Most Popular
1500 questions
13
votes
9 answers
What ethical problems might be involved in time travel?
Has anyone addressed the ethics of time travel?
Time travel looks like a gold mine for moral dilemmas, but I don't know of anyone who addresses these issues.
For example:
Am I morally obligated to go back in time and change a tragedy that already…
Yehuda Shapira
- 233
- 5
- 11
13
votes
2 answers
What is the problem with using circular reasoning? Is it "invalid"?
What, specifically, is the problem with circular logic/reasoning? I think it's invalid. For some reason, everyone knows that it's wrong to use, but is there anything more to it than that?
Additionally, where can I find journal articles or papers…
David
- 305
- 1
- 2
- 5
13
votes
4 answers
Does Wittgenstein's Tractatus establish serious bounds for discussions of the supernatural from a modern point of view?
In today's mathematics, we have many variants of logic (propositional, first order, higher order, fuzzy logic, etc.). These are all self-consistent formal systems that are based on some set of axioms.
In Wittgenstein's Tractatus, he demands a…
Nikolaj-K
- 1,133
- 5
- 17
13
votes
5 answers
How can a stream of thoughts and perceptions have freewill?
William James believed that there was no central entity or ego that embodied the "I" in "I feel" or "I think". That the continuous stream of thoughts and sensations generated the illusion of their being a central entity doing the thinking and…
Alexander S King
- 27,390
- 5
- 70
- 188
13
votes
3 answers
How did the logical positivists respond to Gödel's incompleteness theorem?
In a lecture on philosophy of science I recently listened to, it was stated that Quine was the one who decisively refuted the logical positivist program.
I've also read that Quine and Popper were significant challengers, but that it was Kuhn who…
Alexander S King
- 27,390
- 5
- 70
- 188
13
votes
3 answers
"→" is the symbol for material implication. Is there such a thing as "immaterial implication"?
Why do we qualify "implication" with "material"? This seems to imply that there are other kinds of implication.
RECURSIVE FARTS
- 848
- 1
- 6
- 17
13
votes
12 answers
Can someone be an atheist and subscribe to substance dualism at the same time?
I consider myself to be firmly in the atheist camp. None of the arguments for the existence of a higher being or prime mover convince me, let alone attempts at proving the existence of the old God of the Bible and Quran.
However, recently I have…
Alexander S King
- 27,390
- 5
- 70
- 188
13
votes
5 answers
What function do myths serve in the Platonic dialogues?
There is a consistent pattern throughout the corpus of Plato's dialogues: first, Socrates proposes a philosophical problem, like "what is justice?" or "is there an immortal soul?". Then he goes on to challenge each attempt of his interlocutors at…
Otavio Macedo
- 1,064
- 1
- 8
- 24
13
votes
1 answer
What is a straight-forward method for distinguishing pragmatic from utilitarian action or thought?
In common parlance, pragmatic and utilitarian are very similar ways of doing things. In philosophical traditions, Utilitarians and Pragmatists are very different. In terms of understanding an action deemed "utilitarian" or "pragmatic", what defining…
mfg
- 857
- 1
- 7
- 20
13
votes
7 answers
Could it be possible that the universe doesn't exist?
Could it be possible that the universe doesn't exist? That nothing exists, not even you or me?
And by not existing, I mean totally not existing, as in not even existing as a computer simulation, or a holographic projection, or a dream by a God. Not…
just a lil kid
- 179
- 1
- 4
13
votes
2 answers
Was Aristotle an Empiricist?
When I was taught about Aristotle and Plato, the picture I got was very much like this image from a Raphael fresco:
Usually Plato is said to be pointing to the heavens, which represent abstract Forms, while Aristotle gestures to the Earth (or…
Jon Ericson
- 7,249
- 4
- 36
- 67
13
votes
1 answer
Does having a positive teleology require an entity that has intention exist?
One of the criticisms of Aristotle's final cause category is that if a thing has a purpose, there must exist some entity that has intention to set up that cause. Generally speaking, skeptical thinkers reject any sort of positive, universal…
Jon Ericson
- 7,249
- 4
- 36
- 67
13
votes
6 answers
Is the concept of “knowledge” important for philosophy?
I learned the definition of “knowledge” of justified true belief. I wonder whether it is important in any branch of philosophy? If I think about information per se, this boils down to technical details which are analyzed in mathematics and computer…
scravy
- 675
- 1
- 9
- 19
13
votes
12 answers
How could our universe suddenly appear out of nothingness?
How could our universe suddenly appear out of nothingness? I understand that the big bang created all things but how could it when nothingness is purely the absence of everything?
Dan
- 141
- 1
- 4
13
votes
9 answers
Are infinities in physics (or in any other materalist philosophy) actually possible?
Aristotle made a distinction between infinities that were in potential (dunamis) and in actuality (energia); and stated that actual infinities did not obtain in the physical world. This is the basis of Kants antinomies of time and space.
It has…
Mozibur Ullah
- 47,073
- 14
- 93
- 243