Philosophy Stack Exchange
Philosophy Stack Exchange

Most Popular

more tags
1500 questions
22
votes
8 answers

Is it ethical to convince someone to get vaccinated?

I'm currently writing about the ethics of vaccinations, and I have two long-standing concerns about the matter. "Is refusing vaccination a morally justifiable position?" will be my question. From what I've read, it doesn't appear to be the case. I'm…
Ericleast992
  • 539
  • 3
  • 10
22
votes
16 answers

Are numbers real?

I am confused as to what numbers are. Numbers are defined to be what they are, so numbers aren't real? But numbers are found in nature, right? So if we invented them, how can they be found in nature? How can everything be based on something that is…
Wobblester
  • 419
  • 1
  • 4
  • 9
22
votes
2 answers

Did Plato say “Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow”?

“Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.” is a phrase popularly attributed to Plato on the internet, but after extensive googling, I can't see any reference to any of his works that contain it. Does it appear in…
Abijah
  • 331
  • 1
  • 2
  • 5
22
votes
14 answers

What is information?

I am fascinated with information theory, as put together by Claude Shannon in the 1940s. It is amazing to me that this concept arose from analysing letters in the alphabet and then was later abstracted to black holes. But what I find lacking is the…
Bell App Lab
  • 329
  • 2
  • 8
22
votes
8 answers

What is this logical fallacy? (Nothing new under the sun?)

It has been two decades since I took a reason and argument course in college. I am rusty on my command of logical fallacies. With that preface, I have been trying to locate a logical fallacy that describes an obfuscation/neutralization strategy I…
user50027
22
votes
20 answers

What is the motivation of all individuals to stay alive?

What keeps an individual alive? If we make the following assumptions: There is nothing after death, only black. No heaven, no hell, no rebirth. So we don't take anything with us after death and therefore don't remember our life Life includes…
0x30
  • 353
  • 2
  • 4
22
votes
8 answers

What fallacy is this? “This happened, therefore there must be good reasons for it”

What fallacy is it when someone says "this is true/it happened, therefore there are good reasons for it"? For example: We drive on the left (or right, depending on country) side of the road, therefore there must be a good reason for it. Assume,…
David Balažic
  • 331
  • 2
  • 5
22
votes
5 answers

Why does "Daisy has four legs" not entail "Daisy has more than two legs"?

I have been going through one of the books and I found an example of conclusion C that is not entailed by a premise P. Daisy has four legs. So daisy has more than two legs. Surely though, the premise entails the conclusion as it's an analytical…
bodhihammer
  • 1,096
  • 1
  • 7
  • 15
22
votes
6 answers

What do you call the fallacy of thinking that some action A will guarantee some outcome B, when in reality B depends on multiple other conditions?

Example: Dentist: “You have multiple cavities.” Patient: “That’s ridiculous! You always told me that brushing my teeth prevents cavities. I brush my teeth every night. Therefore, I can’t possibly have cavities.” Dentist: “It is true that brushing…
andrewtc
  • 323
  • 2
  • 7
22
votes
12 answers

How does one tell apart left from right?

I can look at one hand and know (not necessarily immediately) that "This is my left hand". How do I know this? (How can I be so successful at judging this?) This question is inspired by the classic Kantian remark: What can be more similar in every…
Mitch
  • 3,309
  • 1
  • 22
  • 30
22
votes
9 answers

What formal logical systems "resolve" the Liar Paradox?

Short version of my question. What formal logical systems can represent, and seem robust against, the Liar Paradox? N.B. I would like to avoid reference to truth-values, except inasmuch as they provide semantics for the formal system. Specifically,…
Niel de Beaudrap
  • 10,058
  • 4
  • 32
  • 52
22
votes
12 answers

How can animals be objects of ethics without being subjects as well?

Most people seem to agree that animals cannot act immorally, even when they inflict suffering. They are thus completely excluded from being subjects of any kind of ethical framework. At the same time, there is an entire branch of ethics dealing with…
user37552
  • 237
  • 2
  • 3
22
votes
6 answers

How is the argument "I love all logic, but I don’t love deductive reasoning. Therefore, the moon is made of green cheese." valid?

This example came up in class: I love all logic, but I don’t love deductive reasoning. Therefore, the moon is made of green cheese. I understand the premise is contradictory and the conclusion is false, but the prof said the argument is valid,…
user34930
  • 343
  • 2
  • 5
22
votes
10 answers

Can an argument be valid even though one of its premises is false?

Is it possible for an argument to be valid by virtue of its logical form, but contain a false premise? In other words, can a premise be false even though the argument itself is logically valid? Thanks in advance! (For context: the initial question…
Curious
  • 251
  • 1
  • 3
  • 7
22
votes
13 answers

Does the idea of being created imply the necessity for obedience to a creator?

If a scientist created intelligent life (biological, AI software, etc.), would that scientist have the right to dictate to that life a moral framework? Does the act of creation give implicit rights of ownership? Extending this to religion, do we…
Beofett
  • 441
  • 1
  • 3
  • 11
1 2 3
…
99 100