All Questions
21,788
questions
-1
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0
answers
4
views
Does the argument by analogy in favor of the existence of other minds lead to solipsism?
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/other-minds/#ArguAnal
I can't understand the article. Here it is said that the argument by analogy inevitably leads to solipsism. Then it is said that the argument ...
- 421
-1
votes
0
answers
3
views
Has any thought be done on correspondences between logical expressiveness and ontological expressiveness?
There are hierarchies of logics that I’m still trying to understand.
https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/relation+between+type+theory+and+category+theory#Overview
It is one thing to study how their logical ...
- 1,794
-1
votes
0
answers
8
views
Material implication as a partial operator?
Influenced by Speakpigeon’s unrelenting challenging of material implication, I was wondering if there is a formalization which treats it as a partial Boolean operator, like so:
p | q | p -> q
—-|———...
- 1,794
-1
votes
0
answers
26
views
Is there circular reasoning here? What type of reasoning does this belong to?
Is there circular reasoning here?
What type of argument is this:
abduction (inference to best explanation) or analogy?
I know from my experience how people who have mental states should behave.
...
- 421
-1
votes
0
answers
17
views
What are the criteria of explanatory power?
What are the criteria of explanatory power?
What are the criteria of explanatory power? I can't find the criteria.
In the case of solipsism and the existence of other conditions, the assessment of the ...
- 421
0
votes
1
answer
32
views
Wittgenstein and the primary elements
What does it mean to say that we can attribute neither being nor non-being to the elements? One might say: if everything that we call “being” and “non-being” consists in the obtaining and non-...
- 557
3
votes
4
answers
68
views
Does standard quantum mechanics imply anti realism?
In quantum entanglement, there is something called a joint wave function that describes the state of the two particles entangled. At measurement, this mysteriously “collapses” into an actual outcome, ...
- 39
3
votes
1
answer
52
views
Why not just give up on the idea of truth-functionality?
I understand that today only a minority of academics who are specialised in formal logic accept the horseshoe (aka "Classical Logic" or "First-Order Logic") as an accurate, or even ...
- 7,638
1
vote
0
answers
26
views
Which author(s) first talked of Aristotle's syllogistic as a logic of terms?
Which author(s) first talked of Aristotle's syllogistic as a logic of terms?
Thank you for any scholarly references.
Aristotle does defines the notion of "term" in Prior Analytics:
I call a ...
- 7,638
4
votes
4
answers
109
views
What do we mean when we ask "What's the – fundamental – nature of reality?"
This is a very popular question within metaphysics and I'd like to understand what do we are really mean with the question.
In particular, what do we mean when we use the words "fundamental" ...
- 149
1
vote
3
answers
581
views
How do physicists talk about spin of individual particles when the universe is massively entangled?
The following two things seem to be true:
(1) The universe is massively entangled because the wave function that describes the entire universe has measure 1 of being entangled. Further, given how ...
- 136
9
votes
7
answers
954
views
Does the success of AI (Large Language Models) support Wittgenstein's position that "meaning is use"?
By 'success' we think of current AI/LLMs capacity of producing text that is regarded as coherent, informative, even convincing, by human readers [see for instance Spitale et al. and Salvi et al.]
...
- 1,361
2
votes
1
answer
37
views
Distinction between classical essential (primary) and non-essential (secondary) properties of matter vs. modern primary-secondary qualities?
Primary qualities according to modernity (Galileo, Descartes, Hobbes) are qualities that are quantitative/mathematical. Everything else cannot be reduced to mathematics—e.g., a sensible is a secondary ...
- 65
4
votes
3
answers
558
views
Wittgenstein and tautology
What does it mean to say that we can attribute neither being nor
non-being to the elements? One might say: if everything that we call
“being” and “non-being” consists in the obtaining and non-...
- 557
3
votes
0
answers
94
views
Who was the philosopher whose lectures prompted suicide(s)?
I vaguely remember from the course on the History of Philosophy that a well-known philosopher has once given public lectures, after which some people commited suicides. His point of view given during ...
- 31
14
votes
10
answers
4k
views
Is Alzheimer’s disease evidence for the non-existence of the soul?
As Alzheimer's disease kills off neurons, a person's personality and cognitive abilities gradually fade away. Doesn't this suggest that the self or "soul" is simply an emergent property of ...
1
vote
2
answers
46
views
If past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior, can we surmise that known past and present behavior is the best estimate for unknown past?
