Questions tagged [reference-request]
This tag should be used when the question is asking for specific references.
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How does one know one is not dreaming?
How does one know one is not dreaming? How could one logically demonstrate to a skeptic that one is "really" there, awake and not just dreaming about the entire situation/world around him?
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Does Pascal's Wager contain any logical flaws or fallacies?
Blaise Pascal's famous wager was that even if the existence of God cannot be determined through reason, a rational person should wager as though God exists, because living life accordingly has ...
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What are the major branches of philosophy?
What are the major branches of philosophy?
(For instance, as a first-order approximation, mathematics can be sub-divided into three main categories at the first level: Analysis, Algebra, and Geometry....
user16
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How to get started with philosophy without getting overwhelmed quickly?
I’ve spent a lot of time trying to find how to get started with philosophy but I can’t. It seems that getting started with computer programming is nothing in comparison - with computer programming it’...
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What are some good introductions to philosophy? [duplicate]
I've been searching the questions posed here, and don't seem to find one that gives the answers I am looking for. I've proposed to start a list on meta but no one proposed anything, so I feel I must ...
JNat♦
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Where and how can I get started in contemporary philosophy?
We are living in an unprecedented era of philosophical research and development where "big thought" is once again everywhere. And yet I feel like I hear this question so often:
Where to begin ...
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Difference between implication/conditional and logical entailment?
What is the difference between the implication/conditional truth function and the notion of logical entailment?
My naive understanding as a computer programmer is that the conditional is a function ...
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What are some works that apply an axiomatic method to something other than mathematics?
The axiomatic method is today mostly associated with mathematics. However, historically there have been some works, as for example Spinoza's Ethics, that have applied axiomatic method to philosophy, ...
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What are the major research programmes in contemporary logic?
As an interested outsider who is prone to reading about different formulations of logic, I've become interested in better understanding the big picture of what people are trying to accomplish as they ...
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Did the Ancient Greek Philosophers actually believe in their Gods and Myths?
Is there any historical proof that shows what attitude the Ancient Greeks, specially the philosophers, had towards their Gods?
user22051
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What are some criticisms of Epicurus' "death is nothing to us"?
Epicurus famously asserted that death should not be feared, with roughly the following argument:
When we die, we no longer exist;
Since we no longer exist, we can feel neither pain nor pleasure. ...
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Why is it wrong to answer a question with a tautology? Isn't "2+2" correct when answering 'What is "2+2"'?
Many times in class, we are asked to answer, "What is 2+2?" or "What is the derivative of the function x?". It would not be the intended answer to write "2+2" or "...
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What are some good books about the philosophy of quantum mechanics?
I am fascinated about the implications of quantum mechanics to philosophy. Where can I find good references to the philosophy of quantum mechanics, and its implications for realism/antirealism, holism,...
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What responses are there to Singer's "Should this be the last generation?"?
The article can be found here.
It deals with many issues, but what I would really like to see a response to is the following paragraph:
[W]hy don’t we make ourselves the last generation on earth? ...
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What is the origin of the Continental vs. Analytic divide?
There's been much ado about the divisiveness between Heidegger and Husserl fans on the one side, with Frege and Russell stalwarts on the other. I'm mostly amused by accounts of name-calling between ...
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What are some good books about computational ethics?
Gert-Jan C. Lokhorst has written a paper on "computational metaethics" (Computational Meta-Ethics: Towards the Meta-Ethical Robot), which explores the ability of formal systems (i.e. ...
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Where did Machiavelli say that "the ends justify the means"?
I have read The Prince, Discourses on Livy and The Art of War. In none of these books did I find the quote oft-attributed to Machiavelli that “the ends justify the means”. Did he say it? If so, where? ...
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Are all paradoxes reducible to one "fundamental" paradox?
I may need to refine this question, since I am mostly grappling with a murky intuition and haven't yet done the real work.
When I encounter many of the well-known paradoxes, such as Zeno's dichotomy, ...
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What are the main points of criticism of the ancient Stoic school vis-a-vis the system of philosophy of the Epicureans?
What was the main criticism of the ancient Stoic school of philosophy with respect to the system of philosophy of the Epicureans?
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What are the current topics in philosophy of logic?
I'm contemplating another attempt at completing my long delayed MA in Philosophy, and I need a new thesis topic. As a student I excelled in advanced symbolic logic, but my connection with academic ...
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What responses have there been to Popper's idea of theory-laden observation?
One of the most appealing parts of Karl Popper's philosophy for me is the idea of theory-laden observation. To provide an unjust summary: whenever you are making an observation-statement to question ...
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What did Kant say on the invention of new terms?
I remember I once read in Kant's "Kritik der Reinen Vernunft" about the tendency to come up with or invent new terms/words, about which he was quite "critical" (pun intended). I need the exact quote, ...
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Does Aristotle ever explicitly refer to man as a "rational animal"?
Did Aristotle every explicitly refer to man as a "rational animal" (ζῷον λόγον ἔχον)?
The internet is riddled with uncited claims to this effect: that "rational animal" was an explicitly stated ...
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Why is it so difficult to write good Philosophy textbooks?
Why is it so difficult to write good Philosophy textbooks (exempting textbooks on logic)?
There are plenty of useful and introductory textbooks to Mathematics, Economics, Physics, Psychology and ...
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How do I use the "Barbara, Celarent, … etc." mnemonic?
