All Questions
3,264
questions
9
votes
6
answers
1k
views
Is the idea of a causal chain physical (or even scientific)?
I am aware that the idea is venerable, going back through Lucretius to the Stoics and Epicurus, and even to Aristotle with his prime mover argument. But isn't this a pre-scientific notion? The ...
- 161
3
votes
4
answers
581
views
According to the major theories of concepts, where do meanings come from?
In all our intellectual pursuits, we use concepts like "atoms" for a structure or "ingredients" for a recipe. We all have to use them. For example, consider the concepts 'existence'...
- 81
3
votes
4
answers
812
views
Wisdom and John Vervaeke's awakening from the meaning crises?
I've been watching John Vervaeke's awakening from the meaning crises ( I haven't seen the whole lecture series). And while I am finding it intriguing I think to myself is this really wisdom? I mean in ...
- 1,977
25
votes
13
answers
12k
views
The Unreasonable Ineffectiveness of Mathematics in most sciences
In 1960, the physicist Eugene Wigner wrote the article "The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences" explaining how unexpected it is that mathematical formalism can ...
- 680
91
votes
22
answers
55k
views
Could 'cogito ergo sum' possibly be false?
I've heard it postulated by some people that "we can't truly know anything". While that does seem to apply to the vast majority of things, I can't see how 'cogito ergo sum' can possibly be false.
...
- 2,039
8
votes
6
answers
956
views
What are some philosophical works that explore constructing meaning in life from an agnostic or atheist view?
I've been deeply suicidal for years, but it's gotten worse recently. I grew up Mormon, and last year I realized I couldn't believe in it anymore. I just couldn't; it would take too long to explain.
I ...
- 81
224
votes
27
answers
48k
views
Was mathematics invented or discovered?
What would it mean to say that mathematics was invented and how would this be different from saying mathematics was discovered?
Is this even a serious philosophical question, or just a meaningless, ...
- 2,824
4
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Is the Categorical Imperative Simply Bad Math? :)
The title is clickbait, but the question is not.
First, The Categorical Imperative:
Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law.
...
- 49
14
votes
6
answers
9k
views
Is the idea that "Everything is energy" even coherent?
There are many New Age websites claiming Everything is energy. Does this even make sense in philosophy of physics and metaphysics?
How can something be "made out of energy"? As far as I ...
- 803
3
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Is the tyrannicide perpetrated by William Tell morally legitimate?
I have recently been reading Friedrich Schiller's fantastic Drama William Tell, in which he not only relates the folkloric-mythological origin of Switzerland upon its liberation from the yoke of the ...
- 103
64
votes
21
answers
23k
views
Is the "omniscient-omnipotent-omnipresent" definition of God consistent?
God is commonly defined as an omniscient (infinite knowledge), omnipotent (unlimited power), omnipresent (present everywhere) entity.
Is there any logical inconsistency in this definition?
I have seen ...
- 1,551
2
votes
1
answer
665
views
Why is a measured true value “TRUE”?
So, I am studying counts and errors currently...and, there is a concept of true value (the real value to which every other measured value is compared to).
So, I had a question that why is the True ...
- 33
28
votes
17
answers
17k
views
Are we living in a simulation? The evidence
I am not questioning whether the simulation topic is outside science. I am asking what evidence there is or could be to resolve whether we are or not.
Living in a simulation has been a topic for ...
- 21.7k
0
votes
3
answers
2k
views
How do ethicists tackle the question "Is it immoral to have sex in public places?" Is it possible to use rational and empirical ideas to answer?
Is it immoral to have sex in public places? If so, what are the rational and empirical reasons?
Most people believe it’s immoral to have sex in public places. Have ethicists come up with any good ...
10
votes
6
answers
6k
views
Is the Münchhausen trilemma really a trilemma?
It claims there are three options of which none of them are satisfying.
Circular argument doesn't prove anything because it's just when the premise is the same as the conclusion.
x ∵ x
Infinite ...
