All Questions
20,310
questions
220
votes
23
answers
46k
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/...
- 2,784
170
votes
16
answers
49k
views
Is 'guns don't kill people, people kill people' a good argument?
I'm hearing the argument X doesn't do Y people do Y in quite a few guises. For instance in it's original form
guns don't kill people; people kill people
Presumably, therefore guns are OK
cars don't ...
- 2,862
118
votes
22
answers
23k
views
Why don't fair coin tosses "add up"? Or... is "gambler's fallacy" really valid?
I have always been perplexed by a seeming paradox in probability that I'm sure has some simple, well-known explanation. We say that a "fair coin" or whatever has "no memory."
At each toss the odds ...
- 13.3k
115
votes
13
answers
17k
views
Am I morally obligated to pursue a career in medicine?
I am a high school student who has no formal training in philosophy, so I apologize if this question seems naïve. However, it is one that I am currently facing in a life decision, and I would like a ...
- 1,257
106
votes
26
answers
50k
views
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?
...
- 1,226
95
votes
14
answers
17k
views
Is Kurt Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem a "cheap trick"?
I found a throw-away critique of Kurt Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem in an essay about Deconstruction:
The basic enterprise of contemporary literary criticism is actually quite simple.
It is based ...
95
votes
31
answers
11k
views
What would it take in a book to convince a rational person that it had been written by or directly inspired by a god?
Many of the world's religions are based on a book or text that adherents claim to have been written by or directly inspired by a god, perhaps omniscient, omnipotent and omnibenevolent.
My question is ...
- 3,736
88
votes
21
answers
53k
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.
...
- 1,999
80
votes
12
answers
22k
views
Can you prove anything in philosophy?
I don't understand philosophy very well, and so I am wondering whether you can "prove" anything in philosophy. It always seems you can go a layer down, and find another question, almost endlessly ...
- 926
79
votes
16
answers
20k
views
Is it immoral to download music illegally?
I should first point out that the title is more to capture a common occurrence of the broader idea I want to address in this question. It is also somewhat incorrect in that—at least in the US—I'm not ...
- 11.6k
75
votes
11
answers
10k
views
How can an uneducated but rational person differentiate between science and religion? [closed]
I recently found myself unable to respond to the statement "But the big bang theory is just another creation myth!" during a science vs. religion argument. I found it very difficult to explain the ...
- 27k
68
votes
6
answers
19k
views
Logical fallacy: X is bad, Y is worse, thus X is not bad
I have heard this type of argument too many times: You are criticising X using well researched facts and arguments. Your interlocutor, states that Y is much worse with equally well researched facts ...
67
votes
28
answers
12k
views
Why is there something instead of nothing?
A simple but fundamental question.
The "something" means the whole Universe (known and unknown), it could be represented as the reality version of the set of all sets, which is itself debated. It ...
- 1,046
66
votes
26
answers
24k
views
Why is faith seen as a sign of weakness, instead of an unexplored land/opportunity?
Hope this is the right place to put this question!
I am a person of faith (more specific, a Christian) and most of the time people consider me somehow inferior for my belief. I am not antisocial, not ...
- 893
66
votes
11
answers
17k
views
Does human life have innate value over that of other animals?
Does human life have innate value over that of other animals? If so, why?
And is it wrong to murder another human, but morally permissible to hunt or fish?
- 669
65
votes
9
answers
77k
views
What is the difference between metaphysics and ontology?
I know that ontology is a sub-field of metaphysics. But I can't see the difference between them. I mean ontology is defined as "The study of being and existence", and metaphysics is defined as "...
- 781
62
votes
21
answers
22k
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 ...
- 1,501
62
votes
19
answers
64k
views
In which way does quantum mechanics disprove determinism?
I've heard this pop up in a discussion with my physicist/engineer roommates, but didn't care to ask at the time. Now I'm mighty curious about it. Wikipedia doesn't really seem to say much on this ...
- 723
59
votes
18
answers
24k
views
Why is a lion not evil?
One often hears the claim that animals who kill and such, are not in fact evil. The typical example is that of a lion or a tiger that kills a prey. The argument is more or less that the animal acts ...
- 607
57
votes
18
answers
14k
views
Why aren't creationism and natural science on the same intellectual level?
In the infamous creation museum a strategically very shrewd exhibit, where a scientist and a biblical scholar both study the same fossils, is being presented:
The sign says
“different scientists ...
- 1,033
57
votes
16
answers
28k
views
Why does the universe obey scientific laws?
As far as anyone is aware, the universe consistently acts according to predictable laws (and scientific inquiry exists to determine those laws). Is there any metaphysical reason for this? Is such a ...
- 1,881
56
votes
19
answers
72k
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 ...
53
votes
15
answers
26k
views
Is there an alternative to the scientific method?
Intro
The scientific method is a key process of how we acquire knowledge and may shape our understanding of the world. If I am not mistaken, this method has been defined several times during our ...
- 1,093
52
votes
12
answers
28k
views
Why do they say I am committing a fallacy when I am just insulting someone?
On the internet, one is often accused of committing the so-called 'ad hominem'-fallacy, which, according to Sikipedia, is defined as
a fallacious argumentative strategy whereby genuine discussion of ...
- 537
51
votes
16
answers
41k
views
Why is Ayn Rand's Objectivism philosophy dismissed by academics?
This is a question in response to this other one that I asked. I didn't really get a satisfactory answer, mostly because it seems like Rand's work is largely ignored by academics. The highest voted ...
