Most Popular
1500 questions
8
votes
4 answers
What are the counterexamples to Kant's argument that existence is not a predicate?
Kant argued that considering existence as a predicate is wrong. A predicate is a feature or characteristic of an object. But logically, existence adds nothing to the characteristics of that object, hence it does not qualify to be a predicate. And if…
RhaegarTagaryan
- 81
- 2
8
votes
3 answers
What are the relations between externalism (Kripke, Putnam) and holism (Quine) about meaning?
Three points are not clear to me about the relations between semantic externalism (Kripke, Putnam) and holism (Quine):
Is there a way according to which externalism and holism can be held together or are they inherently contradicting each other? It…
Amit Hagin
- 1,008
- 7
- 16
8
votes
1 answer
Legitimacy of modern colonialism in Asia and Africa
European colonialism in Asia and Africa last well into the modern age. Most Asian countries only became independent after WW II, and Most African nations became independent only in the 1950's and 1960's. That is way after the enlightenment, after…
user69715
- 470
- 2
- 12
8
votes
3 answers
How does Frege's definition of number solve the Julius Caesar problem?
How does Frege's definition of number solve the Julius Caesar problem?
Frege's definition of number in the end of Foundation is such: the number belonging to the concept F is the extension of the concept equal to the concept F such that F and G are…
Frank Booth
- 726
- 5
- 19
8
votes
4 answers
What was Kant's argument that causation is necessary for observation?
In this comic, the fictional Immanuel Kant talks about investigating David Hume's "An Inquiry Concerning Human Reason". Hume, in that work, argued that we only see two things happening in sequence and cannot derive causation from that alone. The…
EMBLEM
- 195
- 5
8
votes
5 answers
Can there be information without a "knower"?
I am trying to wrap my head around the principle of conservation of information as formulated by Leonard Susskind and others, which seems to me at first glance to be incompatible with the 2nd law of thermodynamics.
Per the principle of conservation…
Alexander S King
- 27,390
- 5
- 70
- 188
8
votes
7 answers
How does induction relate to falsifiability?
I was thinking about the question How can I know that I am not immortal? and started wondering about the relation between induction and falsifiability.
Regarding the cited question, one thinks: well, so far every one of the 100 billion human beings…
Koeng
- 1,082
- 7
- 14
8
votes
3 answers
Gödel: Why is a proposition undecidable?
Gödel has proved the existence of undecidable propositions for any system of recursive axioms capable of formalizing arithmetic. But do we know the logical causes of this state of undecidability? In other words, what are the common or recurrent…
Valentin D.
- 81
- 2
8
votes
1 answer
Is physicalism a current scientific consensus?
I was reading Wikipedia through materialism and physicalism article and was unable to find, whether modern scientists largely subscribe to physicalism in natural sciences.
What is the scientific consensus on the metaphysical stances?
To…
Mirzhan Irkegulov
- 974
- 10
- 30
8
votes
7 answers
What are the chances one can write and publish a philosophical book without formal education?
My question is very simple: what are the chances one can get a philosophy book (in the tradition of continental philosophy) published and delivered to a wide audience if one does not hold any degrees/certificates in philosophy? What are the chances…
Hank
- 99
- 1
- 1
- 4
8
votes
2 answers
Is Compatibilism just a word game?
I understand compatibilism to mean that an action can be free if it is self-determined by the agent, even if it would have been impossible for the agent to choose any other action. Consider the following analogy.
Person A is a slave who has had…
monster319
- 311
- 1
- 9
8
votes
3 answers
Who are the most prominent post-Marx thinkers within Marxism?
I'm becoming more interested in Marxism, and the ensuing economies that attempted to use Marxist thought. What I wonder is, which post-Marx, modern thinkers have most successfully built on Marxist thought?
Cdn_Dev
- 1,050
- 7
- 20
8
votes
3 answers
For Kierkegaard, how does being "animal" and "rational" compel us to invent meaning?
I'm working through "Alienation and Freedom" by Richard Schmitt right now.
In explaining alienation and it's precondition, he posits:
"The need for infusing one's life with meaning arises, as Kierkegaard
understood, through the duality of human…
Cameron Hurd
- 182
- 1
- 7
8
votes
1 answer
Is it possible to not know that one knows p?
An axiom that is often included in standard modal logic is
Kp => KKp
If we use epistemic modal logic, so that K translates as 'he knows', then recalling p stands for a proposition, we have that Kp translates as
he knows proposition p
so Kp =>…
Mozibur Ullah
- 47,073
- 14
- 93
- 243
8
votes
8 answers
Is there a difference between things that can't be interacted with and things that don't exist?
Suppose there is a magical kingdom that is hidden somewhere over the rainbow and can never be reached by anything, most people would say that such a place might as well not exist.
However, the same people will probably say that distant galaxies that…
user289661
- 321
- 1
- 8