Questions tagged [reference-request]
This tag should be used when the question is asking for specific references.
1,118
questions
9
votes
1
answer
648
views
What are some responses to Popper's "The Open Society and Its Enemies"?
Can you recommend a good reference to answer the critiques in Popper's "The Open Society and Its Enemies"? I am especially interested in responses to the Marx section of the book.
- 235
24
votes
11
answers
31k
views
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. ...
- 7,321
4
votes
2
answers
236
views
On consistency as a univerally recognized value, and arguments using this principle
Consider this dialogue:
John: If I bet you a dollar this quarter would land heads, would you accept?
Jane: Yes.
John: If I bet you a dollar this nickel would land heads, would you accept?
...
- 411
8
votes
3
answers
1k
views
What are some good books on anger in philosophy?
I'm sure that there is a philosopher that tells about anger, but I don't know his/her name. Could you help me? I'm studying about the anger in many cultural fields: arts, history, religion.
Now I am ...
- 183
3
votes
0
answers
512
views
What are some answers besides besides Mallarmé to Nietzsche's 'who is speaking?'
Nietzsche in what can be considered a critique of Cartesian reasoning at one point uses the identity of a flash with the lightning that 'produced it as a metaphor for famously saying that there's no ...
- 1,770
1
vote
2
answers
130
views
On the age of mankind
“CHILDHOOD’S END”
From what is presently known, Homo sapiens—the modern form of man—has
existed on earth for approximately a hundred thousand years in numbers
large enough to constitute a ...
- 1,348
0
votes
1
answer
223
views
A book that introduces Philosophy [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How to get started with philosophy without getting overwhelmed quickly?
What is a good book (Or online resource) that introduces Philosophy and the methods of Philosophers, ...
- 9
15
votes
1
answer
3k
views
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 ...
- 2,014
6
votes
1
answer
575
views
Aristotelian logic vs. propositional logic and other controversies in philosophical logic
As we all know until late XIX century, only offical logic was the Aristotelian logic. Also it's known fact that many scholars were aware of existance of propositional logic and disregarded it ex ...
- 61
8
votes
1
answer
351
views
Which texts might provide a critical introduction or review of contemporary and recent philosophical movements?
I'm intending to read Anthony's Kenny's 4 volume History of Philosopy. I notice though it stops in 1975 which is fair enough I think. You can't have the history of yesterday. However I'm curious to ...
- 2,882
4
votes
3
answers
539
views
'Meaning of life' as per Viktor Frankl's Man's search for Meaning
I recently read 'Man's search for Meaning' by Viktor Frankl. It was a very moving book and in it the author describes three ways in which a man may find meaning in his life.
1.Through some creative ...
- 185
2
votes
1
answer
133
views
What is a good introduction to asian (korean) philosphy?
The title says it all. I looking into studying abroad in South Korea (I'm from Germany) in a year or so and I want to have at least a working knowledge of the philosophical workings of Asia and ...
- 153
5
votes
5
answers
2k
views
How to understand numbers that become really large?
If we begin with a notion of number N that we denote F(N) as a function of time, can a decidable procedure exist on definability of the growth of numbers? Inspired by Tipler's Omega point and Thomson'...
- 426
4
votes
2
answers
263
views
The paradox of the raven and Kratzer's account of "if-then"
I have just read Angelika Kratzer's paper "Conditionals". In this paper Kratzer rejects the traditional account of the "if-then" construction in English as a two-place material implication operator, ...
- 140
2
votes
1
answer
221
views
Who came up with this philosophical idea regarding sense experience and the unknown?
This is not a direct quote, but what I can remember of the general idea:
Humans have the sense of sight to see things around us, so we would
of the presence of some larger being as such. However, ...
- 139
2
votes
7
answers
7k
views
Am I still the same person as I was yesterday?
Since every living being has a metabolism, we all live in non-equilibrium state. We keep on exchanging molecules and atoms with our environment. I assume that our brain is affected by this as well as ...
- 748
4
votes
2
answers
154
views
References on beneficent obligations
I'm interested in sources discussing the obligations we have to be "beneficent", e.g. through charitable donations. Famine, Affluence and Morality is one of the more famous articles of this type. SEP ...
- 2,758
9
votes
9
answers
14k
views
Which of Nietzsche writing would be a good introduction to his work?
Similar to Which of Kant's writings would be a good introduction to his work? I've been planning to read some of Nietzsche's work for a while, but have no idea where to start. Which of his ...
- 191
5
votes
1
answer
204
views
Questions and ideas that have stumped philosophers
I'm looking for questions and ideas that are seen as unresolved in philosophy. I guess nothing is actually resolved. But I mean things that are generally understood to not have been sufficiently ...
- 67
18
votes
1
answer
400
views
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. ...
- 2,758
2
votes
3
answers
327
views
How to be a good critic?
How can we be a good critic when facing people's rigid beliefs? I'm interested in how to attack (logically) their dogmatic beliefs to have a "good" influence on their minds, because if we just attack ...
- 123
5
votes
1
answer
136
views
Canonical Papers on Context
The notions of context and contextual disambiguation are either implicitly or explicitly deployed in order to solve problems of ambiguous reference and meaning in the majority of the theories of ...
- 355
6
votes
1
answer
240
views
In which text does Berkeley develop his philosophy of subjective idealism?
A while ago, I asked this question about Borges's philosophical influences, which yielded Berkeley.
Reading the wikipedia page on Berkeley, I can see that as far as philosophers go, his philosophy of ...
- 517
3
votes
8
answers
6k
views
Can conscription be morally justified during a time of war?
Consider military conscription, which is where a government forces its own citizens to join the army and fight in foreign wars.
As I understand it, the typical argument is that freedom is not free, ...