- 771
51
votes
15
answers
28k
views
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 ...
- 764
50
votes
14
answers
12k
views
What is the moral difference between abortion and infanticide?
Many people accept abortion on the grounds that foetuses aren't persons, and that personhood is what defines the right to life. I've always been intrigued about what defines personhood; obviously ...
- 990
50
votes
15
answers
16k
views
Is Mathematics always correct?
It seems Mathematical theories/Laws/Formulas are the least questioned in all of the sciences. Is mathematics that good at being closest to the laws of universe, or is it just a logical tool of our own ...
- 609
49
votes
27
answers
43k
views
How can one not believe in god as the root cause of the universe?
How can you lack belief in the existence of god?
I define god here as prime cause. As the world is a sum of collections of events, causally linked to the past through time, then there must be a ...
- 609
48
votes
18
answers
17k
views
What are the ethical problems with flipping a coin to decide in the trolley problem?
My understanding is that John M. Taurek suggests that, in the trolley problem we should flip a coin when deciding between saving 5 lives versus 1 life (assuming we do not know any of these people). He ...
- 523
47
votes
4
answers
16k
views
Did Russell understand Gödel's incompleteness theorems?
Russell was active in philosophy (although no longer in math) for many years after the Gödel's 1931 publication. Gödel's paper were not obscure, and Russell would have been aware of their effect on ...
- 2,004
46
votes
10
answers
13k
views
Why do I accept some inconsequential claims as "obviously true" without evidence? E.g. "Most people don't like to be hit on the head with a hammer."
There are certain claims that I accept as obviously true without (much) evidence. For example:
Most people don't like to be hit on the head with a hammer.
Donald Trump ate dinner some time last week....
46
votes
6
answers
21k
views
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
45
votes
13
answers
17k
views
Do numbers exist independently from observers?
Do numbers have an objective existence? If life had not evolved on planet earth would there be numbers or are numbers an invention of human minds?
Are there any relevant works that discuss this? (I ...
- 769
44
votes
9
answers
3k
views
What basis do we have for certainty in current scientific theories?
Given there is much past scientific belief that we now know NOT to be true, what basis do we have for the seemingly increasing certainty in our scientific beliefs held today being true?
On the one ...
- 907
44
votes
6
answers
15k
views
Is there a term for the belief that "if it's legal, it's moral"?
Sometimes I hear arguments that seem to appeal to the fact that something is morally permissible because it is legally permitted. For example:
Abortion is moral because it's legally permitted. ...
- 589
43
votes
12
answers
15k
views
Fallacy by Sherlock Holmes 'Eliminate the impossible, and what remains must be the truth'
In The Sign of Four, Holmes asks Watson: "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?"
This may be ...
- 457
42
votes
10
answers
15k
views
What fallacy in Pascal's Wager allows replacing God with the devil?
I wanted to know the name of the fallacy or fallacies the Pascal's Wager in the sense that it can be applied to motivate one's belief in many things. A similar argument to the original Wager can be ...
- 1,298
42
votes
16
answers
18k
views
Does a negative claimant have a burden of proof?
I have often heard it said that the burden of proof is on the positive claimant but not on the one making a negative claim. A person claiming, "God exists" has a burden of proof but not a person ...
user409
42
votes
8
answers
94k
views
What did David Hume mean when he said that "reason is a slave to the passions"?
I don't understand the meaning of this oft-quoted quotation of Hume's in On Reason, namely his saying that "reason is a slave to the passions." What exactly does he mean by that ? Is it simply that ...
- 854
42
votes
16
answers
12k
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
42
votes
10
answers
15k
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 ...
- 3,283
41
votes
18
answers
10k
views
How can one rebut the argument that atheism is inherently immoral?
It not uncommon to see religious people arguing that without the moral center of a religious text, true ethics are impossible.
The reasoning goes that, without a fixed moral center, atheists are ...
- 833
40
votes
11
answers
14k
views
What are the ethics of having children today?
Please receive this question as having come from a young person who wants to have children, but given the state of affairs (climate change, growing costs of living and wealth inequality, "technology", ...
- 678
40
votes
14
answers
11k
views
Is faith necessary for man to survive / why is existentialism valued if it is unsubstantiated?
I'd like to point out that I have basically no knowledgeable background in philosophy, but this question has been troubling me as of late, and I need an informed take on this.
I was watching a video ...
- 957
40
votes
13
answers
8k
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 what I've found is that these debates seem to gloss over the concept of "free will" itself, either taking it as a given ...
- 657
39
votes
25
answers
11k
views
Why is it okay to eat meat but not to be cruel to animals?
Why is eating meat allowed in a social setting ( Most people think it's not bad ) but not animal cruelty in a social setting ( Most people think it's bad )?
Like:
Imagine what would happen if someone ...
- 521
38
votes
14
answers
28k
views
How come nihilism is so popular today?
I've been trying to attack this question (or more precisely, come up with an answer to that fact) for some time now, but after a while of research I'm suddenly not so sure of the reason the situation ...
- 3,806
38
votes
13
answers
18k
views
Is circular reasoning always a fallacy?
Suppose the following dialogue:
...
"I accept only one notion of land property. Namely, 'I am doing my stuff here, therefore I am here".
"But this means," he responded, "you ...
- 2,546
38
votes
11
answers
6k
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What should philosophers know about math and natural sciences?
My question is whether a lack of knowledge about formal mathematics or theoretical science in general would have an impact on a philosopher's ability to think and make judgments.
Why should a ...