Questions tagged [reference-request]
This tag should be used when the question is asking for specific references.
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Resource request for philosophical arguments regarding the ethics of killing animals
If we consider the animals have a right to live, then killing them for consumption should be considered a violation of their rights. On the other hand, if we don't consider that animals have a right ...
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What is it that is done when we DO mathematics?
I want to understand more deeply and philosophically what exactly mathematicians do.
Wikipedia
lists some major subareas like analysis, geometry but ends its lead paragraph with
There is no general ...
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Why has the word 'Existential' become so popular [closed]
Ten to twenty years ago the word Existential hardly ever appeared in print. Nowadays it appears everywhere. Politicians, Scientists, Newscasters and everybody in between is using it.
The following is ...
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How do we know that the mind is not a physical entity?
Most people believe that the mind is separate from the physical world. But how do we actually know that? Maybe the mind is a physical object. Of course, to answer this question, we need a rigorous ...
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Who said, "a parliament with no opposition should be dissolved"?
I've found a reference in a Jewish text from the mid-19th century to a "gentile sage" (an expression usually referring to a Greek philosopher, but it could be any non-Jewish person really) who said ...
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Looking for a reference on a kind of mathematical platonism
I've been doing some introductory reading on the philosophy of mathematics in an attempt to find well expressed views similar to the following. I haven't been successful.
The view is that ...
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Looking for a reference on Aristotle
I just started reading Mortimer Adler's "Aristotle for everybody". In chapter 1, Adler is discussing Aristotle's distinction between living and non-living bodies and plant and animal bodies. ...
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Reference request - why relationships are mostly "first come, first served" [closed]
Kind of in-between philosophy and psychology.
I am interested in the topic about why it is always "first come, first served" in life. Especially in relationships.
I'll take one anology with ...
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What are some arguments for that humans are more important than animals?
Imagine a man has fallen into a tiger cage. The tiger specimen is in danger of extinction.
You can:
Kill the tiger and save the man.
Do nothing and let the tiger kill the man.
By killing the tiger, ...
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I would like to learn about theory of supposition. Can you recommend any good books/video/etc about it?
I encountered following syllogism as an example of false equitation:
Man is a species
Socrates is a man
Therefore, Socrates is a species
The text ("An Introduction to Traditional Logic" by ...
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What does the IBE argument (the best explanation argument) look like in favor of the existence of other minds?
I have read several versions of the IBE argument for the existence of other minds.
But I got a little confused.
Now I'm not sure I know what it should sound like.
How should the IBE argument (argument ...
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Is there a philosophical assessment of the terms "virtual" and "imaginary"?
In casual terms, at least from explanations I can find,
imaginary is something which "does not exist" in reality: "an imaginary world"
virtual is something which "exists ...
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What is the best reference for understanding inductive theories of knowledge?
I am looking for a pedagogical outline of the inductive theory of knowledge. Something along the lines of a level textbook (graduate or undergraduate) reference rather than references to classic texts....
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Do philosophers analyze the term 'thing'?
'Thing' seems like a special word since it can be used to refer to almost anything. Is it an undefined term, or have philosophers tried to define it? If they haven't analyzed it, is there a similar ...
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Multi idea books
A lot of modern and popular books are based on one idea, basically a single idea expanded upon 300 pages. What seminal philosophical or scientific book of the last 200 years has introduced a multitude ...
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How does Marx show that capitalism is a kind of slavery?
indirect slavery, the slavery of proletariat
Letter from Marx to Pavel Vasilyevich Annenkov,
All official and liberal science defends wage-slavery, whereas Marxism
has declared relentless war on ...
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Numbers and Time
This is my first post on philosophy stack exchange, so I apologize in advance if this question is not well-defined or if it happens to be a duplicate. If so, feel free to link the corresponding post(s)...
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When is a legal failing an injustice?
When is a legal failing, failing to apply the law, an injustice?
Some serious crimes, rape and murder being the most obvious, might well be injustices when not punished, simply becasue justice surely ...
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Are there any publications that attempt to give a formal ontological definition of the Christian Trinity?
Are there any publications in the field of Philosophy of Religion that have attempted to provide a formal ontological definition of the Christian God as portrayed by the doctrine of the Trinity?
Take ...
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Why "Goodness is from the whole cause; evil is from any defect."?
Where does this aphorism originate? Why is it true?
Goodness is from the whole cause; evil is from any defect.
Bonum est ex integra causa, malum ex quocumque defectu.
I've seen some sources say ...
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Is there a standard, modern reference on Stoicism?
What I'm wondering is if there are any well known, modern references (books) that summarize the history and philosophy of Stoicism, preferably written in the past 50 years or so. The more modern the ...
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Do we live in a post-Meinong-versus-Russell/Quine world?
From a 2022 review of the collection Non-Being: New Essays on the Metaphysics of Non-existence:
This book argues, by omission, that we are in a post-Meinong-versus-Russell/Quine world. This is a ...
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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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Understanding as conceptual
I am looking for references in the literature where people equate the process of understanding with conceptual activity. I will not be able to sketch it out exactly. My hunch is that there should be ...
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What are the sources of popular Camus quotes?
I'm tracking down sources of Albert Camus quotes (because Goodreads can suck it). Who can add to this list? I'm not allowed to comment on this site.
"There is but one truly serious philosophical ...
