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1500 questions
13
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6 answers
What reasons are there for believing in Monism?
Why do any serious philosophers at all believe that only one thing exists in the universe? What are the reasons they give? And are there any serious philosophers that believe no thing exists in the universe?
user107952
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13
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If zombies are possible would that imply that physicalism is false?
The SEP article on Zombies writes:
Zombies in philosophy are imaginary creatures used to illuminate
problems about consciousness and its relation to the physical world.
Unlike those in films or witchraft, they are exactly like us in all
…
stoicfury
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13
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If qualia are "something extra" to explain, isn't it weird that the brain produces speech about qualia?
This question is mainly directed at people who are firm physicalists (as opposed to dualists) but still think qualia are "something extra to be explained". I believe Searle and Chalmers both fall into this category.
Chalmers writes:
The easy…
Dan Butler
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13
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8 answers
What is the relationship between philosophy and science?
While philosophy and science as held as separate disciplines (and often taught in completely different colleges within a university [i.e. College of Liberal Arts vs. College of Science]), it is patently clear that there is an immutable relationship…
FrankH
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13
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11 answers
How NOT to know everything? Or how to deal with it
As a child I was mostly interested in biology, poetry, physics and mathematics, as a teenager I got interested in history, religion, languages and (of course) computers. I was (am?) pretty much sure that in order to study religion I'd need a solid…
Roenardi
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13
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8 answers
Do human rights exist?
What is the basis for believing that there is such a thing as human rights? I am all for human rights but it could be argued that the notion of human rights is imaginary and reducible to absurdity (that humans by virtue of being born are magically…
musingsofacigarettesmokingman
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13
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1 answer
What did John Passmore mean when he reported that logical positivism "is dead"?
The philosophical school of logical positivism (which later became known as "logical empiricism") was a type of analytic philosophy that attempted to combine empiricism with rationalist epistemology. From a brief examination of history, it appears…
eMansipater
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13
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4 answers
Are there clearly defined limits to philosophy?
How can you define the difference between for example Math and Philosophy and Sociology or Biology. What makes a philosophical question a philosophical question. Is this clearly defined?
DisplayName
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What is a mathematical description of free will?
This is following in the line of this question asking what the difference between free-will and randomness/indeterminism is:
What is the difference between free-will and randomness and or non-determinism?
Now, I can describe both determinism and…
yters
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Can we know that something exists even if we can't explain or define it?
Can a person know that something like "free will" must exist even though an exact definition in words, using language, cannot be provided, and in the absence of a complete theory that explains it?
We could also ask the same question about other…
Mark
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13
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11 answers
Should reducing and simplifying explanations be a core aspect of Philosophical practice?
I'm an Engineer, and a Computer Programmer. But I repeat myself... For me, my life and breath is getting to the bottom of complex things and rendering an explanation or instantiation (for programs) that is, "As simple as possible, but not simpler",…
Scott Rowe
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13
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6 answers
What is the difference between Rule Utilitarianism and Act Utilitarianism?
Based on the definitions given by Wikipedia , Rule Utilitarianism and Act Utilitarianism both seems to imply the same meaning
Rule Utilitarianism
Action is right as it conforms to a rule that leads to the greatest
good, or that "the rightness or…
Computernerd
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10 answers
Is there a difference between the purpose of life and the meaning of life?
Is there a difference between the purpose of life and the meaning of life? I am asking because most of the time when people ask the classic philosophical question, "What is the meaning of life?", they mean the purpose of life. But perhaps there is a…
user107952
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13
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6 answers
In modal logic, why not 'possibly p' → 'not necessarily p'?
I'm told that if ◇ means 'possible' and ◻ means 'necessary' and ~ means 'not' and ↔ means 'if and only if', then
◇P ↔ ~◻~P
I get that if it is not necessarily not going to be sunny tomorrow, then it is possible that it will be sunny. But: what is…
Diploria
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1 answer
How many Platonic ideals are there?
Suppose you have an unripe banana that is yellow with a greenish tint. We could say that this banana partially embodies the platonic ideal of yellowness. We could also say that to a lesser degree it embodies the property of greenness. Then again, we…
Dimitris02
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