Recent Responses
We define the empty set as the set that contains no elements, but is there more than one empty set? So is there "an" empty set as opposed to "the" empty set? May one be able to receive values, while another is truly empty, etc.? And how is it possible to define the empty set by the absence of members or by emptiness?
Alexander George
October 20, 2011
(changed October 20, 2011)
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The empty set is indeed defined to be that set which contains no elements. Another definition we need is that of identity of sets: we say that set A and set B are identical just in case they contain exactly the same elements, i.e., whatever is in A is also in B, and vice versa. So, wit... Read more
Is there any moral obligation to attempt to correct people who have an incorrect belief, even if their incorrect belief wasn't causing any harm? On the other hand, is it wrong to attempt to correct an incorrect belief if it does not cause harm and makes the incorrect belief holders happy? Thank you.
Oliver Leaman
October 16, 2011
(changed October 16, 2011)
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It is difficult to think of an incorrect belief that is not harmful. On the other hand, if it were the case that there are such beliefs, and we do sometimes use them to motivate us, there still remains the problem that although on some occasions an incorrect belief may be harmless, it sets... Read more
Is it ethical for psychologists and psychometricians to lie to their clients about their IQ if it protects them from harm to their self-esteem? I ask because I highly suspect that such a practice is both very common and something that has been practiced on me. I am told I have an IQ of a 138 which to me seems highly improbable given my academic record and my SAT scores, but I always wanted to join Mensa and I think i told my tester that. However when I applied for Mensa I had to have my records sent three times to their headquarters but each time they somehow got "lost" and so I never became an official member. It also seems improbable that so many people I have known have IQs higher than 150, it's like it's just very common for practitioners to give their clients high feel good numbers.
Miriam Solomon
October 13, 2011
(changed October 13, 2011)
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I think it is unethical for psychologists to lie to their clients about such test results. It would be best practice for a psychologist to ask their client why they want to take such a test and what they think the result means, as part of the process of consent for taking the test. Appar... Read more
I know that Kant's moral philosophy is to be considered "intentional" since he focuses on intentions and not on the action itself, each of us should act "according to that maxim whose universality as a law you can at the same time will". I was told that Kant didn't agreed the foundation of the concept of Good/Evil that past philosophers did; the reason was that they based their moral on an external thing (like ethical relativism or utilitarianism). Moral is for Kant universal and form a priori in the figure of the Moral Law. If I test my intention/action with the Moral Law, couldn't I be considered as looking for a universal order and so for a kind of usefulness?
Sean Greenberg
October 13, 2011
(changed October 13, 2011)
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You're absolutely right on in how you're thinking about the difference between Kant's approach to moral philosophy and that of his predecessors. Kant's predecessors took morality to be based on something external (such as, for example, God, or the achievement of some end), what Kant calle... Read more
Often, it seems experts and critics are at odds with the general public as to what works of art are good; many well-received films have performed poorly at the box office despite marketing, for example, while many blockbusters have been derided by film critics. What is going on, in these cases? Is it just a difference of opinion, and if so, why is there such a role as a "film critic"? Or do critics detect quality that the average moviegoer can't, and do they see through the presumably shallow pleasures enjoyed by moviegoers? How is it even possible to tell the nature of the disagreement in these situations?
Sean Greenberg
October 13, 2011
(changed October 13, 2011)
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The question of the relation between the judgments of professional critics and those of 'people on the street', as it were, especially with respect to works of mass culture such as movies and--albeit, I think, to a much lesser extent--pop songs, television, and also literature (which I th... Read more
if two people share a thought triggered by there shared experience of a similar situation/stimuli and/or genetic wiring (i.e. there is a causl relationship between there responses), would this be considered telepatahy? for example if two people looked at a work of art and at the same time thought to themselves the word "amazing" this would surely not be considered telepathic, as it is a very common response. But why shouldn't it be considered telepathy if they share the same thought and there is a causal relationship? I'm not saying that people can read each others thoughts outright, but that similar thought patterns are brought on by similar situations and/or genetic makeup (I won't get into nature vs nurture).
Amy Kind
October 13, 2011
(changed October 13, 2011)
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After reading this question, I first tried to transmit my answer to you telepathically, but it wasn't working, so I thought I'd try this more traditional method.
In any case, it strikes me that in order for something to count as telepathy, one would have to have some sort of direct and unmediate... Read more
Is it logical to infer a higher power given how extraordinary human life is?
Andrew Pessin
October 7, 2011
(changed October 7, 2011)
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If by 'logical' you mean 'a decent argument can be constructed of this form' then i would say the answer is yes -- but if you mean 'an absolutely convincing argument ...' then, well, you don't find too many of those anywhere in philosophy -- my favorite version of the kind of argument that Al... Read more
Is it possible to rise above jealousy, what are the questions i need to ask myself to rise above it?
Andrew Pessin
October 7, 2011
(changed October 7, 2011)
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if you're asking 'can some people rise above jealousy?', surely the answer is yes -- i can't help but think, though, that this question is more in the domain of psychology than philosophy .... (unless you believe that a proper theory of the world could help here -- eg Buddhism, which teaches... Read more
Is the concept of property a metaphysical concept?
Andrew Pessin
October 7, 2011
(changed October 7, 2011)
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Hm, it's not quite clear where this question is coming from -- if by 'property' you mean something like 'attribute' or 'feature', the kind of thing that can be possessed by objects or substances, and if you mean by 'metaphysical concept' the kind of thing studied by people who say they are do... Read more
My girlfriend and I have recently moved to a new area, and have encountered an unfortunate problem. In this area, the birth control pill is only available upon prescription by a gynecologist, and gynecologists are required by law to refuse handing out the prescription until after a woman has undergone a standard checkup. Normally, this doesn't seem like such a big deal, but my girlfriend has only been to a gynecologist once and adamantly refuses to do so again, as she is afraid the check-up will be horribly painful. She has, in fact, declared that we should simply stop having sex until we find a way to acquire the pill without her undergoing a gynecological check-up (we only ever use double-protection, condom and pill, to try and minimize the risk of unwanted pregnancies); her only idea is to get her mother (who works in a pharmacy) to send birth control pills per post. If that doesn't work, it looks like I'm in for a dry spell. I am confused as to what I am allowed to do, ethically speaking. I know that gynecological checkups are important - my own mother was spared full-blown cervical cancer thanks in part to frequent checkups that caught the abnormalities early. It was frightening to hear that my girlfriend had not had any regular check-ups, and even more so to hear that she intends to never visit a gynecologist. But I feel that my sexual relationship to my girlfriend compromises any authority I might have to try and convince her to go. Ultimately, any attempt I make to convince her to go to the gynecologist to get the checkup and the pill are tainted by my desire to have sex with her; I would effectively be trying to take control of her body and ignore her wishes for my own pleasure, and I've always believed that was wrong. So, ethically speaking, what can I do? Am I allowed to try and convince her to go to the gynecologist and get checked up? Or should I accept whatever she decides to do with her own body? What do I have the right to do?
Charles Taliaferro
October 7, 2011
(changed October 7, 2011)
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Tough to say. Off hand it seems that trying to convince her to have such a check-up is profoundly to act in her interest in terms of her fundamental health. Also, it certainly seems that desiring to have a healthy sex life is not something that "taints" or should taint the boyfriend -... Read more