
Looking for valid reasons as to why reproducing and passing on our genes 'actually' matters [closed]
I'm familiar with why we reproduce. But with genes themselves, why does it matter that all life strives to have their own genetic makeup copy and evolve itself to 'exist' in some way, shape or form? I ...
2
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0answers
36 views
Nietzsche’s views on human curiosity
I chanced upon Friedrich Nietzsche’s ‘On truth and lies in a non moral sense’. Although I’m not technically a ‘philosopher’ (but aren’t we all philosophers), I’m not sure I agree with his views on ...
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0answers
52 views
Is this an argument about the world or about human cognition?
This is a question about a thesis I have encountered regarding the relation of abstract mathematics ( Category Theory in particular ) with reality and the nature of human cognition.
The argument goes ...
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2answers
116 views
Does life have a natural or supernatural origin? [closed]
Let us define natural as "can be observed in nature", supernatural as "cannot be observed in nature".
Virtually everyone today believes that all life had to have arisen from nonliving matter. A point ...
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2answers
123 views
The ethics of evolutionary custodianship
Firstly of note is that the closest genetic/evolutionary family of humans, namely the chimpanzee, also engages in an activity once thought to be uniquely human: namely warfare. And just to forestall ...
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3answers
170 views
What is the name of the fallacy where one implies something is false simply because someone evil supported it?
Creationists sometimes argue that Darwinism is wrong because the Nazis used it as a rationale for their eugenics program.
We call it a "genetic fallacy" if we try to claim that a theory is wrong ...
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4answers
245 views
Does evolution always entail progress?
It was Darwin who first introduced the concept of Evolution in his Evolution Theory. However, whenever he and in general people speak about Evolution, I always have the feeling that they connote it ...
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2answers
187 views
Defending the value of Moral Philosophy against Scientism
What are the best arguments against someone who believes 'Moral philosophy is useless, what we call morality is simply evolutionary instincts to do what we were designed to do as a species'. This ...
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1answer
182 views
Aren't we most likely subject to artificial selection?
Since intelligent design is just artificial selection, and since we're most likely to be artificially selected for, then you can say we've been subjected to intelligent design. Since most animals on ...
1
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1answer
118 views
Do humans have the comprehension of an ant regarding certain things?
The leading theory behind the anomaly that is human intelligence is that humans had the greatest diversity in selective pressures over the course of our evolutionary history which allowed only the ...
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1answer
137 views
Do necessary ought nots follow from impossible oughts?
I'm reading about Hume's is-ought gap and how oughts can't follow from is's. My question is if there are impossible oughts and if these impossible oughts create necessary ought nots.
Example: "you ...
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3answers
87 views
Is symbolic regression Popperian or inductivist?
This has been on my mind for a few days. I'd love a criticism of my arguments outlined here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/fallible-ideas/9bcC5WN6bLs. I'll re-issue them here:
While ...
2
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1answer
494 views
Was there any of the need, which was not recognized as need, but accidentally allowed to ease any of the desired action/conformation?
I am searching data on whether we are able to recognize all the needs, or ease allowing actions, for the attainment of any of desired action/conformation or not.
Was there any of the need, which was ...
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1answer
70 views
What arguments are there for arguing that human reproduction (in modern times) is not pointless?
What arguments are there for arguing that human reproduction (in modern times) is not pointless?
Since there are few reasons which make it irrational:
Suffering of other animals and nature due to ...
2
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3answers
137 views
AI singularity, and the transmission of intelligence
I was quite taken with David Deutsch's dismissal of the fear of the AI general intelligence singularity, based on the idea that any true intelligences will in some sense start with hybrid human-...
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4answers
3k views
Did Charles Darwin say anything on why life was formed in the first place? [closed]
To be viewed from the perspective of epistemology and/or the philosophy of science.
Preamble:
Darwin, like scientists of his day, often spoke of “Laws” that inevitably cycle forth the results ...
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6answers
220 views
If we don't have free will, why was the quality of being conscious selected for?
I think scientists agree that we're conscious and aware that we have consciousness and awareness. But they don't agree on whether we have free will. I think they don't even have a universal definition ...
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4answers
136 views
Is your phone a natural product?
We are part of this natural system where we live and that we named. Our cities, our trains, our streets, some beautiful and some disgraceful, are all part of our natural world, of what we have built ...
1
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1answer
106 views
Evaluating One of the Premises of Evolutionary Argument Against Naturalism
I learned Plantinga's Evolutionary Argument Against Naturalism in the following form:
The probability for the reliability of cognitive faculties conditional on naturalistic evolution, P(R|N&...
2
votes
2answers
120 views
What is the philosophical use of the noosphere?
I understand that lately the new concept coined by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin has gained some popularity, and it's definition (according to Wikipedia) is:
The noosphere is the sphere of human ...
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1answer
336 views
Better Understanding Plantinga's Argument Against Naturalism
My advanced apologies if my question is not appropriate for this website. This is my first semester of Philosophy so I hope I'm not asking obvious, low-level questions.
I have been reading Plantinga'...
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1answer
1k views
Is plastic surgery cheating evolution or genetics? [closed]
In the West and modern society, is plastic surgery objectively cheating genetic destiny?
Say a man is not too attractive -- average looking -- and does not manage many sexual partners, if any at all. ...
