Recent Responses
Are dreams an instance of the imagination, hallucination or something else?
Allen Stairs
April 11, 2013
(changed April 11, 2013)
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There is an interesting discussion of this question in a recent paper by Jonathan Ichikawa. You can find a downloadable pre-publication version at http://philpapers.org/rec/ICHDAIBriefly, Ichikawa sees dreams as a form of imagination.
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I am really fascinated with Hume's discovery that an "ought" cannot be derived from an "is." However, I've also read that the argument of Hume is a failure. My question then is, what can be the most reasonable response to this accusation of Hume? Is he right or wrong on the matter?
Stephen Maitzen
April 11, 2013
(changed April 11, 2013)
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I prefer to think of it as Hume's claim rather than Hume's discovery, since "discovery" implies the truth of what's discovered, and I think Hume was wrong, at least on what seems to me the most natural interpretation of what he says in the Treatise of Human Nature. But the interpretation is p... Read more
You are a single male, a highly attractive female asks you to engage in a sexual relationship with her. However, they are already in a long-term, albeit unstable relationship. Do you accept or decline the offer? I have declined on the basis that should I accept there is a likelihood that the pleasure I would gain is less than the suffering I would cause to their partner (who I do not know) and there is a possibility I am being used to hurt their partner. From canvasing the opinion of my friends I am almost unique in my decision. Am I wrong or do I just need better friends?
Allen Stairs
April 9, 2013
(changed April 9, 2013)
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I have a somewhat different take than my co-panelist.Yes: we can tag the sorts of reasons you're offering as Utilitarian, though I'm not sure that adds a lot. I'd ask a different question: are they the sorts of considerations a morally conscientious person might care about? Seems to me they are, a... Read more
How would Plato, Socrates, or Aristotle feel about guns and gun control?
Charles Taliaferro
April 5, 2013
(changed April 5, 2013)
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Not an easy question to take on! This sounds like a question about the USA theatre of debate on gun control and not, say, a question about Great Britain. I will assume a USA context and the debate about background checks, allowing for conceal and carry, and the permissibility of allowing p... Read more
Would Socrates consider any of the professional academics on this site, who offer themselves for anyone who wants to ask anything, philosophers?
Nickolas Pappas
April 5, 2013
(changed April 5, 2013)
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Your question combines two thoughts about Socrates that are often put together: that he never charged a fee for talking to people, and that (therefore) he was available to everyone. For you describe the panelists as offering themselves "for anyone who wants to ask anyone."Now, it's true that i... Read more
Would Socrates consider any of the professional academics on this site, who offer themselves for anyone who wants to ask anything, philosophers?
Nickolas Pappas
April 5, 2013
(changed April 5, 2013)
Permalink
Your question combines two thoughts about Socrates that are often put together: that he never charged a fee for talking to people, and that (therefore) he was available to everyone. For you describe the panelists as offering themselves "for anyone who wants to ask anyone."Now, it's true that i... Read more
Hi, I love your website and I have enjoyed reading the articles. Please could you help me with a question? I would like to ask the question regarding 'negative numbers'. Can there be such a thing as a negative? Please allow me to explain. My daughter recently brought home some Math homework that asked what -20 + -10 =. So this had me thinking, -20 (or-10) does not exist. There is no difference between having no apples to having minus a million apples both equal me having no apples. I don't think this is the same as debt as the amount in question (as in financial debt) does physically exist, even if you owe it. My daughters teacher explained that you have to see it as a scale. But I do not feel this explains the question either. For example if a car travels one direction on a scale (say North) at 100mph, if the scale is reversed the car is not travelling minus 100mph, it is now simply travelling South at 100mph. Scale I feel is inaccurate, surly its a measure of direction along an axis i.e. left or right. Another person said we have minuses in temperature as in minus 5 degrees Celsius. But again inaccurate as temperature is mealy a scale measured at the temperature of water freezing. There is no temperature lower than absolute zero (−273.15°), all temperature starts at -273.15°. As you may have noticed I am not the greatest at explaining things, but hopefully you will understand where I am coming from. I believe there is no such thing as a negative as it does not exist. Even to ask the question what is -20 + -10 does not make sense, as neither number exists the answer must always be zero? Thank you for you time Regards Philip
Allen Stairs
April 5, 2013
(changed April 5, 2013)
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If I understand you correctly, there's a plausible point behind you question: things either exist or they don't. There's no such thing as what I'll call "negative existence" for shorthand, if that means a state that's somehow less than plain non-existence. And while there's no view so strange tha... Read more
You are a single male, a highly attractive female asks you to engage in a sexual relationship with her. However, they are already in a long-term, albeit unstable relationship. Do you accept or decline the offer? I have declined on the basis that should I accept there is a likelihood that the pleasure I would gain is less than the suffering I would cause to their partner (who I do not know) and there is a possibility I am being used to hurt their partner. From canvasing the opinion of my friends I am almost unique in my decision. Am I wrong or do I just need better friends?
Allen Stairs
April 9, 2013
(changed April 9, 2013)
Permalink
I have a somewhat different take than my co-panelist.Yes: we can tag the sorts of reasons you're offering as Utilitarian, though I'm not sure that adds a lot. I'd ask a different question: are they the sorts of considerations a morally conscientious person might care about? Seems to me they are, a... Read more
Is it a contradiction to believe in God and also in science? I believe in evolution and look at the Big Bang theory skeptically, but I also believe in God as the creator of everything. Many have often told me that you can't really accept these theories and also believe in God without causing a contradiction, but I always thought of it as science answering how things happen, whereas my faith in God answers why things happen. What do you think?
Andrew Pessin
April 4, 2013
(changed April 4, 2013)
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A wonderful, rich, and controversial question -- and there are lots of people out there thinking about it. (I happen to like Paul Davies on this subject -- but see also very recent books by Thomas Nagel and Alvin Plantinga ...) Just a quick thought for here. If someone says there's a contradictio... Read more
Are we responsible for forgetting things? It certainly doesn't seem like it, since we don't seem to have control over what we forget, but we are often held to the standard of always remembering all pertinent facts.
Oliver Leaman
April 4, 2013
(changed April 4, 2013)
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I think we often are, since it is remarkable how often people forget things they think relatively unimportant. Forgetting is not entirely outside our control, and if we think we have a tendency to forget things we then surely have a duty to take steps to ensure that we jog our memories. Hence the... Read more