23
votes
Is it a fallacy to say that a sane person cannot apply rational thought to the motivations of the insane?
The second premise is false unless "heinous crime" and "insane" are defined to make it true by definition, in which case the definitions are question begging. But because people committing heinous ...
- 41.7k
20
votes
Dawkins on God: What are the strongest counters to his argument?
Since philosophers don't tend to comment on his argument, one can only speculate about why they don't, but the most likely answer is that it is a bad argument which was already addressed early in the ...
- 4,692
17
votes
Is it a fallacy to say that a sane person cannot apply rational thought to the motivations of the insane?
I think the fallacy is something along the lines of:
Because we cannot provably apply rational thought to what motivates every insane person, every time, we can never apply rational thought to the ...
- 17.2k
9
votes
Is it a fallacy to say that a sane person cannot apply rational thought to the motivations of the insane?
There are multiple problems with these statements.
First, insane is not a boolean state. Sanity is a spectrum.
Second, I don't know of anything that says that everyone who commits a heinous crime is ...
- 231
8
votes
Dawkins on God: What are the strongest counters to his argument?
I think the obvious line of attack is his assertion that the creator must be more complicated than the thing created, which is clearly questionable.
Arguing about whether some form of god created the ...
- 5,867
8
votes
Accepted
Does mental illness imply that a person's philosophy is invalid?
To draw a conclusion as to the validity/soundness of a proposition/argument based upon the mental state of the person making it would be to commit a non sequitur.
Why? Because even a severely mentally ...
- 3,563
6
votes
Is it a fallacy to say that a sane person cannot apply rational thought to the motivations of the insane?
I believe that would just be petitio principii, mistranslated as "begging the question." And doing it twice.
First, you assume the insanity after the fact, based on the evidence of the act, which is ...
- 12.9k
6
votes
What ethical studies have been performed on what would happen if a government raises kids without parents?
This answer is almost entirely opinion, if it will be permitted.
Whose morals, whose ethics, whose values do you believe should be passed down to children, taught to them? Should the government just ...
- 337
6
votes
Accepted
Possible reason for the exponential development of Mathematics
It's an interesting question. Others will be better able to answer, but I would note that the proper evolutionary model here may be punctuated equilibrium or, more pertinently, Kuhn's "Structure ...
- 12.9k
5
votes
Accepted
What ethical studies have been performed on what would happen if a government raises kids without parents?
It's hard to find spot-on literature. This is connected with what you are interested in :
BEHAVIORIST THOUGHT EXPERIMENT
Possibly if we had absolute control over
food, sex, shelter, if we had ...
- 35.1k
5
votes
What ethical studies have been performed on what would happen if a government raises kids without parents?
Consider Plato's idea for how (Guardian) children ought to be raised in the kallipolis and all the objections Socrates' interlocutors find with it. Without a nuclear family, Plato thinks children ...
- 339
4
votes
Has anyone tried to empirically demonstrate the existence of subconscious thoughts and motivations?
You aren't conscious of the state of retinal molecules in your eye (cis vs. trans), but your vision is completely dependent upon it. You are really overstating what one can infer from having ...
- 15.8k
4
votes
Accepted
What does Nietzsche mean by the intellectual costs that "For" and "Against" incur?
The original German reads: "Du solltest Gewalt über dein Für und Wider bekommen". The capitalization in German is required, so in English it is an interpretation of the translator. 'das Für und Wider ...
- 1,088
4
votes
Movies on philosophy similar to "Waking Life"?
Waking Life is somewhat sui generis, but I would highly recommend "The Possibility of Hope," a documentary by Gravity director Alfonso Cuaron, included as a DVD extra with his incredible Children of ...
- 24.9k
4
votes
How did philosophy react to empirical psychology when there have been disagreements?
I am going to disagree with other posters, in my view in the last two centuries the interplay between philosophy and psychology was intricate, and with profound impact on both sides, of all sciences ...
- 41.7k
4
votes
For a political ruler is it better to be loved or feared?
The question was made famous by Machiavelli's Prince, where he also provided the answer:
"The answer is that one would like to be both one and the other; but because it is difficult to combine them,...
- 41.7k
4
votes
How might studying philosophy impact your mental health?
PATRICIA TURRISI, 'The Problem of the Philosophical Person', The Pluralist, Vol. 4, No. 1 (SPRING 2009), pp. 68-76, deals with the 'madness' of Socrates and William James. But it's an article, not a ...
- 35.1k
4
votes
Accepted
Is there any serious overlap between Philosophy and Psychology?
I'll try to answer your question through addressing each sub-question:
would, say, a modern philosopher with a PhD be well-versed in modern
psychology?
A philosophy PhD, much like any other ...
- 364
4
votes
Accepted
What did William James mean by metaphysics being "an unusually obstinate effort to think clearly"?
The quote appears at the beginning of Chapter VI of James's Principles of Psychology, and is preceded by a sentence that gives important context:
"The reader who found himself swamped with too ...
- 41.7k
4
votes
Locke's psychology : reference request
I'm not sure that there is anything that's exactly what you need but you might consult:
Locke's Ideas of Mind and Body (Routledge Studies in Seventeenth-Century Philosophy)
Han-Kyul Kim
ISBN 10: ...
- 35.1k
4
votes
Which Philosophical Ideas Best Protect Us From Existential Suffering in a Society Increasingly Accepting of the Claim That There is No Free Will?
There are a few different directions to go on this. The person suffering can study philosophy further and learn to distinguish the implications of propositions more precisely (e.g. come to understand ...
- 469
4
votes
Does mental illness imply that a person's philosophy is invalid?
So far the discussion has taken quite a "Mentalistic" approach - that since the conditions are enumerated in phenomenological terms that might be prone to societal or contingent trends, the ...
- 4,665
4
votes
Violence vs Sex: Why are we typically more comfortable with graphic violence than explicit sex in gaming, television and film?
This does not look like a philosophical question, but one about cultural history.
Violence as an act drives a narrative. By committing an act of violence, a story character can significantly and ...
- 2,748
3
votes
Is it a fallacy to say that a sane person cannot apply rational thought to the motivations of the insane?
I will take your question, and answer in-line where I can:
A common argument in today's news is that:
1 Someone commits a heinous crime by shooting a bunch of people.
Only possibly heinous, ...
- 131
3
votes
Accepted
Is there a philosophy that suggests a motive to achieve great things which is deeper than one's own self?
There are many, many philosophical approaches to this issue, from the Homeric valor to Christian transcendence, from Nietzschean will to power to Dawkins' selfish genes, as well as social scientific ...
- 12.9k
3
votes
Philosophy of Humor
Bergson wrote a small, well-known book on humor, which I have not read. Simon Critchley wrote a book on humor, which I have but can't find at the moment. Zizek is well known for his interest in jokes. ...
- 12.9k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible