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1500 questions
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Can one speak unambiguously of "the" scientific method?
When people in general discuss science, they talk about the scientific method as if it were a fixed and universally agreed-upon principle. In a show I saw recently by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, he explicitly states that it was invented by Ibn Al Haytham…
Alexander S King
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How is subjective experience of color mapped to the visible spectrum?
Kevin Warwick had a sonar sense implanted and could sense whether an object was close or far. Evidence is accumulating that our brains can make sense of "foreign" information like sonar (consider the vOICe).
It can be assumed/hoped that artificial…
Ruben
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Why do modern materialists tend to favor determinism?
There seems to be no logical link between matter and determinism (or ideal and indeterminism for that matter). And libertarian free will was first articulated by a materialist, Epicurus, and is defended at length in Lucretius's famous poem. The…
Conifold
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Are there any philosophers that argued for knowledge having intrinsic value?
Many (if not most) philosophers agree that knowledge has value. However, does it have intrinsic value, or is its value purely in its ability to affect things outside of the realm of knowledge? Are there some philosophers who would state,…
Cort Ammon
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16
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When can we call an explanation "rational"?
There are a lot of questions involving rational judgment, rational choice, rational explanation, and so on.
At the same time, it seems that "being rational" is a guiding principle for many people.
Prior to assessing the value of rationality, I am…
robin girard
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Why would Aristotle argue that "a mechanic or a mercantile life" is "ignoble and inimical to virtue"?
All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind. (Aristotle)
UPDATE: As Michael notes below, a better translation of the above is in Rackham (reproduced from Michael's citation):
This isn't a better translation as Michael is wrong about it being a…
please delete me
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Does skepticism inevitably lead to ethical relativism?
In this question, I will make a slippery slope argument. It's probably fallacious, but your task is the identify the point where one step does not inevitablly lead to the next step and explain why not. Here are the steps to the…
Jon Ericson
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6 answers
Is formal logic unsuitable for philosophical reasoning?
I'm taking a course at university about philosophical reasoning / argumentation. The professor came up with an example where formal logic was wrong:
If Dave is in London, then he is in England. (p: D. is in London, q: D. is in England; p -> q)
If…
scravy
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Is absolute ethical veganism an irrational position?
I have a handful of friends who are strictly vegan, and I talked with each of them before about their views. At least 3 of them have said to me that under no circumstance would they eat an animal or use an animal product (say, for clothing). This is…
stoicfury
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Is there an advantage of a theistic account in terms of being able to define goodness?
I have been watching some debates about the existence of god, such as Peter Singer vs. Dinesh D'Souza, or Christopher Hitchens vs. John Lennox. On the religious side, one argument comes up surprisingly often. It says if you take god out of the…
Doc
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How fundamental is logic?
I had always perceived logic as something that exists outside mathematics, physics/the physical, human consciousness, and everything. So when someone in my class posed the question whether logic can exist without humans, my first reaction was "of…
JorenHeit
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What is the difference between knowledge and belief?
Sometimes this image is used to explain what agnosticism is and how it's independent from belief:
It makes some sense but I still have confusion understanding it.
What is the difference between knowledge and belief?
Image source: "Agnosticism" on…
CiscoIPPhone
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Why is Dawkins not respected amongst philosophers?
After reading peoples’ opinions of Dawkins over the years where he is known to be arrogant and brash, I decided to actually delve into what he says and watch some of his videos and read some of his books.
From doing this, it seems that not only is…
Baby_philosopher
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Differentiating an argument from authority from expert testimony
Consider the following argument :
The mathematical theorem T is a true theorem, because person(s) P say so.
In a scientific context, it would be a fallacious argument from authority.
However, suppose that in a court setting, the truth of the theorem…
Sam
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5 answers
Is there a name for the argumentative tactic where you play dumb and ask for extreme simplification?
My day job is research in economics. In economics seminar culture, a common way to demolish the speaker is to play dumb and say "I don't understand what you are saying", implying that the speaker should try to explain in simple terms what they are…
kmf
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