Recent Responses
It has long been recognized that free will appears to be incompatible with the causality observed in the rest of the universe. There is now evidence from neuroscience that free will does not really exist. Does the fact that many people - including many philosophers - find this conclusion absolutely unacceptable constitute a manifestation of the limits of the human mind's abilities?
Stephen Maitzen
August 2, 2012
(changed August 2, 2012)
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My diagnosis is different: I think the arguments claiming that causality (specifically, deterministic causation) rules out free will, or claiming that neuroscientific results cast doubt on the existence of free will, are bad arguments. This issue came up recently here: see the discussion at... Read more
I am a 16 year old and i have been asking myself the same question for a very long time but only recently was able to finally word the question.. Isnt it true that there can not be a certainty of anything outside a person's current observed world? It still sounds very wierd but if i am sitting in a room in a building that i walked into myself, i saw all of my surrounding as i entered the building and the room. The door is closed and there is no way for me to observe anything on the outside of the room. I can say that i know exactly what is outside that door because i saw it as i came in the room, but in reality i have zero way of being competely certain of anything i cant see or hear outside the room. I could, potentially, be in a room floating in space and have no way of knowing, givin there isnt any ovservable evidence of my location. It may sound strange, but i believe it could be related to particle physics, etc. The fact is that i have no certainty of anything outside my personal observed "picture": the surroundings in my field of vision and what i can hear around me.
Stephen Maitzen
August 2, 2012
(changed August 2, 2012)
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I congratulate you on your interest in philosophy at the age of 16 -- in this case, your interest in epistemology (the theory of knowledge) and, within epistemology, the issue of skepticism. You posed your question in terms of certainty. I said in response to Question 4721 that the term 'ce... Read more
Would you professional philosophers advise that us--rather uninitiated--students begin tackling philosophers and philosophical perspectives through series such as the "A Very Short Introduction" collection? I am a senior international relations/development studies undergrad and have been recently taking courses on what kinds of ethical relations we have to others, in general,"global justice". I have read key pieces from Rawls, Pogge (I enjoy his cosmopolitan institutionalist perspective!), Sen, David Held, Habermas, Nagel, some Charles Taylor, and several others. One constant problem I have encountered was that many of these authors are writing amidst the background of other thinkers such as Hegel, Rousseau, Locke, Mill, Kant and so on. To return to my initial question, would you recommend "intro" readings for many of these authors so one can understand--very basically--where contemporary scholars derive their ideas, or do I need to take the plunge directly into Hegel (I know one day I will) et al? Could you recommend any other good texts on international relations/ ethics that can provide a general overview? Thank you for your consideration.
Louise Antony
August 2, 2012
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There are lots of resources available for people who would like to gain entry into the world of academic philosophy. I suggest that you find out what texts are used in introductory philosophy courses in the areas in which you are interested. There are two obvious ways to do this: one, if you... Read more
Suppose a computer is trying to execute some code or another, but hasn't done so yet (for example, it is waiting for a given signal, or for a certain period of time to elapse). Does the computer intend to execute that code? Can we speak of intention in a case like this?
Louise Antony
August 2, 2012
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You may not realize it, but you have presupposed the answer to your question in the way you asked it. You speak of the computer "trying" to execute a code. Trying involves intending to do something. So if you are not speaking metaphorically, you are presupposing that computers can have inten... Read more
What exactly is relatvism and could you give me a more elementary definition of it? I have a hard time understanding it. Here's the thing, I was having an argument on a religious forum and I said that I personally believe there is nothing wrong, immoral, or sinful with homosexuality, however if you believe that it is immoral, I'll respect that. I was called a moral relatvist and I looked that up online, and I hard a hard time understanding how that applies to me. I may not agree with your opinion, but I still respect that. Is that what (moral) relatvism is?
