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1500 questions
31
votes
16 answers
Do fundamental concepts in physics have any logical basis?
After years of studying physics I am suddenly struck by the question - What is energy? Wikipedia defines it thus:
Energy is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do
work on other physical systems.
(1)
If that is the case,…
Green Noob
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30
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6 answers
Have professional philosophers contributed to other fields in the last 20 years?
Here are some quotes from Scott Aaronson's interview:
progress in math and science — think of natural selection, Godel’s and Turing’s theorems, relativity and quantum mechanics — has repeatedly altered the terms of philosophical discussion, as…
Michael
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30
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18 answers
Why is it impossible for a program or AI to have semantic understanding?
relatively new to philosophy.
This question is based on John Searle's Chinese Room Argument.
I find it odd that his main argument for why programs could not think was that because programs could only follow syntax rules but could not associate any…
Abraham
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30
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18 answers
Aren't we all philosophical zombies?
I've been reading about the philosophy of the mind, and I'm a bit confused. Everything I've read seems to start with the (unjustified) assumption that there is some aspect of the mind that isn't purely physical or deterministic. For example, take…
Alex
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30
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9 answers
When is absence of evidence not evidence of absence?
"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."
I think this statement raises some kind of epistemic problem. Like, how are we supposed to conclude the potential non-existence of something, like Santa Claus or dragons?
vorpal professor
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30
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4 answers
Does the no true Scotsman fallacy apply to anti Stalinist etc. communism?
The internet is awash with claims that anyone arguing that Stalinist Russia / Maoism wasn't communist is committing the no true Scotsman / ad hoc rescue fallacy. However, I suspect that few of its proponents understand what they are saying.
if…
user34105
30
votes
14 answers
Since words are defined in terms of other words in dictionaries, leading to infinite loops, does it mean natural languages are meaningless?
Since words are defined in terms of other words in dictionaries, leading to infinite loops, does it mean natural languages are meaningless? Are infinitely recursive definitions valid? If we visualize the relationship graph of a dictionary, where…
xwb
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30
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5 answers
Why should I read about philosophy?
My knowledge of philosophy is probably only a bit greater than an average person's. I am a trained mathematician so I have the basic knowledge of mathematical logic. I know more or less what modal logic is, but I definitely don't know much about it.…
ymar
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30
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5 answers
What does it mean for a book or a theorist to be "post-modernist" as opposed to "modernist"?
I'd like a succinct comparison of the two "-isms", though I know this is a tall order.
unusualhabit
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30
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5 answers
In what way(s) does popular New Atheism fail to be philosophical?
I've seen some derision against the popular New Atheism movement, in particular against Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris (particularly interesting since he makes a big deal that he studied and received a philosophy bachelor's). …
adhoclobster
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30
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5 answers
How is first-order logic complete but not decidable?
Why doesn't completeness imply decidability for first-order logic?
First order logic is complete, which means (I think) given a set of sentences A and a sentence B, then either B or ~B can be arrived at through the rules of inference being applied…
Taylor Hornby
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30
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1 answer
Difference between implication/conditional and logical entailment?
What is the difference between the implication/conditional truth function and the notion of logical entailment?
My naive understanding as a computer programmer is that the conditional is a function on two Boolean inputs, whereas entailment is some…
user
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30
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8 answers
Is it possible for something to have no cause?
Bertrand Rusell writes in his essay "Why I Am Not A Christian":
There is no reason why the world could not have come into being without a cause; [...]
Warren Rachelle, however, states in his response:
To simply state that "there is no reason why…
eflorico
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29
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4 answers
Where is the weakness in the ontological proof for God's existence?
I read the ontological proof for God's existence. As much as I understood, it says that if you consider that existence is part of essence, then the most complete essence should also exist.
Now, I see that as a perfect, flawless argument, on the…
Saeed Neamati
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29
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7 answers
What are some works that apply an axiomatic method to something other than mathematics?
The axiomatic method is today mostly associated with mathematics. However, historically there have been some works, as for example Spinoza's Ethics, that have applied axiomatic method to philosophy, or Woodger's The Axiomatic Method in Biology,…
Q__
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