Medieval logicians memorized this most famous logic mnemonic:
Barbara, Celarent, Darii, Ferio ← direct first figure
Baralipton, Celantes, Dabitis, Fapesmo, Frisesomorum ← indirect first figure
Cesare,...
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Do Kierkegaard's non-pseudonymous writings enable one to understand Kierkegaard's philosophy much?
As I read them, Kierkegaard's writings can be split into two groups: the mostly philosophical psuedonymous, and more theological non-pseudonymous works.
I have read primarily the pseudonymous works (...
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What are the most significant responses to Lewis' "On the Plurality of Worlds"?
What are the most significant responses to David Lewis' book On the Plurality of Worlds (1986)? In particular, are there any good critical readings of Lewis' views on modal realism?
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What ethical problems might be involved in time travel?
Has anyone addressed the ethics of time travel?
Time travel looks like a gold mine for moral dilemmas, but I don't know of anyone who addresses these issues.
For example:
Am I morally obligated to ...
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Are there any good non-technical discussions of what a scientific theory is?
So, I'm teaching a course on Scientific Realism in the fall. I wanted to start off with a unit titled "What is a theory?" to make sure all of my students are on the same page and to prepare ...
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What sources discuss Russell's response to Gödel's incompleteness theorems?
In his book My Philosophical Development Russell writes,
In my introduction to the Tractatus, I suggested that, although in any given
language there are things which that language cannot express,
...
user13627
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What are some resources on the philosophy of computer science?
Are there any links between philosophy and computer science? What resources might be useful for a programmer learning philosophy?
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What are some good books on phenomenology for a mathematician?
I have a background in Mathematics, and am starting to wander into the complex realm of Philosophy. I'm interested in trying to understand what is the meaning of the scientific investigation in ...
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Recommend "best" (see description) English translation of Tao Te Ching
Would someone who is vary familiar with Lao Tzu's philosophy please refer me to a translation of Tao Te Ching that preserves the spirit and eternal messages of Tao Te Ching. I don't like the ...
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What are some good resources for learning Indian philosophy?
I am a science student. During my free time, I study philosophy and occasionally do courses in philosophy in my university.
I've noticed that in academia, "Philosophy" means "Western Philosophy".
...
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What is the difference between ethics and morals?
I am currently writing an essay on artificial moral agents, and I need to explain the difference between ethics and morals. However, I am finding it really hard to find a good book or research paper ...
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Most effective ways to self-learn philosophy
I am interested in self-learning philosophy, but I am faced with a seemingly insurmountable obstacle: being dyslexic (metaphorically speaking) while reading serious philosophical works (including ...
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Did Malebranche believe both the idea in the mind and the movement in the body are caused by God?
My senior thesis explored the notion of action under George Berkeley's system, and one claim I tried to address was that Berkeley contradicts himself when discussing will.
In his Philosophical ...
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Are there any philosophical works consisting entirely in conditional propositions?
Related, I suppose, to this question.
In mathematics most theorems are of the form:
If we have a [type of object] with [property 1] then it also has [property 2]
That is, they are conditional ...
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Does having free will presuppose consciousness, can philosophical zombies have it?
Philosophical zombies may lack a consciousness, but does this preclude the ability to have a free will? Why does consciousness matter, for agency, or at all, if determinism is real?
(I've framed the ...
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Did Plato believe in reincarnation?
I have read in some philosophy forums that Plato believed that death was not the end and he most likely believed in reincarnation.
Are there any texts that confirm that Plato actually believed in ...
user22051
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Does languange somehow filter what we can know?
I've read a proposition somewhere: That our languange acts as a filter, allowing us to know certain things while making it impossible to know the rest(1). It seems that mathematics has some things ...
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Is there any literature on the relationship between responsibility and probability?
If A causes B and I am doing A (willingly, knowingly, ...), then I can be held responsible for B. But what if probabilities are involved?
Thought experiment:
If you roll a 1 on a die you win.
You ...
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The eternal return, as thought experiment: what are the consequences?
Nietsche, as others before and after him (its roots, I am told, are in the West Asian tradition) , espoused the idea of an ever repeating clockwork universe, in which all lives are led over and over; ...
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A companion or guide to Kant's Critique of Pure Reason
Which companion, or guide, would you recommend to someone trying to read and understand the original work, The Critique of Pure Reason? Why?
I'm inclined towards these two, The Cambridge Companion to ...
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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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Which of Kant's writings would be a good introduction to his work?
I've been planning to read some of Kant's work for a while, but have no idea where to start. Which of his writings would be a good initial introduction to his philosophical views?
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What are some good books on the philosophy of economics?
I'm a college student of physics, and I'm looking to expand my horizon in the field of philosophy of economics, so, what books would you recommend for newbies like me?
I was thinking in history of ...
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What are some good books on critical theory for analytic philosophers?
As far as I understand, there are two broad branches of critical theory: one is based on social theory, and the other on literary criticism and hermeneutics. I am more interested in the latter, of the ...
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Has Witten written about the philosophy of exceptional nature?
In various of his talks and writings, Edward Witten has been revealing -- always in passing -- a philosophical perspective saying that:
Since nature (reality) is exceptional in that it has ...
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Can there be an argument without premises?
After a lengthy discussion with WillO here, we can't seem to find a common ground and I am interested in whether there really could be an argument without a single premise.
Another question whose ...
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