Eddy Nahmias
August 2, 2012
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I want to add a point of emphasis to Prof. Stairs' excellent response to your interesting question. It is quite common to hear people suggest that being tolerant or respectful towards the moral views of other people or other cultures suggests a commitment to moral relativism. It sounds like th... Read more
Suppose a species is brought to another region, where it quickly overruns its local rivals and drives the native species to extinction. This is something that has been suggested might happen with the larger grey squirrels that are slowly overwhelming the smaller red squirrels in Europe. Many people would suggest that this is a problem, but I wonder if that is really the case. One way or another, individual red squirrels will end up dying, either because other red squirrels are eating their food, or because grey squirrels are eating it. If more red squirrels die than would otherwise, the flip-side seems to be that there are more grey squirrels flourishing than otherwise. For the starving red squirrels, it doesn't seem to matter who is eating their food; and for the flourishing grey squirrels, it doesn't seem to matter where exactly they are flourishing. Of course, there is the risk of the newcomers ruining the entire local ecology and turning things into a barren wasteland, but that doesn't seem to happen consistently, certainly not in the case of the squirrels. Yet people talk about the invasion of the larger squirrels as though it were some kind of problem, and there are "worries" about the spread of grey squirrels. Why? What, beyond concerns about ecological collapse that appear unfounded, is intrinsically wrong with one species of animal replacing another?
Miriam Solomon
August 2, 2012
(changed August 2, 2012)
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You ask a fair question and I suspect that some of the answer, in the case of the squirrels, is that the red squirrels are thought to be more attractive than the grey squirrels, so many people would prefer that the grey squirrels do not take over. But there are also reasons for environmental... Read more
What exactly is relatvism and could you give me a more elementary definition of it? I have a hard time understanding it. Here's the thing, I was having an argument on a religious forum and I said that I personally believe there is nothing wrong, immoral, or sinful with homosexuality, however if you believe that it is immoral, I'll respect that. I was called a moral relatvist and I looked that up online, and I hard a hard time understanding how that applies to me. I may not agree with your opinion, but I still respect that. Is that what (moral) relatvism is?
Eddy Nahmias
August 2, 2012
(changed August 2, 2012)
Permalink
I want to add a point of emphasis to Prof. Stairs' excellent response to your interesting question. It is quite common to hear people suggest that being tolerant or respectful towards the moral views of other people or other cultures suggests a commitment to moral relativism. It sounds like th... Read more
Hello, I'm 17 years old. I'm in a situation where I have dropped out of high school because I strongly feel I am better off without it. I am about to travel around the united states with a 27 year old man that i only met and talked with on the internet/phone for four years. In all of that time I learned to have complete trust in him because I see him as like a older brother now. It is still very possible to be lead a successful and happy life without schooling. Now further, I plan on pursue my writings in poetry and writings on my thoughts in general that i believe to have a spiritual/philosophical value. I believe in situations where the mind is constantly adapting to new environments (travel) it sets a great catalyst for creative thoughts. This is my dream and needs be fulfilled to have an existential based life realized. A lot of great philosophers have been home schooled and led rather independent life styles, which I am doing as well. I still haven't completely denied the possibility of going to a college/univ as i am leaving that door in my life open. My family thinks this life path I'm about to take is stupid and wrong and are worried that I am too young. Clearly though, as young as I am, I am ready to embark on a journey that will change my life for the better. I want to hear your honest opinion on this issue because my parents have a tendency to be persuaded by authority opinions and have in interest in philosophers in particular. I could have gave an a lot more detailed description of the situation here but it would be too much to fill in for one question.
Bette Manter
July 30, 2012
(changed July 30, 2012)
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I am impressed that you were willing to ask the question in this forum - I don't know how many 17 year old readers we have here, but I suspect you are in a minority. This demonstrates your willingness to look for answers in unexpected places, so good for you! I am afraid, however, I agree with P... Read more
What does "fuc*ing" mean and why is it a bad word? Does fuc*ing mean sex where there is a desire to express physical control or dominance over a woman? Is that a bad thing? Is it a normal aspect of what is sometimes thought as its opposite, "lovemaking"? If it is normal does that mean that it is not a bad thing? (I use an asterisk because I do not know if this site has a word filter.)
Bette Manter
July 28, 2012
(changed July 28, 2012)
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I agree with my colleague, N.S., and would like to add that his last line is worth reading the whole post!
Another way to think about this term comes from personal experience - in which meaning and gender analysis had no part. A number of years ago I was walking down a hallway in a classroom bu... Read more
Are there ever situations where self-preservation is ethically unacceptable, i.e. where choosing to stay alive is inexcusable, and where the only ethical course of action is to die? Or is self-preservation always excusable, even if it is not ideal?
Charles Taliaferro
July 27, 2012
(changed July 27, 2012)
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I suggest it is not always ethically permissible to seek self-preservation. Imagine that you need a heart transplant to survive and the only way to get a heart is by harvesting and thus killing another person (imagine the person is innocent, unwilling to die to offer you his heart, etc). O... Read more