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I have talked to some friends after reading a book on materialism and I have a question. Don't companies have a right to push their products to us? Would it not be the weakness of our minds at fault for being consumed by commercialism? Many people I have talked to constantly reiterate that the companies are the cause of this but I would say otherwise. What would you say?

Andrew Pessin December 24, 2012 (changed December 24, 2012) Permalink This is a great question touching on many deep issues. Much empirical research shows the incredible extent to which we are manipulable, and manipulated, by marketing. The degree to which this happens to us without our knowledge, w/o our explicit consent, etc., is the degree to which this... Read more

Education

I am about to finish my third semester of college. (Switching majors now, wouldn't be a big deal.) I am currently majoring in Mass Communications/Journalism. (I want to eventually become a sports columnist.) However, I also plan on writing numerous books (sports related as well as fiction). Would you recommend majoring in Philosophy instead? My journalism courses are too restricting (forcing me to write in a straight-jacket) and I have currently gotten very much into philosophy and it really amplifies my writing.

Andrew Pessin December 24, 2012 (changed December 24, 2012) Permalink Seems like you've answered your own question! ... My own view (for what it is worth) is that while it's useful to use your college education to prepare you for a career (esp if you're pretty clear what career you're after), it's also valuable to use it to pursue your interests, intellectu... Read more

Ethics Philosophers

I'm having trouble appreciating Kant's moral philosophy. According to him an action is bad if we can't universalize it as a maxim of human behavior. Under that way of thinking being gay is bad because if everyone was gay nobody would have any babies and that means you are willing the non-existence of the human race which would be a contradiction if you want to exist. So I guess bisexuality is okay but being a monk isn't. The reasoning seems absolutely bonkers if you are gay whether from choice or from nature there is no reason to surmise that you think everyone has to be gay. If Kants moral philosophy is so lame I must admit that it prejudices me against his whole philosophical system. Is there any reason why I should give Kant's ethics more credit?

Allen Stairs December 23, 2012 (changed December 23, 2012) Permalink On one version of the Categorical Imperative, we're told to act only on maxims (roughly, principles of action) that we could will to be universal laws. That may or may not be the right way to think about morality; I don't have a settled opinion. However, there are philosophers who think Ka... Read more

Logic

If the sentence "q because p" is true, must the sentence "If p then q" also be true? For example, "the streets are wet because it is raining," and the sentence "if it is raining, then the streets are wet." Are there any counter-examples where "q because p" could be true while "If p then q" could be false?

Allen Stairs December 23, 2012 (changed December 23, 2012) Permalink I agree with my co-panelist: "q because p" implies that "q" and "p" are both true. And on more than one reading of "if.. then" sentences, it will follow that "if p than q" as well as "if q then p" are true. It may be worth noting, though: not everyone agrees that when "p" and "q" are both... Read more

Education

Hi, I'm a third-year undergraduate. I have always love both philosophy and science, especially theoretical physics and astronomy, but out of self-doubt, I majored in philosophy and only philosophy. I am in much regret that I did not double major in philosophy and physics, and am wondering about the possibility of being a research scientist in the future without doing a second undergraduate degree in science. Would it be possible to, say, do a philosophy PhD with a strong scientific bent (such as the Logic, Computation, and Methodology PhD at Carnegie Mellon), and then apply whatever foundational analysis skills I acquire thereafter in making substantial contributions to the natural sciences? - science envy

Allen Stairs December 23, 2012 (changed December 23, 2012) Permalink Just a few further thoughts. Many philosophers of physics don't have the equivalent of a PhD in physics, though they do, of course, know a good deal about physics. And while these philosophers usually aren't doing experimental work in physics, what they do is sometimes published in physics... Read more

Art

Dear sir/madam I'm a phd student of philosophy of art in Iran. as it's a new field of study here, we, all the students, are not completely familiar with recent topics and new approaches in this field at the latest decade. i would appreciate it if you could tell me please how can i get to know these topics or you just suggest some new approaches or books that opened a new look to aesthetics. best regards, Hana H.

Charles Taliaferro December 21, 2012 (changed December 21, 2012) Permalink Greetings to you. For the last decade, you might want to logon to the British Journal of Aesthetics and the Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. The latest topics seem to be a continuation of the classical questions: what is beauty? what is the meaning of a work of art (does th... Read more

Ethics

Is there such a thing as the natural right to make or withdraw consent at any time? Or a right to die based on bodily integrity? Thanks Jude.

Charles Taliaferro December 21, 2012 (changed December 21, 2012) Permalink Hello Jude! To begin with your last question, some argue the persons have a right to take their own life or allowed to die (when this might be prevented if there was medical intervention) based on the idea that a person owns her or himself or, more specifically, a person owns his o... Read more

Logic

Is it true that anything can be concluded from a contradiction? Can you explain? It's seems like its a tautology if taken figuratively because we can indeed conclude anything if we suspend the rules of reasoning, but there is nothing especially interesting in that fact in my humble opinion.

Daniel J. Velleman December 27, 2012 (changed December 27, 2012) Permalink Stephen Maitzen has given a syntactic response, showing how formal rules of logic can be used to derive any conclusion Q from a contradiction P & not-P. It might be worthwhile to point out that one can also give a semantic explanation of why Q follows from P & not-P--that is... Read more

Logic

Is it true that anything can be concluded from a contradiction? Can you explain? It's seems like its a tautology if taken figuratively because we can indeed conclude anything if we suspend the rules of reasoning, but there is nothing especially interesting in that fact in my humble opinion.

Existence

What is an instantiated concept in philosophy? My class has a question asking TRUE or FALSE: A sphere made of solid gold is an instantiated concept. However, I am confused as to what they mean by that term. If someone could help me better understand that would be great!

Jonathan Westphal December 20, 2012 (changed December 20, 2012) Permalink If a concept (say tame tiger) is instantiated that means that there is in fact an instance of the things falling under it: there is at least one tame tiger. An uninstantiated concept, square triangle, for example, is one that has no instances: there are no instances of square triangle... Read more

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