- 709
35
votes
17
answers
36k
views
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♦
- 736
22
votes
1
answer
15k
views
How can we reason about "if P then Q" or "P only if Q" statements in propositional logic?
When you have a propositional sentence of the form P ⊃ Q — which we might read as "if P, then Q" — how can you tell when it is true, or false, based on the truth-values of P and ...
- 10.1k
4
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Deterministic or stochastic universe?
Just a little bit before my graduation from computer science, I attended a course about computational intelligence, and my professor then challenged us to debate on whether the world/universe follows ...
- 149
43
votes
11
answers
16k
views
What is the difference between free-will and randomness and or non-determinism?
In relation to the question "What are the necessary conditions for an action to be regarded as a free choice?", it came up that one way to insure the possibility of free-will was to have more than one ...
- 3,319
3
votes
5
answers
816
views
Is artificially generating images of minors in sexual positions unethical? [closed]
I am a machine learner, specialising in GANs and when a friend recently told me that he thinks a litle bit differently about the situation, this got me thinking (and not only about getting new friends)...
70
votes
28
answers
13k
views
Why is there something instead of nothing?
The "something" means the whole Universe (known and unknown). It would include all the multiverses and such. It could be represented as the “reality” version of the set of all sets, which is ...
- 1,074
32
votes
10
answers
294k
views
What is the difference between Fact and Truth?
I'm curious about the difference between Fact and Truth. I was searching on the internet if I could find it. But still I'm confused about the exact meaning.
I first read the forum discussion here
Fact ...
- 605
11
votes
11
answers
4k
views
Does philosophy have a dark side?
Can the "love of wisdom" be turned into something bad? Were there evil philosophers in the past?
I was recently reading a book about the dark side of psychology, how people use psychological tricks ...
- 768
21
votes
4
answers
2k
views
How do defenders of libertarian freewill reconcile it with constraints imposed by the laws of physics?
Libertarian freewill is the position that we have some measure of metaphysical freewill. Per this position, a free agent at a given point in time is able to freely select a course of action among ...
- 27.4k
16
votes
9
answers
1k
views
Can one speak unambiguously of "the" scientific method?
When people in general discuss science, they talk about the scientific method as if it were a fixed and universally agreed-upon principle. In a show I saw recently by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, he ...
- 27.4k
56
votes
19
answers
73k
views
How will learning about philosophy impact real-life?
Examining the practical, impactful, real-life benefits of getting a degree in philosophy
It is often asked, "What is the practical use of philosophy?" or "How will learning about ...
12
votes
1
answer
952
views
What is the difference between depth and surface information?
I was looking for an answer to this question: Was Euclid's method of proof axiomatic?
While doing so I ran across an abstract of Jaakko Hintikka for an article "What is the axiomatic method?" ...
- 19.4k
12
votes
2
answers
1k
views
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 ...
- 886
2
votes
5
answers
639
views
How improbable does an event have to be before we can say it didn't happen by chance?
What is the probability threshold below which we can confidently say that a blind process did not create the supposed event?
For example, how many heads in a row would we need to say that it did not ...
user62907
27
votes
9
answers
27k
views
Is infinite regress of causation possible? Is infinite regress of causation necessary?
For a number of reasons — including perhaps a desire to feel that we have a complete understanding of where we came from, or at least an understanding which is completely sufficient for all of ...
- 10.1k
24
votes
2
answers
28k
views
What fallacy dismisses problems by presenting "bigger" problems?
Wasn't really sure how to phrase this, but I'm thinking of an instance in which someone diminishes a problem by presenting one of larger scope - as a rather shoddy example, "x political problem in ...
- 343
9
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What are the differences between philosophies presupposing one Logic versus many logics?
I was wondering in light of the historical developments of logic since ancient Greeks and well into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: What kind of a philosophy assumes only one Logic, and what ...
- 2,721
7
votes
1
answer
577
views
Video games as new art
Are there any serious philosopher or artist that have talked about this topic before? Because what I can see from video games is that they can change the imagination of a person about reality, ...
