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How should we understand the teletransportation thought experiment?

Please read the short story here:Beam me up First, I'd like to to know whether there is anything inherently inconsistent about this teletransportation idea? Is there fundamental reasons which say it's impossible in principle? If not, what seems…
Eric
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What is the difference between implication and causality?

Implication is said to be more general than causality since, for example, being a dog implies being a mammal, but it doesn't cause it. Is there a formalization of the difference between implication and causality (in the field of metaphysics or…
Atamiri
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What is the meaning of "There are questions that science can't answer"?

I've recently come across several statements to the effect "there are questions science can't answer", mostly from proponents of religion and mysticism, but also from scientists and secular philosophers as well. However it seemed to me that there…
Alexander S King
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What is the difference between ethics and morals?

I am currently writing an essay on artificial moral agents, and I need to explain the difference between ethics and morals. However, I am finding it really hard to find a good book or research paper which contains a citable definition. Could…
Chris Headleand
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Did Malebranche believe both the idea in the mind and the movement in the body are caused by God?

My senior thesis explored the notion of action under George Berkeley's system, and one claim I tried to address was that Berkeley contradicts himself when discussing will. In his Philosophical Commentaries, Berkeley writes: We move our Legs our…
dimo414
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A Neo-Kantian View on Causality?

Quantum non-determinism seems incompatible with Kant’s defense of causality in his Second Analogy. Stephen R. Palmquist however provides an interesting and appealing case against this supposition, which he states in his paper. Specifically, my…
user13847
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17 answers

Any argument against determinism?

I'm a very logical person. I like mathematics, software engineering, physics... everything in that area. Also I'm an anti-theist. My understanding of the universe: If you would take every atom (as in the smallest particle) in our universe plus…
yamm
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What are some good resources for learning Indian philosophy?

I am a science student. During my free time, I study philosophy and occasionally do courses in philosophy in my university. I've noticed that in academia, "Philosophy" means "Western Philosophy". I wish to explore some other philosophies as well,…
shivams
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Is there any reason to believe that there are things which science cannot tell us?

Science can only tell us a posteriori synthetic truths, can this category extend to all propositions about the world. Surely the only things which can by known ONLY by a priori analytic are tautologies and relations of ideas. Could you give me…
user12096
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Why would Wittgenstein say we can't have a perfect language?

I have been reading Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations and my question is how does he come to realize that we can't have a perfect language. For instance I would say math is a perfect language because one can never mistaken 5 to mean 3 or…
Sean
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The eternal return, as thought experiment: what are the consequences?

Nietsche, as others before and after him (its roots, I am told, are in the West Asian tradition) , espoused the idea of an ever repeating clockwork universe, in which all lives are led over and over; each time identically. In choosing this view, one…
Tom Boardman
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What are the fundamental differences between the belief system of science and religious belief systems?

While most religious belief systems affirm the existence of certain things, the belief system of (natural) science tends to deny the existence of certain "not-reproducible" things. Let's look at two examples to make this question more concrete.…
Thomas Klimpel
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What is an existentialist?

When watching this speech by the Atari founder, he says (at 09:19): If you're a true existentialist [...] you want to have an interesting life. Thus, if someone says he or she is an existentialist, in the way he did, what might this mean in…
Michael
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Is there a cogent argument against the principle of sufficient reason?

As far as I can see, there are no significant arguments against the principle that all events have a cause, which is to say the principle of sufficient reason. (It's important to note that the seemingly identical idea that all effects have causes…
Jon Ericson
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Recommend "best" (see description) English translation of Tao Te Ching

Would someone who is vary familiar with Lao Tzu's philosophy please refer me to a translation of Tao Te Ching that preserves the spirit and eternal messages of Tao Te Ching. I don't like the translations I've read that try to modernize the text, and…
mikeed_5
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