Recent Responses
When trying to imagine a completely new colour, similar to those that already exist in brightness - a basic new colour - but one that has never been percieved before - it is antaginizingly impossible. Is this merely a demonstration of the determinism of reality - that there is what there is, and nothing more?
Oliver Leaman
February 15, 2008
(changed February 15, 2008)
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This is one of the issues that perplexed Wittgenstein in his work on colour. The fact that there just seem to be the colours that there are looks like a synthetic a priori proposition, necessary in some sense, but describing matters of fact. Yet colours have often been taken to be good ex... Read more
Should philosophy and epistemological precepts be taught to grade school children?
Kalynne Pudner
February 15, 2008
(changed February 15, 2008)
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There are indeed philosophers making strong arguments in favor of introducing philosophy to young children. See Michael Pritchard's article in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy for some examples. Gareth Matthews has been working for a long time in an area he calls "the philosoph... Read more
Is it ethical to usurp the copyright to this, and every other question deposited on this website? One could ask a question which provokes an answer equal to the meaning of life, and even though this website obtained it through answering the question, the answer only came about because of the question proposed.
Kalynne Pudner
February 15, 2008
(changed February 15, 2008)
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If we take your description ("usurping the copyright") at face value, then the answer is no, it isn't ethical. It's usurping, which is defined as seizing and holding something without legal right to do so; barring some highly unusual circumstances (and certain views about the relation o... Read more
Is it morally right to make fun of someone I don't even know because it's funny? The person doesn't know they are being made fun of and they most likely will never find out they were being made fun of, so, their feelings aren't in jeopardy and it's entertaining for me.
Allen Stairs
February 14, 2008
(changed February 14, 2008)
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Although the issues aren't exactly the same, you might want to take a look at Peter Smith's answer to question 2012. The fact that someone doesn't know they are being mocked or deceived doesn't imply that they aren't harmed. True, if they never find out, then their feelings may not be hur... Read more
In the debate between theists and atheists/agnostics, which side has the burden of proof? Are believers supposed to prove that God must exist, or must atheists demonstrate that God cannot exist?
Peter Smith
February 14, 2008
(changed February 14, 2008)
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"Burden tennis", batting the burden of proof to and fro over the net, is rarely a very profitable pastime!
But still, maybe this case is an exception. After all, conventional theists when you come down to it are making some pretty exotic claims (claims that make the beliefs, say, of ancient... Read more
Can the well-documented placebo effect in medicine be applied to the comfort religious belief gives many? In the case of religion, should such an affect be encouraged, discouraged, or dismissed? You could argue that none of us will ever know until we die, and if we were wrong in being religious we will never know we got it wrong. If various monks or nuns in various religions (to take an extreme example of devotion) got it wrong - and some would have to have had if you subscribe to the logical view that only one religion can assure you an afterlife, what possible advice can be given? If you feel someone is wasting their life on a misguided religious quest should you just preserve silence, salute the meaning it lends their life and leave well alone? What duty do we have here, if any? Philosophers understand the points involved better than most and can see through many misconceptions in religious belief that believers are unaware of. Each-to-his-own is surely a tragic cop-out.
Sally Haslanger
February 26, 2008
(changed February 26, 2008)
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This isn't really an answer to your question but, rather, a point I find interesting about the framing of your question. (You could still ask your question in slightly different terms, of course...)
Although the idea of a "placebo effect" is common, there is actually some reason to d... Read more
What good is an apology? For example, the Australian government has decided to formally apologize for the historical wrongs against the Aborigines. Isn't this just an outlet for guilt, rather than actual concern for the victims?
Allen Stairs
February 14, 2008
(changed February 14, 2008)
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I think there may be two rather different questions here. The first is the general one that you begin with: what good is an apology? The second is whether in a particular case -- the apology by the Australian government in your example -- the apology might be simply a sop to the conscience... Read more
What is the difference between philosophy and religion? I am attending a weekly "Philosophy Class" but the group does not study any of the Philosophers or their works nor do we "philosophize", i.e. pick holes in philosophical statements, etc. We are read lines from the Upanishads and from the "teachings" of an Indian teacher and we are expected to accept these "teachings" as fact. The "teachings" include stories such as that of a woman had reached a high level on the path to realisation (after many re-incarnations of living spiritual lives) and had reached a state where fear was eliminated and she lived a life of bliss. Surely it would not be practical or possible to live a life where fear is eliminated. Is the emotion of fear not essential for survival? Also is life not a series of experiences of pain and pleasure? In any case if we question the teacher we are given his explanation of the story which we are expected to accept. Is this a Religion Class as opposed to a Philosophy class? We meditate (to reach a state of consciousness) and we we are expected to hold the one creed that Unhappiness is caused solely by Desire. Surely there are a whole load of factors or at least we should be entitled to hold the opinion that cause unhappiness such as life's ups and downs and the hand we are dealt?
Peter Smith
February 14, 2008
(changed February 14, 2008)
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I can't agree that it sounds a cool class. Indeed, if this is going on in a school or college, it is an intellectual disgrace. "Teachings" of any kind are only worth the arguments that support them: and refusal to engage in critical argument by their proponents deprives the teachings of any... Read more
Does a concept, such as the Law of Gravity, exist? If there was no such thing as mass or time, would the Law still exist - just in case?
Peter Smith
February 13, 2008
(changed February 13, 2008)
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Take a law-statement of the form "All As are Bs" (I'm not saying that every law-statement has to be of this form: but it will do no harm to concentrate on this type of case). Then we can ask a pair of related questions. First, what kind of fact(s) make this type of law-statement true? For i... Read more
If we prove that a proof exists, why isn't this effectively the same as finding the actual proof?
Peter Smith
February 13, 2008
(changed February 13, 2008)
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To start with a story. Once upon a time, I used to teach introductory logic using Lemmon's textbook. And some exam questions would have the form "Use truth-tables to test the following arguments for validity; in the cases where the argument is valid, provide a proof from the premisses to th... Read more