I am puzzled about questions that ask if a Creator can create Itself. Look at a circle after it is drawn: at that point, it has no beginning and no end. Look at a circle while it is being drawn: during its construction, you can see it does have a temporary beginning. Only after construction is complete, does its beginning seems to disappear. If time is cyclical, then why couldn't a similar analogy apply? Maybe I'm not expressing myself as clearly as I could, I hope someone here can upgrade the quality of my observation to get at its essence and not be stuck with the poor quality of my language choices.

When we explains darkness to a blind, he will fail to recognize it even If he is experiencing it. May be contrasts and differences in sensations are the basic things in understanding a sensation and applying consciousness to it. If we are hearing the same sound since our birth we will fail to apply consciousness to it. What do you think about it philosophers? I'm too young forgive me if its fallacious.

It is often said that biology, chemistry and other high-level sciences cannot be reduced to physics, e.g. laws governing evolution are irreducible to anything on offer in physics. On the other hand one often reads in descriptions of what a deterministic world would look like something akin to this: If one has a complete description (of every particle) of the universe at time t and knows all the physical laws that govern it, then one could at least in principle deduce the state of affairs obtaining at another time t2, where t2 could either be a future or past point in time. Since causation is a debated concept, I take it that that the main aim of scientific theories is prediction rather that (causal) explanation. But how can we reconcile the fact (?) that higher-level sciences cannot be reduced to physics and with this common description of determinism.

In America, many people join the military as a means to socio-economic advancement (e.g. in order to pay for college). Is this ethically defensible? Is there any difference between someone who enlists for career advancement and a mercenary?

What is the ”I” who watches what the mind does? When reading about philosophy of mind, I encounter expressions like ”I (or we) think”, ”I percieve”, ”I remember”, ”I see red”, ”I feel pain” etc. Isn´t it the mind that performs these actions, not the "I"? What is this ”I”? Is it some separate compartment of the mind, identical to the mind, or outside the mind? Should we modify Descartes and say: ”The mind thinks, therefore it is”?

Some scientists say that there is a part of the brain that is responsible for consciousness. If we replicate that part of the brain on a computer, will it too be conscious? Surely an inanimate object can't be conscious, right?

In today's physics, the cutting edge theories require multiple spacial dimensions to work. Bosonic String Theory, for instance, requires 26 dimensions, while the five basic types of String Theory seem to need at least 11 dimensions. How can a person mentally visualize these extra spacial dimensions? Do they only exist as complex mathematical Calabi-Yau shapes, that only Hawking can imagine, or is there a more simple way a person can envision a sixth dimension, etc?

If determinism cannot be proven to be true or false is it rational to believe it is true on the grounds it is likely to be true and I am reasonably justified to do so? Or would the rational position be to withold believe one way or the other until stronger evidence is presented. Is it even possible to have evidence in favor of determinism?

This is a question about pure logic. There are two theries: Theory A and Theory B. Theory A assumes AssumptionA. Theory B assume AssumptionB. The two assumptions are mutually exclusive: if AssumpionA then not AssumptionB and vice versa. I believe that a philosophical result is that Theory A and Theory B cannot prove anything about each other. All you can do is preface each result with the assumption. For example, if Theory A proves X and Theory B proves Y, then we can say "If AssumptionA, then X" and "If AssumptionB then Y". Who first proved this? Where is it documented? Eugene

Hi, I am working on a story which revolves around the idea of memory implantation. So, I am wondering: If Person A commits a crime, then they have the full memory and emotions of that crime erased from their mind and then that memory is placed into the mind of Person B so they believe they committed the crime (Even remembering the thoughts and feelings as they committed it) who is guilty of the crime? Kind Regards, Lee