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Who said sth like "Marxism could be said to be true, even if its specific predictions were falsified"
I'm trying to track down a remark I remember reading in college, I think made by some early to mid 20th century French Marxist, to the effect of "Marxism could be said to be true, even if its ...
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Is it possible to know of the properties of concrete particulars without having a reference to compare with?
After researching for quite some time, all forms of knowledge about properties of concrete particulars I can think of, rely on a comparison with some sort of reference. Some simple examples might be:
...
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Is everything identical to itself, or merely every existing thing?
One of the properties of identity is that everything is identical to itself. But, does "everything" mean literally everything, or merely every thing that exists? For example, I don't think 1/...
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In how many and which ways can a logic be non-classical? Are there systems for organizing them?
I asked on MathSE What are the various respects under which a logic can deviate from classical logic, thus being “ non-classical”? and received one short answer. So, I'm interested in responses from ...
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Kant’s claim “there are only three kinds of proof for the existence of God”
There are only three kinds of proof for the existence of God possible from speculative reason.
All paths on which one may set forth with this aim either begin from determinate experience and the ...
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Is there a philosophical doctrine that suggests that the soul endlessly travels between living organisms without being tied to space-time?
By the detachment of the soul from space-time, I understand the ability of the soul, after the death of the organism, to be reborn into anyone, anywhere and anytime. For example, the soul lived in a ...
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If something is massless like light does it exist?
I'm asking: If something is massless does it exis? Because in Einstein's equation E=mc2 Einstein said and I quote: If something doesn't have mass like light it would move at the speed of light.
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Is there a name for the following transhumanist doctrine: "the most important thing to do with one's life is to try to avoid death"?
[Disclaimer: I don't have any formal training in philosophy and I'm just curious, so I hope this question is in scope.]
I'm interested in whether there is an established name for a simple (admittedly ...
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A series and B series of time
I'm still fishing for help I guess with the unreality of time.
A theorists are said to think that the A series is not reducible to the B.
Are there different forms this rejection of reductionism ...
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Best arguments against compatibilism?
According to the 2020 PhilPapers survey, 59.2% of philosophers are compatibilists when it comes to the free will/determinism debate. Despite its popularity among professional philosophers, what are ...
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Identifying a Logical Fallacy (written by Bertrand Russell?)
I'm struggling and googled but cannot find something that's in the recesses of my mind.
Bertrand Russell (I think) described a logical fallacy where one could describe the same behavior / ...
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Seeking references on the ontological basis of 'cultural appropriation' to cure my confusion
Disclaimer: Cultural appropriation is an emotionally charged topic and is criticized by a number of intellectuals, and my intent is to determine the philosophical grounding of the topic through vetted ...
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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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Is there at least one essay focused on Kant's definition of "notions" as intermediary between idea(l)s and conceptions?
I tried Googling "Kant 'notions'" but that doesn't seem efficient (from the results I've gotten). I assume that he appealed to the word for its being originally cognate with noesis and the ...
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Is there an ethical difference between taking away and withholding?
Has anyone in contemporary ethics discussed whether or not there is a difference between (1) taking something away (e.g., stealing $100) or withholding something (e.g., refusing to pay $100 of taxes)?
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Books and articles on explanation
What are some resources (books, articles) discussing the topic of "explanation"? (What do we mean when we say "something is explained" or vice versa, and related topics.)
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First books about philosophy of law, for a novice with no exposure?
I define
exiguous to mean the shortest and easiest introductions (< 300 pages) of philosophy.
This question premises a reader with zero exposure to philosophy of law.
Please correct me if I erred ...
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Does the incomputability of kolmogorov complexity imply that we will never have a final theory of everything?
The Kolmogorov Complexity is the size of the simplest program that produces a specific output. By the Curry-Howard Correspondence, "programs" are isomorphic to "axiomatic systems" ...
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What philosophers have touched upon the inability to qualify data as being representative of evidence in support of a scientific theory?
As a scientist and philosopher, I've increasingly noticed a failure in my learnings related to how data may be qualified as evidence in support of a theory. It appears that in any effort to qualify ...
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What is the definition of "abstract"?
It is said that one of the distinguishing features of humans from other animals, is the capacity for abstract thought. But what is the definition of "abstract"? I know it when I see it, but ...
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Is there any “stability metric” for scientific fields?
Is there any attempt to gauge how quickly a scientific field overturns its own claims/findings; ie an evaluation of if the fields’ findings have what degree of longevity?
It could compare fields as ...
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Has brain-to-brain communication been addressed in the literature, and if so, is there a fundamental reorganization of philosophy required?
Answering Is this a good argument against mental causation? led me to a simple metaphysical question, and I wonder if anyone in the Western Canon addressed it, particularly someone in the last century....
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How do philosophers understand intelligence (beyond artificial intelligence)?
Do philosophers have working definitions of 'intelligence'? The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy provides a lot of references, but all of them are related to artificial intelligence and other ...
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Did Socrates say: "Strong minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; weak minds discuss people."?
Where did Socrates say or did Aristotle quote Socrates saying:
Strong minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; weak minds discuss people.
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How to write a philosophical work? As a beginner
How does one identify the points for discussion in that paper? And how do I make a skeleton paper work of the topic to present infront of your mentor? What is the structure of a philosophical paper? ...
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