Questions tagged [reference-request]
This tag should be used when the question is asking for specific references.
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Is Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy a good place for beginners?
I have always been told that SEP is good place to start for any unfamiliar philosophical topic. However, I feel that many of its articles are too academic and unfriendly. One entry always leads to ...
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Are formal languages/systems as general as bounded, clear axioms and finding consequences?
I’ve tried searching PhilPapers for holistic accounts of formal/languages/systems and I’m not very successful, the best I’ve found being https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jafpos1956/12/1/12_1_15/...
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Philosophy books for mathematicians
Are there any books on philosophy that make relatively heavy use of math? I'm not looking for anything on formal epistemology, logic, or philosophy of math. Two examples of books that fall in the ...
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Which philosophers, if any, have claimed that a limited amount of evil is possible? [closed]
In Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves, there is a footnote somewhere that quotes an unidentified source as saying something like, "The Messiah will not come until the Tears of Esau have ceased ...
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What do philosophers call the aspirational ideal of deliberative decision-making / governance?
I'm interested in the oldest and/or most notable articulation of what a potential ideal decision-making / governance approach would aspire to.
More concretely, consider an idealized decision-making ...
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References to study logic
I am a mathematician and I would like to do a postgraduate degree in logic, and I have the option of entering a philosophy faculty.
Could you give me references to study? I handle first and second ...
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Intelligence as a prerequisite for consciousness/sentience?
Google engineer Blake Lemoine recently made headlines by claiming that he thought Google's LaMDA conversational AI was sentient, based on his interactions with it. (E.g.: https://www.wired.com/story/...
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More about the relations between properties of parts and their wholes?
Hi I'm trying to discover any metaphysical necessities that connect the properties of a whole and the properties of its parts. I know the properties of the whole can be different than the properties ...
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Is there a second-order priority problem in deontology?
In A Theory of Justice, John Rawls brings up the notion of priority problems in ethics, and addresses (at length) two in particular: the definitional relation of the right and the good, and the ...
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Dialethic machines and incompatibilist free will
Preamble: although I believe in the LNC for Aristotelian/Quinean reasons and the argument from explosions to boot, and am not altogether adept at modal logic in general, much less counterpossible ...
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References for EPR and local realism
I am learning about EPR and local realism in physics. However, in that context, nobody talks about the philosophical implications and deeper meaning of local realism, objective reality, hidden ...
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Do concepts transcend reality?
I often come to wonder about a specific, quite abstract question. Since I am not used to writing about such thing, it is very difficult for me to explain, but I will try to present my reasoning by ...
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Where Can I Find Discussion on Paradoxes Within Philosophical Positions?
I have become interested in the idea of paradox recently. Not logical paradoxes though, but when philosophical ideas are pursued consistently, and end up arguing against that position. The most basic ...
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"All there is are cells" as a philosophical school of thought
Like atomists since Demokrit and Lucretius believe that all matter is made out of atoms, biologists since Schleiden and Schwann believe that all living matter is made out of cells.
But since atomism ...
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Ideas of a truth that sustains?
Question
Given the modern day age of misinformation, surely someone has pondered and tested their ideas of a truth that sustains (a truth that sustains refers to the ideas that sustain the confidence ...
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What are some of the best rebuttals or alternatives to Ted Kaczynski's (aka the Unabomber) philosophy of technology?
In his manifesto* "Industrial Society and its Future", the mathematician, philosopher, and terrorist Ted Kaczynski espouses a deeply pessimistic view of the effects of technology on society. ...
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Do any philosophers say surreal numbers are reason to doubt platonism?
Not trying to be inflammatory at all, this is a genuine (maybe dumb) question.
Especially in regards to the genesis of the surreals, which was Conway thinking about Go endgames. They seem among the ...
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Looking for an introduction to "possible worlds" aimed at the deeply skeptical
NB: this question is a reference request.
I have already read countless introductions to modal logic (the latest one being Chapter 10 of @PeterSmith's Beginning Mathematical Logic: A Study Guide1).
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Help finding a philosophy webpage that used Socratic dialogues
I'm looking for a page that had debates structured around a Socratic dialogue where one side was illustrated as an angel and the other as a machine or robot. It was quite minimalist in design. Hope ...
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Does the universe obey the laws of physics?
Is it the case that the universe obeys the laws of physics? I believe there is a misunderstanding about what the laws of physics actually is. I believe that the laws of physics merely describe what ...
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Where can I learn more about Ancient Egyptian philosophy?
So far, I've read the Ancient Egyptian philosophy article on wiki. Are there other sources where I can learn about this arcane and hazy subject?
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What secondary literature would you recommend to help me understand “The Sickness unto Death”?
I would like to know if there are any secondary literature that would help me understand main themes of this book and make it more understandable. So far I have read a few primary sources (Plato’s ...
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Is studying philosophy harder than medicine? [closed]
If anyone has some kind of experience studying both philosophy and medicine, I would like to know which one was more intimidating and hard to understand.
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Looking for the name of "if everyone is x, no one is x"
Usually when I browse this forum, I see many people ask for the names of fallacies. Currently, I'm looking for the name of the philosophical position that goes something like, "if everyone is x, ...
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Who first defined truth as "adæquatio rei et intellectus"?
António Manuel Martins claims (@44:41 of his lecture "Fonseca on Signs") that the origin of what is now called the correspondence theory of truth,
Veritas est adæquatio rei et intellectus.
