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8
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Does Tegmark's Mathematical Universe hypothesis allow existence of alternative mathematics?
Tegmark's mathematical multiverse hypothesis assumes that all mathematical structures exist as universes
But do you know whether his hypothesis also allows/accept universes described by other types of mathematics? Even mathematics that allow…
Sue K Dccia
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8
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Why does Parmenides impose a limit on his Being?
Parmenides mentions twice in the poem what-is has limit in the part where he talks that what-is is “like the bulk of ball” (B8: lines 42, 49, pages 60, 61).
42:
But since the limit is ultimate, it [namely, what-is] complete
49:
for equal to…
dekross
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8
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6 answers
Does philosophy shed any light on how parties can fruitfully debate without an agreed source of truth?
A hallmark of recent political developments is extreme partisanship, where each side has near total distrust of the other. To exacerbate this situation there has been a breakdown in agreement over what constitutes the truth and even how one can…
Bob Tway
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8
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Do descendants bear moral responsibility for the actions of their ancestors?
Consider the following two scenarios, a specific one, and a more general one:
Specific Scenario
A long time ago, a robber, Rob, stole a large sum of money from a bank, and "got away" with it.
Rob had a child, Unice, who went on to attend a…
Justas
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8
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What is the difference between the "is" of predication and the "is" of identity?
What is the difference between these, the "is" of predication and the "is" of identity?
For example, when I say, "my pet is a cat", am I using "is" as an identity or as a predicate?
ado sar
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8
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2 answers
Existential import: in logic, do propositions default to true or false when objects in them do not exist?
In this hypothetical:
Firefighters always tell the truth, while politicians always tell lies.
Suppose three people, who are either a mix of firefighters and politicians, all politicians, or all firefighters, surround you and say "every politician in…
Josh
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8
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4 answers
How do proponents of the Cosmological argument respond to the nature of time?
How do proponents of the Cosmological argument respond to the nature of time?
Is asking what occurred before the Big Bang like asking what is north of the North Pole?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmological_argument#Scientific_positions:
It is…
user16659
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8
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2 answers
How did subjectivity change with capitalism?
How did human subjectivity change with capitalism? I'm interested in Marxist answers, but I will accept answers from other perspectives. So, less about how our understanding of 'subjectivity' changed during capitalism (e.g. that the subject object…
user
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7 answers
What arguments are there for considering forced sterilization a human rights violation? Rather than not consider it?
What arguments are there for considering forced sterilization a human rights violation? Rather than not consider it?
I have a hard time in understanding why such being a human rights violation could be anymore correct than it not being a human…
mavavilj
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8
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5 answers
Can someone explain this Wittgenstein joke?
Schoolmaster: Suppose x is the number of sheep in this problem
Pupil: But, Sir, suppose x is not the number of sheep
(I asked professor Wittgenstein if this is not a profound philosophical joke, and he said it was.)
EnriqueC
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8
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4 answers
Is actual infinity physical infinity? Or just the axiom of infinity?
I've always been a little confused on this point.
My (second-hand) understanding of Aristotle's difference between potential and actual infinity is this:
We all have an intuition of the counting numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, ... The idea that "there's always…
user4894
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8
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2 answers
How might studying philosophy impact your mental health?
According to wikipedia on Pessimism and Pragmatic Criticism
...Al-Ghazali and William James rejected their pessimism after suffering
psychological, or even psychosomatic illness...
Other authors such as Socrates, Diogenes, David Hume, William…
user22051
8
votes
5 answers
Inadequately small sample fallacy
I am almost sure there is a name for the fallacy whereby its exponent tries to apply a very small sample of observation, usually anecdotal evidence, as representative of the population, of which that sample is part, at large.
For example:
Burmese…
amphibient
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8
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4 answers
How could being follow action?
Some philosophers have denied the philosophical axiom "Agere sequitur esse"* ("'To act' follows from 'to be'"). What reasons do they give for thinking that action precedes (logically? ontologically? temporally?) being? How can there be action…
Geremia
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8
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5 answers
Is it possible to have truth if objective randomness exists?
I will do my best to describe both of my terms as clearly as possible. I would describe true randomness as a process that has absolutely no predictability : even if you knew absolutely everything you still would not be able to predict the outcome of…
AlexW.H.B.
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