- 57
6
votes
5
answers
6k
views
What should I read to learn about Spinoza's philososphy?
I don't have much philosophical background aside from a couple college classes and stuff I've picked up from general interest.
I'd like to learn Spinoza's philosophy. What is a good starting place? ...
- 427
5
votes
1
answer
262
views
literature and theories of man's encounter with himself
I am planning on writing a paper on what Sellars calls "the paradox of man's encounter with himself" (Sellars Philosophy and the Scientific Image of Man 1962: 6). To quote Sellars in more detail:
"[...
- 173
8
votes
4
answers
507
views
Which if any philosophers might be considered affiliated with Wittgenstein's school of thought or have expressed similar views?
Are there any philosophers who might be considered affiliated or belonging to the same turn or school, or perhaps hold the same kind of views, as Wittgenstein?
- 657
5
votes
2
answers
611
views
Which writers might offer critical readings of Luhmann?
Niklas Luhmann introduces the so called Binary Code in his Systems Theory. Any system has its own binary code. For example, in science the code is "the truth vs. not the truth".
Which writers might ...
- 1,062
4
votes
2
answers
318
views
'Daemons' vis-a-vis transcendental personification of self-will
Greek mythology, classical philosophy and early theology is teeming with things referred to as 'daemons'. Many, such as those of Plato's Socrates, hint at an externalised transcendental corollary of ...
- 1,512
-1
votes
1
answer
149
views
Would adopting the veil and Rawls' two principles bring about the result Rawls' desires? [closed]
What problem(s) is Rawls' veil of ignorance meant to fix? Do you think the problem is a real one in contemporary America? Would adopting the veil and Rawls' two principles bring about the result Rawls'...
- 11
42
votes
16
answers
13k
views
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’...
- 529
8
votes
5
answers
931
views
How is knowing that I am going to die influencing my life?
Does the fact that I know I am going to die make me superior in a sense to all the other living creatures that have no understanding of this event? Is the fact that I know that one day I am going to ...
- 335
9
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Was Aristotle aware of Buddha's teachings?
Are there any references in Corpus Aristotelicum to suggest whether Aristotle was aware of Buddhist teachings or Eastern philosophy? Aristotle travelled to Asia Minor at one stage of life, left a ...
user1207
11
votes
7
answers
2k
views
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; ...
- 1,512
7
votes
2
answers
444
views
Can any Nietzsche experts offer recommendations for research on the origin/meaning of suffering in Nietzsche?
I'm gearing up to explore Nietzsche for the first time in a junior undergraduate 19th Century Euro Thought class, and I'm interested in exploring a specific question regarding the meaning and origin ...
- 73
7
votes
3
answers
329
views
Is there a formal presentation of Maturana's "Autopoiesis"
I have been reading through "Autopoiesis and Cognition" by Humberto R. Maturana and Francisco J. Varela. One of their goals in defining autopoiesis and the supporting concepts of simple and composite ...
- 2,014
21
votes
4
answers
2k
views
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,...
- 211
8
votes
8
answers
13k
views
Which philosophers have written about fear?
It occurred to me some time ago that fear is the result of a lack of control, and try as I might I cannot conceive fear existing without this vacancy. Looked at from the other direction, in a ...
- 11.6k
10
votes
5
answers
11k
views
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?
- 203
3
votes
2
answers
266
views
Books/Pieces/Essays about self-worth? [closed]
I'm interested in reading some good books/pieces/essays about self-worth (ultimate meaning of life, learning, working, etc).
It's hard to precisely define the topic, but anything you think is ...
- 139
7
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Which philosophers provide theories of subjectivity?
Which philosophers write about subjectivity? What are some primary sources for philosophical theories of subjectivity?
- 171
26
votes
3
answers
2k
views
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 ...
- 9,970
5
votes
1
answer
315
views
Are there any responses to Penelope Maddy's "Second Philosophy"?
I am finishing up reading Penelopy Maddy's [2007] "Second Philosophy". I really enjoy her flavor of naturalism. Like Quine, she justifies parts of mathematics because of its application. Unlike Quine, ...
- 2,014
4
votes
4
answers
248
views
What philosophers and schools have considered 'transcendental' economic values?
Background
Settle a bet- more likely; enrich a debate.
A friend of mine (a philosophy PhD with a penchant for economics) and I have been arguing for some time on the same topic. He is a libertarian ...
- 1,512
-2
votes
5
answers
809
views
What are some good critical readings of the film The Matrix?
Where might I find some thoughtful philosophical or critical readings of The Matrix, in particular which treat the primary theme of virtual reality?
- 225
7
votes
4
answers
2k
views
What are some good resources for philosophy in laymen's terms?
What are some good resources for a layman to get a basic overview of modern philosophical theories, positions, and open questions in plain language? I'm reminded somewhat of Bryan Magee's videos, ...
0
votes
2
answers
322
views
Language as barrier to concepts [closed]
Can the limitations of language be considered a barrier in conveying a philosophical concept? How can an idea that resists linguistic formulation be conveyed without losing the essence?
Is there a ...
- 31
9
votes
3
answers
2k
views
What hierarchies exist in different branches of Philosophy?
If you were to map out different branches of Philosophy in a hierarchical nature on multiple levels in order to compare them what would some look like or could you point me to a reference that sorts ...
- 285
7
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Where can I find material on Epicureanism?
I'm looking for books by Epicurus, but I haven't been able to find any. Can anyone suggest one, or another reference book that deals with Epicureanism?
I don't have any context by which to judge ...
5
votes
1
answer
903
views
Can Kant's Copernican revolution be viewed as an extension of Wittgensteinian language games?
Forgive me if this question is clumsily posed.
The so-called 'Copernican revolution' of declaring the mind as bringing objecthood and properties to objects, rather than their perception bringing ...
- 1,512