A discussion about the ever increasing earth population made me wonder about the world population in the past, when such things could not be recorded.
If we accept that past behavior is truly the best ...
- 21
3
votes
0
answers
35
views
What do we mean by "philosophy "? Can anything be a subject of philosophy?
At what point does philosophy become physics or psychology or something else? Can there be, for example, a "philosophy of dogs"? I'm guessing not, because it is too narrow, but because ...
- 759
2
votes
3
answers
240
views
If A is justified in believing in X based on their personal experience, can B also be justified in believing in X based on A's testimony?
The title already expresses the question perfectly well, so I don't see much point in complicating the question further, beyond including a few thought-provoking examples below:
Example 1: The ...
- 4,981
1
vote
1
answer
112
views
What do we mean by 'obligation'?
I've been thinking about what we mean by obligation, and I've come up with the following:
What is an obligation?
It is clear that obligation cannot be anything to do with being coerced by someone ...
- 197
1
vote
1
answer
43
views
Are there circular reasoning in these explanations?
Other people have minds like mine because:
1.
Other people have minds like mine:
other people are biologically very similar to me
the behavior of other people is very similar to my behavior.
my ...
- 421
6
votes
2
answers
412
views
Who coined the use of the word "entailment" in the logical sense?
Who coined the use of the word entailment in the logical sense?
And to mean what exactly?
Thank you for any scholarly reference.
EDIT
For example, there is a definition of "semantic entailment&...
- 7,638
0
votes
2
answers
72
views
What is causation?
I suppose the common idea of “causation” to me seems like it is supposed to reduce to physical causation, at least this is a standard worldview in modern times. In other words, the implied metaphysics ...
- 1,794
-1
votes
0
answers
29
views
Does iff suggest that there are no ethical egoists unless psychological egoism is true?
Most people would agree that something that is in my interests can be so because you want it to happen. So why is what someone else wants valuable? According to ethical egoism, because it's good for ...
- 800
3
votes
2
answers
293
views
Are all arguments for the existence of other minds circular?
The argument from analogy and the best explanation argument (IBE) rely on the claim that my mental states are responsible for my behavior and then conclude that the behavior of other people is caused ...
- 421
9
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Does the current “ruling ontology” deny any possibility of a social causation of mental illness?
Mark Fisher in his book Capitalist Realism writes:
The current ruling ontology denies any possibility of a social causation of mental illness.
Fisher then goes on to say that the construct of “...
- 189
1
vote
0
answers
24
views
Yeats refers to a common soul in the occult tradition. What might he be referring to?
Yeats takes for granted the conception of the destiny of the human soul that is “common to the occult tradition. What is this destiny that occult traditions commonly agree the soul has? And because &...
- 759
-7
votes
1
answer
50
views
What are the benefits of smoking marijuana? [closed]
I could ask this on Psychology SE but I feel like approaching it from a more philosophical angle. It is really common for people to cite scientific research like “phenomenon X has correlation Y” (like,...
- 1,794
-1
votes
2
answers
125
views
What does it mean for something to be "explained"?
Suppose I claim that things fall to the ground due to a force known as gravity. Is that explanation satisfactory?
Or if I propose that molecules collided randomly, leading to the formation of the ...
- 4,981
3
votes
1
answer
55
views
René Descartes' and Wittgenstein Doubt: Self and the Existence of Others?
Can one doubt their own existence in the world while simultaneously doubting the existence of others? If one's being isn't present because they aren't present themselves, wouldn't that make it ...
5
votes
1
answer
226
views
Are there cases where psychology has offered successful scientific explanations for phenomena that neuroscience hasn't?
Firstly, is there a distinction between a psychological explanation and a neuroscientific one for the same phenomenon?
Imagine if I posed a question to the entire field of psychology, seeking the best ...
- 4,981
5
votes
2
answers
218
views
What exactly is the implausibility and unconvincingness of solipsism?
Solipsism is unconvincing and implausible because it is a complex and confusing explanation.
Solipsism offers two different explanations for no reason at all: one for my behavior and one for other ...
- 421
3
votes
2
answers
95
views
What are the responsibilities of humans towards nature and human race?
An individual has to carry out various duties and fulfill the responsibilities on various levels. I tried to figure out some possible roles humans play. I believe this is an exhaustive list (if I ...
