Recent Responses
I want to major in philosophy because I love everything about it,, I am not interested in the physical matter of things. Rather , I am intrested in the morals of it, why is it created, how does it affect us, what is the value of it, is it right or wrong. I am so into these things, however, what am I gonna dowith this major in the future ? what is my future with it ?. When I tell my parents that I want to major in philosophy, they will go like what there is no future being a philosopher and so on. I need to know what is my future as a philosopher ? what can I work at, how am I going to use philosophy to gain money and support my family ? I need to know to convince myself about it , and to make my family appreciate philosophy and allow me to major in it. Please help me.
Sean Greenberg
July 21, 2011
(changed July 21, 2011)
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Although philosophy, like most of the 'liberal arts', does not directly prepare one for any career, majoring in philosophy does equip one with 'portable' skills--the ability to read carefully and to think and write clearly--that are useful in many careers. Surveys have shown that philosophy maj... Read more
If empirical evidence is the ultimate validation of reality, then what is the empirical evidence for existence of mind?
Andrew Pessin
July 21, 2011
(changed July 21, 2011)
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Couldn't "empirical evidence" include that of which we are aware, during consciousness? Is there a major problem in holding that we are aware of our "minds", or at least of our 'awareness', which is a mental state or property? And once you've admitted empirical evidence for the existence of you... Read more
Is this sentence true: "Miles Davis and narwhals both have horns." The word "horn" can mean a musical instrument (which only Miles Davis has) or a bony protrusion (which only narwhals have.) But is it possible to mean both things at once (which would make the sentence true). Or does the sentence only have two possible meanings, both of which are false?
Richard Heck
July 26, 2011
(changed July 26, 2011)
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This phenomenon is well-known. It's a form of zeugma that is known as "syllepsis".
I think most linguists would say that this sentence cannot mean that Miles has a trumpet and a narwhal a protrusion from the head. The reason is the obvious one: that "horn" has to be interpreted a single way. Note... Read more
Many meat-eaters get angry when they feel that vegetarians are criticizing their lifestyle. "Feel free to abstain," they say, "but don't tell me what to do." I understand the appeal of non-judgmental vegetarianism, but I'm not sure it really makes sense. Suppose that I adopt vegetarianism for ethical reasons--that is, because I believe that eating animals is wrong. Doesn't it make perfect sense for me to criticize meat eaters, then? After all, the point of ethical vegetarianism is precisely that eating meat is wrong, not just _for me_, but for anyone. Imagine someone who said, "I think murder is wrong; but that's just my personal view, I wouldn't insist that others abstain from murder." This would be ridiculous! Obviously, meat-eating cannot be as serious a crime as murder. But why aren't these two cases analogous, nonetheless, with respect to the legitimacy of criticism?
Eddy Nahmias
July 21, 2011
(changed July 21, 2011)
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You've got it right. If one believes meat-eating is wrong and has reasons and arguments for that view, then one should offer those reasons and arguments to others to try to convince them to stop doing something wrong. The reason meat-eaters respond this way is presumably that they do not think t... Read more
What is the best way to approach questions like "What is the meaning of the word x?"? Is there some kind of advisable generalised approach to such questions, based on the remarkable developments in philosophy of language? What would Wittgenstein probably say? I'm thinking for example of the debate in aesthetics concerning the meaning of the word beautiful.
Sean Greenberg
July 21, 2011
(changed July 21, 2011)
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The best way to approach questions about the meanings of words is to look in a good dictionary. (This isn't meant to be a smart-alecky response: J. L. Austin, perhaps the foremost practitioner of 'ordinary language philosophy' recommended the dictionary as a starting point for ordinary language... Read more
I am a soccer fanatic. I watch as much soccer as possible. So it was no question that I saw the Women's World Cup Final. But as I watched the US play Japan in the Women's World Cup Final, I became aware later in the game that I was rooting for Japan just out of compassion because of their recent natural disaster. Also, it looked like Japan needed the win more than the US. As someone who is born in the US, is it wrong to root for the opposing team out of empathy?
Allen Stairs
July 20, 2011
(changed July 20, 2011)
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Not wrong at all, I'd say.
The only reason I can think of for thinking otherwise is that it would amount to not being loyal to one's country. We can agree that there are at least some kinds of loyalty we can normally expect from a good citizen. (Not committing treason is the most obvious example.... Read more
To what extent is the virtual world in "The Matrix" not real? Those who live in the Matrix without knowledge of its true nature go through life identically to those who live in our presumably "real" world today, without any difference at all, meaningful or not. So why isn't the Matrix real? Why aren't virtual worlds, to some primitive degree, also real? Or could they be so, and if so, what would they need to do to become reality?
Eddy Nahmias
July 18, 2011
(changed July 18, 2011)
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Very good question. Most people just assume that Matrix worlds aren't real. But that assumption derives in part from our perspective--we take our world to be real and, relative to our world, the Matrix world is a replica created by computers in our world. But what reason do we have to believe o... Read more
Does synesthesia have any significant implication for philosophies of perception?
Sean Greenberg
July 17, 2011
(changed July 17, 2011)
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Synesthesia is a phenomenon in which the activation of one sensory modality leads to experiences in a second sensory modality: one common form of synesthesia is the perception of letters or numbers as inherently colored. This phenomenon has, I think, received relatively little attention from ph... Read more
It is often said that people have the right to hold whatever beliefs they want, even if they fly in the face of fact. To what extent is this true? There is surely no serious problem with a person believing that tulips are hallucinogenic (the worst case scenario is that they will be disappointed), but there is surely something wrong with a parent believing that large doses of arsenic is an integral part of a healthy child's diet. Is harm really the only factor that matters? Do people have a duty to hold true opinions if they are able to do so? Do people have the right to try and correct the false beliefs of others?
Sean Greenberg
July 17, 2011
(changed July 17, 2011)
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"Private," Hobbes writes in Leviathan, regarding the nature of beliefs, "is in secret free." These words are, I think, absolutely correct, and pertinent in the context of your excellent question, regarding whether agents have a right to hold whatever beliefs they wish, and whether other agents-... Read more
Hi, I would like to ask a question about Logic. There is a formal logical fallacy called "Circular Reasoning", are not all argument tho circular? The conclusion is always found in the premises. and then drawn from them into a conclusion.
Thomas Pogge
July 17, 2011
(changed July 17, 2011)
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Drawing conclusions from premises is not circular. You are going in one direction, from the premises to the conclusion. Circularity appears when you also defend your premises by appeal to the conclusion.
To illustrate with a somewhat informal but real-world typical example:
P1: The government of... Read more