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Where can I find: Averroes, Commentary on Aristotle’s Physics, Bk. 7, comment 20?
St. Thomas Aquinas, Super Sent. lib. 4 d. 33 q. 3 a. 3 co.:
For this reason the Commentator [Averroes] comments on Book 7 of the Physics* that chastity (castitas) is worth the most to the speculative ...
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Book recommendation for introduction to analytic philosophy for math major
I am a second year pure math major at university. I took a class on social theory last semester, and did not enjoy it very much because the texts seemed lean toward obscurantism to the point of ...
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References on Metaphysical Dependence on Set Theory
I'm new here. I was having a hard time reading and comprehending John Wigglesworth's thesis Metaphysical Dependence and Set Theory. I was hoping if there is anything out there talking about the matter;...
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Is "A history of Philosophy - from the Pre-Socratics to Plotinus" by Frederick Copleston useful for a beginner?
I have read Plato' dialogues and have some general knowledge about philosophy thanks to Michael Sugrue's lectures on youtube. Is this book useful for a beginner like me?
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Are Arthur Holmes lecture series helpful for a beginner?
Are Arthur Holmes lecture series helpful for a beginner? I have only read Plato's dialogues and have listened to Michael Sugrue's lectures, which are quite good but they don't cover all philosophers.
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Is there any review books for beginners in philosophy?
I would like to gain some knowledge of the most famous philosophers' ideas. I have only read Plato's dialogues and have some general idea of Western philosophical tradition thanks to youtube lectures ...
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Is the observer (a person) embedded in the physical model?
During my studies of physics, I noticed that the discussion of a physical theory includes the discussion of the interaction between the observer (the person who makes the experiments) and the observed ...
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AI philosophers
Which modern philosophers examine problems of ethics and knowledge between artificial, intelligent agents, leaving their relationship to humans aside?
What I'm looking for:
The assumption that AIs ...
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Physicalism + book recommendations
I'm 17 years old and I'm starting out in philosophy on my own. To get started I would like to get to know myself more and the way I think since according to what I have researched, I could define ...
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Is it the fact that we have language that causes us to believe in possible worlds?
I am not quite sure whether this belongs in Philosophy SE, but I couldn't think of a better SE, so I am posting it here. My question is, is it the fact that we have language that causes us to believe ...
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Impersonally-accountable communities
I'd like to lay out a few thoughts about how ideas rise and fall within communities. Is there a philosopher I can read that expresses these kinds of ideas better?
Some communities adopt ideas more as ...
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References for the notion of grounding, applied to mathematical truths
I am interested in papers that discuss the notion of grounding and applies it to mathematical statements. For example, the facts that 1+1=2 and 2+2=4 collectively ground their conjunction 1+1=2 AND 2+...
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Books on metaphysics, especially ontology
I am interested in reading books on metaphysics, particularly ontology. I would like some research-level books, not merely books that are aimed at laymen.
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What does the 3rd edition of Fact, Fiction, and Forecast say about grue?
On my website, I have reproduced the passages from Nelson Goodman's book Fact, Fiction, and Forecast that define his famous predicate grue (and related predicates such as emeruby). In fact, I have ...
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Books and papers on the philosophy of probability
I am interested in reading books and papers regarding the philosophy of probability. I want to know what the correct philosophical interpretation of probability is, and also other topics regarding ...
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Can anyone find this Menander fragment in the original Greek?
I remember when studying ancient Greek many years ago, I was memorizing Menander monostichoi, and there was one that I now want to make a little postcard of, but can't remember exactly what the ...
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Is beauty a basic human need?
Did any philosopher argue that beauty is a basic human need?
By "beauty" (pulchritudo) I mean, as St. Thomas Aquinas defines it (II-II q. 145 a. 2 co.), that which
results from the ...
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Ternary logic of 3-person human relationships?
C.S. Peirce studied ternary (and higher-order, n-ary logic, too) logic in the context of which he called semiosis,
an action, or influence, which is, or involves, a coöperation of three subjects, […],...
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Set theory with full comprehension
A few years ago I was reading an entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy related to set theory and I stumbled across a statement along these lines:
There is a set theory where full ...
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Did any ancient Greek philosophers condemn fornication?
Did any ancient Greek philosophers condemn fornication (illicit sexual intercourse outside of marriage) or marital infidelity?
Plato was against acts of sodomy, saying they are "contrary to ...
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What is “basho” in Kitaro Nishida’s philosophy?
Of course, I could just read his 100-page essay The Logic of Place and the Religious Worldview, but since it is regarded as extremely cryptic, I wanted to read some introductory texts (like by David A....
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Plants: Aristotles vs. modern biology
Corals, sea anemones, sponges, etc. are animals according to modern biology. Mold or mushrooms are not plants and belong to their own realm of fungi. The Venus flytrap is a plant, though it is capable ...
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Could you recommend an anthology of modern philosophy texts?
Could you recommend an anthology of modern philosophy texts? I was tempted to buy the book Modern Philosophy: An Anthology of Primary Sources by Roger Arlew, but it is out of my financial reach. Do ...
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What is a good reference on Aristotle's views of friendship (φιλία)?
What is a good reference on Aristotle's views of friendship (φιλία)?
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Is there an analogue of MathSciNet for philosophy?
MathSciNet is a mathematical database for papers and books on the various branches of math. Is there something analogous for philosophy? That is, is there a philosophical database for papers and books ...
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