- 206
0
votes
0
answers
23
views
Are Wittgenstein's aesthetic and ethical claims during the Tractatus period meant to be descriptive or prescriptive?
Are Wittgenstein's aesthetic and ethical claims during the Tractatus period meant to be descriptive or prescriptive? I read it, followed the argument and forgot most of it, but I can recall that ...
- 800
0
votes
0
answers
24
views
Can this argument for particularism be applied to egoism?
https://wab.uib.no/agora/tools/alws/collection-8-issue-1-article-5.annotate
how can we hold on to moral principles in the face of the seeming impossibility to formulate a moral principle which is ...
- 800
0
votes
2
answers
41
views
Private language argument as an argument against the self and so egosim
“The words of this language are to refer to what only the speaker can
know — to his immediate private sensations. So another person cannot
understand the language.”... Immediately after introducing ...
- 800
1
vote
2
answers
119
views
Whose perspective on evidence is correct: Hitchens's razor or Carl Sagan's? [closed]
Hitchens's razor states, "What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence," while Carl Sagan argues, "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." ...
- 111
1
vote
1
answer
40
views
What amount of egoism is natural, even necessary, even moral?
In his second theorem in the Critique of Practical Reason, Kant states that a rational being's consciousness of the agreeableness of life accompanying his whole existence is happiness, and the ...
- 759
0
votes
1
answer
46
views
Can a necessitarian still believe in this notion of possibility?
I am a necessitarian, meaning, I believe that the only thing that is possible is what actually happens. The reason for that is because I don't believe any possible world except this one exists. ...
- 6,806
8
votes
3
answers
324
views
Can the law of non-contradiction exist without the law of identity?
Lately I've been reading about Quentin Meillassoux, and it seems that the only law of logic he doesn't see as contingent is the law of non-contradiction, because if the world is what it is not, then ...
- 712
0
votes
0
answers
43
views
Is B(p) V B(~p) an instance of LEM in doxastic logic?
So in classical logic either p is T or p is F. But is it same in doxastic logic, ie, is B(p) V B(~p) an instance of LEM?
And the second issue, is it equivalent to B(p) V ~B(p)?
- 121
3
votes
3
answers
48
views
stuck! first order logic - identities (specifically "only")
Please correct me on why these may be wrong(identities). I've tried many times but it seems I'm missing something.
for they key: M(x) = is a moon, O(x,y) = x orbits y, and m = mars, e = earth
Only ...
- 31
1
vote
2
answers
83
views
Wittgenstein's chess example
When one shows someone the king in chess and says “This is the king”, one does not thereby explain to him the use of this piece a unless he already knows the rules of the game except for this last ...
- 557
1
vote
0
answers
46
views
+50
Are the noumena and phenomena worlds or perspectives? (According to Kant)
Among the peculiarities of phenomena, Kant’s premise is that he is unable to comprehend any meaning that describes what is beyond sense. Even sensible things will be invisible to the mind, and ...
- 189
9
votes
9
answers
6k
views
Why do most philosophers believe in a deterministic formulation of quantum mechanics?
After stumbling upon this recent survey from 2020, it is interesting to see that the most popular position (apart from being undecided) is hidden variables at 21.94%. As a reminder, a hidden-variable ...
1
vote
1
answer
52
views
Do things that always existed require less explanation than things that do?
This came up from a recent discussion I was having with Conifold where I started wondering: do facts about reality that don’t seem to “start” and just potentially always existed (such as the “...
5
votes
4
answers
411
views
Does physicalism imply that an explanation for consciousness is a category error?
Every time we create an explanation for something in the physical world we represent the world with objects with various different structures and properties etc. We then relate these structures to ...
2
votes
5
answers
125
views
Would being in a simulation explain why we have regularities?
Would being in a simulation explain why reality exhibits regularities or would that just bring the question back a notch and ask how that simulation came about?
We live in a world that seems to be ...
-1
votes
0
answers
49
views
Are the wicked happier than the virtuous?
Are the wicked happier than the virtuous?
Has any philosopher defended the claim that evil does pay, insofar as for most of us a vicious existence makes most people happier than their virtuous ...
- 800
9
votes
1
answer
177
views
Is it a common misunderstanding to claim that Kant considered time and space to be illusion?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nSS2XgWMAE
Is it a common misunderstanding to claim that Kant considered time and space to be illusion? People don't seem to agree on this and some people claim that ...
- 4,019