Recent Responses
Should people be punished socially for being rude and inconsiderate, etc?
Sean Greenberg
September 22, 2011
(changed September 22, 2011)
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I take it that rudeness and other violations of social norms do sometimes lead to the one who is rude being sanctioned implicitly--as others avoid that person and tell others that he is rude and inconsiderate--or even explicitly, in cases when one is in a position actually to reprimand... Read more
How can we ever talk about what would be? If a statement A is assumed, that's not actually true, then anything would follow since a conditional with a false hypothesis is always true. But anything (such as "P and not-P") can't be true. This seems to show that a statement that is not true would never be true to begin with. Thus, we can't talk about what would be, only what is. For example, I'm not driving to the store. But if I were, I'd also be swimming. Of course, though, I can't drive to the store and swim at the same time. This comes to show that so long as I'm not driving to the store, we can't ever discuss the situation where I am driving to the store, since that situation implies a contradiction.
Richard Heck
September 22, 2011
(changed September 22, 2011)
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Logicians have long distinguished between "indicative" and "subjunctive" conditionals. The terminology reflects a difference, in English, in the grammatical "mood" of the antecedent and consequent. So we have:
If Kennedy was not assassinated, he is living is Columbia.
If Kennedy were not... Read more
Is it possible to positively prove a negative?
Alexander George
September 29, 2011
(changed September 29, 2011)
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People often say this and it can be baffling to logicians! Perhaps your use of "positively" hints at what you're getting at though. Let's assume by "prove a negative" you mean something like: establish that something of a particular kind does not exist. For instance, your "negativ... Read more
When I write on social forums on the net people want to correct my speeling or my grammar. Is there any good reason for that other than aesthetics?
Peter Smith
September 22, 2011
(changed September 22, 2011)
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Wel, fore a starrt, speeling mistaches can mak itt dificcolt two reed & undestand wot u ar actuwally tryin to saye, eh? An getting yours grammer awl rong can makes mawr problem of comprehention. Of course, there are occasions where pointing out slips in spelling or grammar can be a bi... Read more
if you have an unethical position or emotion towards a person or issue, but never act on it, is it still unethical?
Thomas Pogge
September 18, 2011
(changed September 18, 2011)
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Because you take a position to be something one can act on, I interpret this in the sense of "commitment" or "disposition". So suppose a person has the deliberate disposition to "fix" student grades whenever he is offered $100 or more to do so. (This might be a professor or an administra... Read more
Is it unethical to not tell your date that you are not interested in a long term relationship with them until they start developing feelings for you?
Thomas Pogge
September 18, 2011
(changed September 18, 2011)
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This would really depend on the expectations one's conduct gives rise to. These are initially the expectations that it would be reasonable to have in the society and subculture in question. Thus, if a college student from Montana is spending spring break in Florida and there dating someo... Read more
Are intentions of equal importance to actions? For example, if I were to be deliberately harmed by another who claimed they had no good reason for their action, or was equally harmed by someone who claimed to hate me because I am a woman why could the latter be more harshly punished, if deemed a hate crime, than the former?
David Brink
September 16, 2011
(changed September 16, 2011)
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There are some interesting and deep questions here about the relevance of motives to duty, blame, and punishment. For starters, we might want to distinguish the legal question of the relevance of motives to punishment from the moral question about their relevance to duty and blame. We s... Read more
How justified is a doctor's decision to practise cosmetics when he had sworn upon the Hippocratic Oath?
Miriam Solomon
September 15, 2011
(changed September 15, 2011)
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The Hippocratic Oath says a number of things, not all of which doctors swear to today (for example, the Hippocratic Oath forbids any kind of surgery). Perhaps you are thinking of the most well-known part of the Hippocratic Oath, that forbids harm. This is regularly interpreted as for... Read more
If I am very interested in philosophy to the point where I would one day like to write a philosophical treatise or take part in the global exchange of philosophical ideas, but have little or no interest in teaching, would seeking a Ph.D in philosophy be unneccesary? This is putting aside the need for the discipline of setting one's mind to undertaking a thesis as I would likely obtain graduate education in a different, yet supplementary field?
Peter Smith
September 10, 2011
(changed September 10, 2011)
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But isn't there an odd tension between saying that you would like to write and take part in the exchange of philosophical ideas and saying that you have no interest in teaching? Isn't teaching In a university (the kind of teaching for which a PhD is required) one sort of exchange of ideas... Read more
People drink beer to have fun and nobody calls that selfish. People play games and sports with one another to have fun and nobody calls that selfish. But when two persons have sex with one another just to have fun many people call that selfish. Does that make any sense?
Peter Smith
September 10, 2011
(changed September 10, 2011)
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No.There isn't anything intrinsically selfish about sharing fun a deux, whether it is singing duets, riding a tandem, or sex. Of course, the sex-for-fun might be cheating (if you are in a relationship) or unwise (if you don't know where s/he has been) or against professional ethics (if y... Read more