Recent Responses
For a long time I have been very concerned with clarifying mathematics, primarily for myself but also because I plan to teach. After decades of reading and questioning and thinking, it seems to me that the philosophical views of mathematics are nonsensical. What does it MEAN to question whether mathematical objects exist outside of our minds? It sounds absurd. It seems clear to me that mathematics is a science like all the others except that verification (confirmation) is different. It is the science of QUANTITY and its amazing developments and offshoots (like set theory). And all sciences are products of our minds. They are our constructions, as are most of the physical objects in our immediate worlds. Shoes, sinks, forks, radios, computers, computer programs, eyeglasses, cars, planes, airports, buildings, roads, and on ad nauseam, are ALL our constructions. Nature didn't produce any of them. We did. What does it MEAN to speak of a "PHYSICAL" circle? A circle is OUR IDEA of a plane locus equidistant from a point. A transistor is no less real because it is OUR invention. How can anyone MAKE such a distinction? Who cares what Plato thought about mathematics? He didn't know what an algebraic number is. He didn't know what a p-adic number is. Hardly any mathematics had been invented yet twenty five hundred years ago. Why do people respect in his speculations, his fictions? And the same is true of the other contenders that presume to account for mathematics. We are surrounded by our inventions and their properties. My father used to have to get his car greased. No one does that anymore. Now we have much better bearings. Can you please explain to me why there is so much bizarre speculation about the nature of mathematics? I hope you answer. I am truly perplexed. (I started as a philosophy major but switched to electrical engineering.) Thank you, George F.
Richard Heck
September 9, 2011
(changed September 9, 2011)
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"...[A]ll sciences are products of our minds. They are our constructions, as are most of the physical objects in our immediate worlds."
That is no doubt true, but it misses a crucial point: Scientific theories are of course human creations. But what those theories are about are (generally)... Read more
Although I don't doubt the pain of transsexual people who feel that their bodies do not match their gender, I find myself skeptical of their claims. I am female, I don't doubt that I am female, yet I do not have any idea what it means to "feel like a woman." It also happens that I have no interest in hairdos, high heels, or the notion of "femininity." Although I am undoubtedly a woman, I would guess that a person who feels like a man trapped in a woman's body does not feel like I do, or aspire to being a woman such as me. When a MTF transsexual person insists that they are genuinely women and must change their male bodies to match their internal state, how can their conviction be based on anything but imagination, speculation and stereotypes? How can they possibly know what it feels like to be a woman if I, a woman, do not know that feeling? (Please note that I do not mean any disrespect to transsexuals; I'm genuinely trying to understand.)
Richard Heck
September 9, 2011
(changed September 9, 2011)
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While I agree with Oliver's judgements, I also think many people are genuinely puzzled about how someone could feel as if they had the wrong sort of body, so let me try to say a few things that might help to clarify it. I should say, however, that I am no expert on these issues, and so I'm... Read more
Although I don't doubt the pain of transsexual people who feel that their bodies do not match their gender, I find myself skeptical of their claims. I am female, I don't doubt that I am female, yet I do not have any idea what it means to "feel like a woman." It also happens that I have no interest in hairdos, high heels, or the notion of "femininity." Although I am undoubtedly a woman, I would guess that a person who feels like a man trapped in a woman's body does not feel like I do, or aspire to being a woman such as me. When a MTF transsexual person insists that they are genuinely women and must change their male bodies to match their internal state, how can their conviction be based on anything but imagination, speculation and stereotypes? How can they possibly know what it feels like to be a woman if I, a woman, do not know that feeling? (Please note that I do not mean any disrespect to transsexuals; I'm genuinely trying to understand.)
Richard Heck
September 9, 2011
(changed September 9, 2011)
Permalink
While I agree with Oliver's judgements, I also think many people are genuinely puzzled about how someone could feel as if they had the wrong sort of body, so let me try to say a few things that might help to clarify it. I should say, however, that I am no expert on these issues, and so I'm... Read more
Is it possible for an action or an event to be beautiful? If so, what does this descriptor mean? Are we appealing to the same aesthetics we are when judging works of art, or objects?