2
votes
1answer
243 views
Does the Evolution Theory contradict Kant's Metaphysics?
I recently asked a series of questions about ET, and this is one of them :)
Intuitively, it seems to me that ET is supposed to contradict Kant's (or more generally, the German Idealism's) Metaphysics ...
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3answers
705 views
Is evolutionary “morality” really the same thing as human morality?
In a different question I asked, Chris Johns' answer pinpointed exactly why all of the answers didn't satisfy me, so I'd like to ask a follow-up question which will further focus my question - would ...
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5answers
295 views
Evolution - how (epistemologically) an instinctive moral is possible?
I've asked a question about how evolution would explain morality, which lead me to a more basic question - if an instinct would tell the group members to act altruistically, where would that instinct ...
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7answers
4k views
Is it possible that evolution brought human kind morality?
I've heard this (rather odd imho) statement that evolution, by the need of survival, dictated humans to uphold moral codes in order to survive, thus gaining a moral system.
Now, to my understanding, ...
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1answer
1k views
What was Nietzsche's Position on Darwin and his theory of Evolution by Natural Selection?
I will preface this question by saying I have not read Nietzsche extensively. The one exception is his 'Genealogy of Morals', a recent read of mine, twice actually.
I always assumed Nietzsche's ...
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1answer
172 views
What would Socrates' approach be towards Darwinism?
So Socrates was pretty fond of the idea of reincarnation, the soul, the inferior material objects and bodily matter around us. Would his idea of the soul fit into the theory of evolution, a theory ...
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vote
2answers
319 views
Based on evolution, do we arrive at deductive principles inductively?
If our knowledge of deductive principles is a result of evolution... doesn't this mean that we arrive at deductive principles inductively?
Assuming deductive principles are beneficial for survival, ...
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0answers
208 views
Religious belief as a consequence of self-reliance
Self-reliance doesn't come naturally to many people, but one could argue that self-reliance is an important factor in both natural and sexual selection. Also many religious people achieve self-...
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1answer
974 views
Objections to moral nihilism based on argument from evolution?
One can argue for moral nihilism by claiming that all of our fundamental moral beliefs are explained by the theory of evolution (e.g. early human tribe of liars more likely to fight amongst each other ...
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2answers
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Which came first - philosophy, religion or science?
I don't know if there are any answers, and it's a difficult question to answer without precisely defining "philosophy," etc. But I wondered if anyone is aware of any research or even casual musings ...
3
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2answers
345 views
Nietzsche and What he got wrong about evolution?
It is known that Nietzsche rejected the clause of the "natural selection" and "survival of the fittest" in the theory of evolution as not as much was confirmed about the theory during his time and it ...
6
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1answer
155 views
Where can one find the most fully developed version of EAAN with the four-part defense of premise 1?
Having just completed Alvin Plantinga's book Where the Conflict Really Lies, I was a bit surprised to learn that he now takes a different approach to defending premise 1 of the Evolutionary Argument ...
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2answers
55 views
How/why did animals/humans started showing kindness?
Every emotion must had a reason when it was evolved into existence and genetically. Why did animals/humans started showing kindness to the other 'kind', when there was nothing they can gain by feeling ...
3
votes
1answer
164 views
Who was the first person to speculate that consciousness is a by-product of evolution?
Darwin, it seems, did not believe this. He considered even insects to possess a certain level of consciousness.
I'm aware that there is the problem of defining consciousness. I'm curious whether ...
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3answers
209 views
How does the theory of evolution deal and logically explain all these?
According to the theory of evolution, a law or thing happens only if it's not harmful to the organism itself as well as others. But peeping into entire historical and current situation of mankind, ...
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2answers
681 views
Do qualia have an evolutionary purpose? (assuming they exist)
Do qualia have an evolutionary function, and if so what is it?
Could qualia help us solve problems that Turing machines can't solve?
Could qualia help us solve problems faster than normal computers?
...
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9answers
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Is the theory of evolution a good basis for an argument against freewill?
In the theory of evolution, humans do not occupy any privileged status compared to other living beings, they are at one end of a continuous (although not necessarily monotone) spectrum of creatures.
...
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4answers
1k views
What are the problems with Plantinga's evolutionary argument against naturalism (EAAN)?
Alvin Plantinga's formulation of the argument is here. I'll try to summarize it as I understand it.
Naturalistic evolution selects for traits that tend to lead to survival.
Some true beliefs about ...
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3answers
4k views
Does Noam Chomsky reject Darwinian evolution?
Hilary Putnam claims on his blog that:
I am well aware that both Chomsky and Fodor reject Darwinian evolution.
Is his claim that Noam Chomsky rejects Darwinian evolution true, and if so, on what ...
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3answers
801 views
Evolution and Popperian falsifiability
According to Karl Popper's falsification criterion only a falsifiable theory is said to be a scientific theory. If this is true, is Evolution Theory falsifiable and hence considered scientific?
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8answers
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Are dualism and the theory of evolution compatible?
From an evolutionary point of view there is a continuous gradient of intelligence (in the larger sense of the term), from lower life forms with no intelligence at all to higher life forms that exhibit ...
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17answers
13k views
Why aren't creationism and natural science on the same intellectual level?
In the infamous creation museum a strategically very shrewd exhibit, where a scientist and a biblical scholar both study the same fossils, is being presented:
The sign says
“different scientists ...
