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1500 questions
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How is (A → B) → C different from A → (B → C)?
This question derives from p 322, A Concise Introduction to Logic (12 Ed, 2014), by Patrick Hurley, but I do not quote it because its example presumes knowledge of pharmaceuticals and is too esoteric.
Intuitively, how do those two statements differ?…
user8572
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2 answers
What does Pirsig mean by "Quality"?
I just finished reading Robert M. Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, which I understand to be a popular-yet-important book for those looking to enter the realm of philosophical discussion and discourse.
Of course, the text features…
daOnlyBG
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Is a "fair coin toss" a logical contradiction?
A previous question asked about the reality of the gambler's fallacy, in which logic appears to offend common sense. In light of the answers, I am now wondering about the other side of the coin, so to speak.
In physical reality, the "history" of the…
Nelson Alexander
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What is the distinction between mysticism and metaphysics?
Mysticism and Metaphysics seem to share immediate similarity: both amount to sort of speculations pertaining to capture universal truth that cannot be confirmed nor refuted by the senses. What is the distinction between mysticism and metaphysics?…
Jordan S
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What are the fundamental philosophical questions reflected in the American legal system?
I am interested in the link between philosophy and legal systems, in particular the American legal system (and English heritage) and the underlying ideas in play.
At a high-level, it seems to me causation, intent, burden of proof, no cruel or…
DuckMaestro
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5 answers
Did Plato record actual conversations in his dialogues?
For example, Did Socrates really meet Zeno in Parmenides as a young man and the conversation that took place between them was recorded by Plato?
Are ANY of Plato's dialogues recordings of actual conversations?
Parmenides
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8 answers
If you kill someone who is committing suicide, are you culpable for their death?
If a person were committing suicide by jumping off a building and you shot them on the way down, killing them, are you culpable for their death?
Legally, you may or may not be, depending on the jurisdiction. But what would the philosophical…
user20
10
votes
5 answers
What is Kant's effect on modern culture, beyond philosophy?
It is fairly easy to argue that the ideas of the most notable philosophers in history (those whose names are familiar to laymen) have had effects on society beyond just their influence on other philosophers. Plato, Aristotle, DesCartes, Marx,…
Alexander S King
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Is there any prospect for a unified account of rationality?
It is a commonplace that philosophers, psychologists and economists often talk about rational belief or rational behavior, but they seem to mean different things by it. Is this because
(a) there is no single thing called rationality, it is…
Bumble
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What is the philosophical problem with Skolem's Paradox?
I guess there are two questions here.
QUESTION 1: Skolem's Paradox shows that countability is relative in first-order logic, but where is the relativity? In this first question, I will do the following: (A) I will give an example here of the…
pichael
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8 answers
Is There a Paradox of Self-Observation?
Many philosophies and religions teach self-observation. For instance...
The Oracle at Delphi told Socrates to "Know Thyself".
Yoga teaches people to discover their true selves.
On the surface, self-observation seems plausible. I know my thoughts,…
user17325
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6 answers
Why might you not accept ¬(¬A) = A?
What motivates intuitionism's rejection of double negation:
If A exists, then ¬(¬A) = A.
I can't see what's wrong this statement or why someone would reject it.
user17297
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Is Ayn Rand's Objectivism practical at all?
I just read Atlas Shrugged and was wondering if the kind of moral objectivism suggested in there is even practical in real life.
For example, I have an IT assignment to do for high school, and we have been assigned groups. My partners are all…
Richard Nixon
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Is it possible that I see color differently?
Is it possible that I see color differently; for example what I call 'red' is 'blue' in your vision.
Edited..
As we know the science of color, nothing is colored. Red is not "in" an apple. The surface of the apple is reflecting the wavelengths we…
KMan
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Can one still derive paradoxes from the amended version of Naive Set theory given by Cantor in a letter to Dedekind?
Consider the following definition of set given by Cantor in a letter to Dedekind:
If on the other hand the totality of the elements of a multiplicity can be thought of without contradiction as 'being together', so that they can be gathered together…
Thomas Benjamin
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