Gordon Marino
September 8, 2011
(changed September 8, 2011)
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I hope it is possible, otherwise I am in trouble. As a boxing trainer and writer, I have found a number of bouts to be of staggering beauty. I don't believe that I use the same criterion of beauty for boxing as I do for, say, sunsets or for that matter poetry. I'm not sure what would fol... Read more
Are there any modern philosophers that still defend astrology as either a legitimate practice or as a science?
Miriam Solomon
September 8, 2011
(changed September 8, 2011)
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I don't know of any scientist who takes astrology seriously. There are two problems with astrology (1) the lack of confirmatory evidence and (2) the implausibility of the theory, given what else we know about the universe. But your question asked whether there are "modern philosophers"... Read more
The Kantian ethical formulation, "Always act according to that maxim whose universality as a law you can at the same time will," seems rather vague. Where, exactly, do we decide how to formulate one's actions? Suppose a poor man steals medicine he otherwise can't afford, in order to save his child. Which maxim's universality as a law, exactly, should he be willing? If we examine the maxim as being "It is permissible to steal", then we clearly have a universal law that shouldn't be willed, but if we examine the maxim as being "It is permissible to steal in order to save lives, when there are no other options", then we have a maxim that might hold up under more scrutiny. For any given action, there are multiple possible maxims that are more or less reprehensible, each of which can justify the action in question. So how does Kantian ethics treat situations like this? Do we boil it down to the most semantically/logically simple maxims? Do we go instead for the most nuanced maxims?
David Brink
September 8, 2011
(changed September 8, 2011)
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That’s an interesting question about how to interpret and apply the universal law test of Kant’s categorical imperative. That test is supposed to apply to our maxims, and our maxims are our subjective ends or goals. So presumably an agent’s maxim is a psychological fact about an agent hav... Read more
Could you suggest an introductory book on metaphysics. thank you
Charles Taliaferro
September 5, 2011
(changed September 5, 2011)
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I think the best introductory book on metaphysics published in the last 40 years is: Metaphysics by Richard Taylor. I think it is outstanding in its clarity and structure. For slightly more challenging, but more recent books, check out the books on metaphysics by E.J. Lowe (a Britis... Read more
Would it be considered unethical to anonymously report my suspicion that several co-workers are stealing from customers and the company I work for by suggesting the company conduct an investigation into the practices of their employees to determine whether or not this is actually occurring? I ask this because I highly suspect this is the case where I work. Should I simply turn a blind eye? My internal conflict regarding this situation is that almost no one likes the company and the clientele they work for, which is in part, why I believe some employees feel they are justified in indulging their greed by stealing from both company & client. I mention 'greed' because I suppose this is why I feel compelled to report my suspicions. So many of my co-workers behave abusively to one another because of their greed and I suppose I feel that these nasty, greedy individuals deserve to be called on their unethical behaviour, but once again, I wonder if it is up to me to be the one to see to it that they receive their instant karma. In addition, their behaviour negatviely impacts the entire work environment. For instance, the company, because they are losing money,(yet are too stupid to realize why they are really losing, what I estimate is 100s of thousands of dollars per year from this employee theft, in my department alone,) bottom line on essentials of service and products, which ultimately threatens job security. Pls. help.
Eddy Nahmias
September 2, 2011
(changed September 2, 2011)
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As far as I can tell from your description, it would not be unethical to report such fraud--indeed, reporting it is likely the right thing to do. Depending on the details, it might even be illegal not to report it. You might want to consult a legal expert to determine your rights and res... Read more
What are the three characteristics of a philosophical question?
Eddy Nahmias
September 2, 2011
(changed September 2, 2011)
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Hmm, I don't know why you think there are exactly three characteristics, but since you asked it that way, I'll give it a go:
1. Philosophical questions tend to concern (to paraphrase Led Zeppelin) what is and what should be (and also how we can know what is and what should be)--that is, th... Read more
If philosophers are asked, "What makes people happy (eudaimonic)?", why do they sit around and speculate on what should make people happy, instead of walking out into the street and checking people out? "Hey, are you happy? If so, tell us why!"
Allen Stairs
September 2, 2011
(changed September 2, 2011)
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You're making a perfectly good point: no one can figure out what will make people happy just by sitting in their armchair. But there are a lot of things we might mean by the word "happy" and if we just ask the person on the street if they're happy, we may not know what to make of the answe... Read more