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1500 questions
23
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7 answers

What are the foundations of philosophy?

I'm a student majoring in mathematics. I've taken a course in mathematical logic and a course in set theory. My problem is basically that I'm always finding philosophical concepts, for example syntax, semantics, epistemology, denotation,…
Daniela Diaz
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Is Skepticism the most rational standpoint?

Is Philosophical Skepticism - the one that advocates true knowledge is impossible, the most rational standpoint? I am asking this based on the observation that there are very few things whose existence is certain to be true. We are not certain…
AIB
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Is truth a privative concept?

A "privative" has been defined as a word expressing the absence of something. As such, a privative word signifies a non-existing thing; for example, cold is (arguably) not a thing, but is rather the absence of a real, existing thing (heat). It seems…
Matt Ellen
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If the universe has a beginning does that prove God exists?

It is curious to note that a eminent Physicist like Stephen Hawking thinks the universe has a beginning. This has some rather startling Religious implications You can find the link here: http://www.hawking.org.uk/the-beginning-of-time.html Now let…
Neil Meyer
23
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12 answers

Motivations for dialetheism?

At the request of the moderators, I've reformulated this question to change the emphasis of the question to something perhaps a little more broad-ranging: Question. What are the major modern motivations for Dialetheism? Context. According to the…
Niel de Beaudrap
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Does the argument from order apply to God?

Lots of people consider the universe to be too complex, ordered, structured, and too advanced to have come about, without a designer. However, isn’t God the most complex, ordered, structured, and the most advanced thing possible? He can create and…
Baby_philosopher
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Does Math use the scientific method?

I've reading many entries about whether Math uses the scientific method and the dominant opinions seems to be "no", e.g. from "Is Mathematics a science?" and other websites. James Moosh, PhD in Pure Maths 1) The use of the scientific method of…
Pablo
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Should Wittgenstein be given partial credit for Gödel’s incompleteness theorem?

Is there a connection between Wittgenstein's argument against the theory of types, and the proof of Gödel's incompleteness theorem? (It seems that Gödel's proof relies on referring to symbols as numbers, whereas Wittgenstein's argument is that you…
Andrew Stout
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Is it morally wrong to enjoy art created by a heinous criminal?

Is it morally wrong to enjoy art [co]-created by someone who later turns out to be a terrible criminal? I see arguments both for and against: Arguments for "wrong": Broad appreciation of pieces of art tends to increase the status of its creator.…
Bennet
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What is this fallacy: Perfection is impossible, therefore imperfection should be overlooked

This is a pretty common fallacious statement that people make every now and then. Point me to any software that has been released without bugs? I think your expectations might be a tad high. It's pretty obvious what's wrong and it's easily…
user1883337
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When are semantically non-hostile expressions equivalent to pragmatically hostile ones?

An example being the phrase "White lives matter" (or even "All lives matter") as a response to the Black Lives Matter movement. Another example would be: "I'm straight and I'm not ashamed," as a response to the LGBTQ movement. I personally feel…
Samuel Novelinka
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My CO2 emissions in the light of Russia burning thousands of tons of it a day

According to the news, Russia is burning off, or "flaring," about 4.34 million cubic meters of gas a day because it does not sell it to Europe. That's apparently an equivalent of 9,000 tonnes of CO2. Is not any CO2 I could ever emit by driving a…
user14511
22
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10 answers

Is the universe isomorphic to a universal turing machine?

I often think about problems that require an understanding of the very essence of computation and its inherent limitations. So, my questions are as followed: Is the universe isomorphic to a universal turing machine? Is the universe isomorphic to a…
Quaternary
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Is there a reason to believe that our universe obeys internally consistent rules?

I'm coming at this from the POV of a physicist. Physics demonstrates that the universe does not feel any obligation to follow a humans naive idea of what makes sense. This idea of what "makes sense" was developed for surviving in a Newtonian world,…
Clumsy cat
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Is 1+1=2 true by definition ?

Is 1+1=2 true by definition ? Or, is there a way to prove it? I'm trying to understand how do we know it's true, and how to reply if someone is skeptical or denies that 1+1=2.
YoMrWhite
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