3
votes
2
answers
313
views
Philosophers or philosophical traditions that reject symbolic reasoning
I'm most familiar with philosophy in the context of discussing various flavors of logic, such as independence-friendly logic, various extensions of first-order logic with plurals, relevant logic, and ...
- 1,054
3
votes
7
answers
644
views
Is it plausible to believe in the existence of other minds if all arguments have been criticized?
I believe that other people also have minds.
To believe in other minds, arguments are needed.
All arguments in favor of the existence of other minds are subject to strong criticism.
So it turns out ...
- 155
84
votes
14
answers
23k
views
Is there such a thing as absolute proof?
Can you prove, absolutely and 100%, that something is true, in the field of philosophy? It always seems you can go a layer down, and find another question, almost endlessly.
Reference
Development of ...
- 966
44
votes
16
answers
13k
views
How should a beginner study philosophy?
In order to study computer programming, it is clear what concepts one should study first (for example, if-statements, for-loops, classes, objects, etc.). By comparison, it is not evident what topics ...
- 549
43
votes
13
answers
9k
views
What are the necessary conditions for an action to be regarded as a free choice?
A common philosophical question revolves around the existence of free will, but these debates gloss over the concept of "free will" itself, either taking it as a given (that everyone ...
- 697
25
votes
15
answers
13k
views
Are there any non-divine objective standards of good/evil?
This question is a step backwards because I've run into trouble with definitions on my original question: What would be the logical consequences of human will/nature being corrupt?
Is there any way ...
- 444
20
votes
9
answers
3k
views
Is free will reconcilable with a purely physical world?
Many are of the opinion that there is no metaphysical world beyond the material that we can sense, and that everything is therefore governed by physical cause and effect (some believe that we cannot ...
- 7,379
18
votes
6
answers
6k
views
Is God either amoral or not omnipotent?
The usual (Christian) justification for suffering/evil in the world created by a benevolent God is freedom of the will. However, the more interesting question is not about the source of evil (which ...
- 43.1k
14
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Are philosophy and science mergeable today?
In the past, both Philosophy and Science were one. However, because of the vastness of Science, it was cut off. I am inclined to go along the same line of thinking, but, is there a way to merge both ...
- 149
12
votes
9
answers
3k
views
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.
...
- 27.4k
10
votes
3
answers
12k
views
What are the more complex/interesting examples of synthetic a priori statements?
The usual examples of synthetic a priori statements are – it seems at least since Kant:
"Nothing can be simultaneously red and green all over"
7 + 5 = 12 (or any other basic arithmetic statements).
...
- 4,761
9
votes
5
answers
2k
views
(Why) is this negative outlook on the concept of philosophy misguided?
The following is my negative outlook on philosophy. I'm interested in learning the reasons I might be wrong, outcomes and examples I'm not aware of, lest I express this opinion in the future and seem ...
- 610
9
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Did Kant come to believe that we have access to things-in-themselves after all?
Kant's position on things-in-themselves is often described Socratically, of them we know only one thing, that they are. However, in an old but apparently still popular history of philosophy book I ...
- 43.1k
8
votes
3
answers
435
views
What are the historic stances on the epistemological status of mathematics?
I know that Plato and Kant thought it was synthetic a priori (although Plato would not have phrased it in that way). What other major thinkers have weighed in on this issue, on both sides of both the ...
- 178
5
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Philosophers on alternatives to capitalism and communism
Philosopher Karl Marx envisioned an economic system called communism to fight the abuses suffered by working class people during the industrial era. The exploitation of man by man
and the excessive ...
user22051
42
votes
16
answers
19k
views
Do negative assertions require proof?
A negative proposition is a proposition which asserts what something is not. A negative claimant is someone who makes a negative proposition.
The "burden of proof" is commonly said to be ...
user409
35
votes
16
answers
66k
views
Is there anything that is totally random?
When I say totally random, I mean absolutely random, not pseudorandom.
If I want to say "totally random" numbers such as 1,26,17,4,1 and 27, although I see them to be totally random, they aren't. ...
- 873