Recent Responses
Can philosophy help us live 'better' lives?
Eddy Nahmias
November 19, 2009
(changed November 19, 2009)
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I hope so. And I think so. Especially if we understand philosophy in a general way to involve careful reflection on what we should be doing with our lives and how we should structure our relationships and societies, I think it can help us live better lives. While reflection isn't always... Read more
As someone who is clinically depressed, I have often wondered: philosophically speaking, is trying to treat depression wrong? People are depressed for a reason, possibly because life's pretty damned depressing once you get down to it. It seems to me that in plenty of cases, depression is a logical reaction to this planet, a rather depressing thought in and of itself. Despite the wars and the plagues and the genocides and the poverty and the seemingly countless other reasons for one to be depressed, people treat depression like a disease when it seems more like a perfectly acceptable reaction to the human condition. Treating depression like this appears to me as a rather unsubtle way of trying to trick people into believing everything is going to be okay when reality seems to contradict this. Any thoughts?
Jonathan Westphal
November 20, 2009
(changed November 20, 2009)
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Depression used to be classified in two forms: endogenous ("originating from within") and reactive. There was an obvious point to this way of classifying things, but a different way has been suggested recently. The newer way is to distinguish between cases in which depression, the med... Read more
Is it morally defensible that men are allowed to go topless in certain public situations while women are not (e.g., at the beach or pool, park, gym, etc.)? Are the people opposed to women gaining this right prudes, or do they have a legitimate ethical basis for their position?
Andrew N. Carpenter
November 16, 2009
(changed November 16, 2009)
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Your question raises a number of really interesting issues.
One of these is how to distinguish ethical questions from non-ethicsones. Could it be the case that your question about toplessness doesnot raise any moral issues at all and so isn't the sort of questionthat can be answered... Read more
Will philosophy ever end? Will we ever find the unchallengeable 'truth?' Or will we just get inches closer without ever really grasping the answers to life's most puzzling mysteries?
Mitch Green
November 14, 2009
(changed November 14, 2009)
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The question whether philosophy will ever end is not quite the same as the question whether we'll ever find what you refer to as the unchallengeable truth. I'll just focus on the former question.
Of course, philosophy might end because our species or something else destroys life as we kn... Read more
What are the possible responses when people say that concepts like "being" and "nothingness" are essentially meaningless?
Mitch Green
November 13, 2009
(changed November 13, 2009)
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Thanks for your question. In general, I don't have any idea what the entire range of possible responses are to a question or comment, but here are a few to the ones you mention:
1. One response is to agree with the criticism and thereby acknowledge that these concepts are indeed meaningl... Read more
When, if ever, should philosophy get mixed into politics?
Eric Silverman
November 12, 2009
(changed November 12, 2009)
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I'm afraid that philosophy and politics are deeply mixed whether we like it or not. Consider a question like 'what rights do/should people have?' This is deeply philosophical question and what answer you give will be very influenced by your philosophical views. Other important philosophi... Read more
When someone starts a political argument with "Our Founding Fathers believed..." are they committing a logical fallacy?
Eric Silverman
November 12, 2009
(changed November 12, 2009)
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It seems likely to me that there are some situations where such arguments are based on a fallacious 'inappropriate appeal to authority,' but that there are other circumstances where the views of the founders are deeply relevant. For example, if the question is 'how should the first amend... Read more
Is logic ever wrong?
Allen Stairs
November 12, 2009
(changed November 12, 2009)
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Let's try a related question: is physics ever wrong?
The answer is pretty clearly yes in one sense. Physicists can be wrong. And if enough physicists are wrong about the answer to some physics question, then Physics as a discipline is wrong. It's happened before and will no doubt happen ag... Read more
Do the members of a married couple with children have a moral obligation, not (just) to each other, but to their children, to not cheat on each other?
Jean Kazez
November 11, 2009
(changed November 11, 2009)
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I'm guessing what the questioner is wondering is roughly this-- "Considering the way that infidelity tends to increase the probability of divorce and considering the known ill effects of divorce on children, do couples have a duty not just to each other, but also to their children, to be fa... Read more
Do the members of a married couple with children have a moral obligation, not (just) to each other, but to their children, to not cheat on each other?
Jean Kazez
November 11, 2009
(changed November 11, 2009)
Permalink
I'm guessing what the questioner is wondering is roughly this-- "Considering the way that infidelity tends to increase the probability of divorce and considering the known ill effects of divorce on children, do couples have a duty not just to each other, but also to their children, to be fa... Read more