Questions tagged [definitions]
197 questions
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Avoiding A Dilemma About Definitions
Suppose we naively concieved of a word as being defined when it is expressed in terms of other words. I call this naive because it runs into a problem: while some words may be expressed in terms of others, if this is the only way for words to be…
user26166
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Does a definition have a truth value?
Can we speak of true and false definitions, and if so, in what context? Is saying what x is different from saying the definition of x? Would it perhaps be better to say that a statement which affirms the content of a definition is what has truth…
Niwilger
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Fundamental difference between luck and skill
Is there a fundamental difference between luck and skill? One might think that the important factor is reproducibility, but shouldn't Gladstone Gander then be described as skilled in life instead of lucky?
Damian
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What exactly is "logical justification"?
I read and hear the term "logical justification" and I can't find a definition for it. Is it as pedestrian as it sounds (can be put in the form of logic and makes a valid argument), or is it a term of art? When a philosopher insists that there is no…
DHD
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Can fitting to a definition be considered to be a fact?
As I understand the event of objects falling down is a fact (due to gravitation, for example). Or water taking the shape of its container.
But can someone say that it is a fact that we are "homosapiens"? I mean can a statement that is true due to…
Turkhan Badalov
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What is a place?
Asked in a manner identical to that of Plato.
What is a place?
A good place to start with any such question is listing out a bunch of things I consider places. The list will start with the ones most people will agree on, and slowly move towards ones…
extremeaxe5
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Why do humans classify and name things?
In the realm of philosophy, particularly in ontology and epistemology, how does the human practice of classifying and naming things reflect deeper philosophical principles? I am interested in understanding the philosophical significance of this…
Humberto José Bortolossi
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What does "generalize over" mean?
I am trying to figure out what it means when they say something like "this definition generalizes over" such and such.
Example from https://www.iep.utm.edu/predicat/
The problem with the Russell class is said to be that its definition generalizes…
user
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Non-European words for philosophy
Heidegger states in his 'lecture' "Was ist das - die Philospophie?" (1955/1963) that philosophy is in essence a Greek phenomenon (P.13).
Of course Heidegger was a philogreek, and most people see that philosophy can also be an eastern phenomenon.…
Jan Cornelis
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Why is this definition for optimist false: "An optimist is anyone who believes that optimists exist"?
From: Philip Johnson-Laird BA PhD Psychology (UCL), Stuart Professor of Psychology Emeritus at Princeton. (Author isn't a logician.) How We Reason (1st edn 2008). p. 161. I emboldened.
Do the inferences in this chapter occur anywhere…
user8572
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Is a hamburger a sandwich?
Does there in fact exist a non-sandwich space within the definition of a sandwich, wherein a hamburger, though certainly food between breads, is not actually known to any real persons as a sandwich.
Please note that I have already posted it on…
Charney Kaye
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