Recent Responses
I am curious: What are some questions of the philosophers? Alexander George, Noga Arikha, Amy Kind, Thomas Pogge, etc., we see your names, but we do not know your own inquiries. It would be novel to read and ponder the questions of those brave enough to answer our questions. And might one also learn by extrapolation, by thinking about a question new to them?--that is, the site can remain educational by shedding new light on a dim part of philosophy: the branch of asking questions. I would like to see a list of questions posed by the panelists.
Alexander George
March 3, 2007
(changed March 3, 2007)
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I'm not so confident that perusing a panelist's publications will helpthe layperson see which questions animate the philosopher. Those publicationsusually begin far into a long conversation and it might be hard to find in themthe simple questions that kicked off the discussion in the first pl... Read more
I am curious: What are some questions of the philosophers? Alexander George, Noga Arikha, Amy Kind, Thomas Pogge, etc., we see your names, but we do not know your own inquiries. It would be novel to read and ponder the questions of those brave enough to answer our questions. And might one also learn by extrapolation, by thinking about a question new to them?--that is, the site can remain educational by shedding new light on a dim part of philosophy: the branch of asking questions. I would like to see a list of questions posed by the panelists.
Alexander George
March 3, 2007
(changed March 3, 2007)
Permalink
I'm not so confident that perusing a panelist's publications will helpthe layperson see which questions animate the philosopher. Those publicationsusually begin far into a long conversation and it might be hard to find in themthe simple questions that kicked off the discussion in the first pl... Read more
Rene Descartes established that the only thing we can be certain of is that we exist. (I think, therefore I am.) Is there anything else we can be certain of, or is everything else perception?
Nicholas D. Smith
March 2, 2007
(changed March 2, 2007)
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I just responded to a question almost exactly like this one. Please see my reply to that other question.
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I am having a big problem concerning solipsism. The theory is driving me crazy. I have had anxiety issues before and now that I discovered solipsism it is making me feel apathetic and very lonely. So what is the best refutation against solipsism?? And can that theory be refuted itself?? Is there any refutation or book that I can buy that basicaly proves solipsism wrong?? And why is it labeled an irrefutable theory?? PLEASE HELP!!
Nicholas D. Smith
March 2, 2007
(changed March 2, 2007)
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Who the hell do you think you're talking to???
(Just a joke! But one I would like you to take seriously for a moment. After all, if you really were a solipsist, you wouldn't expect an answer to your question from anyone, right?)
It may be that solipsism cannot be refuted as such. (After a... Read more
Hello, My question is the following: Is there any knowledge that cannot be doubted? That is, what type of knowledge or physical event can we hold to be true with absolute certainty? Or is doubt an instrinsic part of the human condition?
Nicholas D. Smith
March 2, 2007
(changed March 2, 2007)
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Descartes imagined that he had found something that could not be doubted in what is known as his "cogito" (a shortened form of the Latin expression "cogito ergo sum," which means "I think, therefore I am." You can see the intuitive strength of this: What would it be like to think that you we... Read more
Many different intellectuals have argued that using language in a certain way conduces to certain attitudes and beliefs in the speaker (I'm thinking mostly of feminist theorists who argue that our language both betrays and reinforces sexist and heteronormative worldviews). A great deal of literature presupposes the truth of this idea. I can see why this is such an attractive theory; it seems entirely plausible, and, if true, its implications would be deep. At the same time, however, I wonder if philosophers and theorists aren't overstepping their bounds in claims like this; if a certain way of talking inclines us toward a certain way of thinking and acting, isn't this in fact an empirical question? I can imagine how using masculine pronouns could instill sexist attitudes in a person -- but imagining is very different from proving.
Louise Antony
March 1, 2007
(changed March 1, 2007)
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I completely agree with you: it does seem plausible that noninclusive language fosters or reflects sexist thought and behavior, but it is in fact an empirical issue. This is, as it happens, a hot topic among psycholinguists at the moment. The research of Stanford psychologist Lera Boroditsky (v... Read more
How is love between sexual partners different from the love between friends?
Oliver Leaman
March 1, 2007
(changed March 1, 2007)
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A contrast has often been drawn between these two kinds of love, and also between them and love for God. It would normally be said that love that takes a sexual form brings in all sorts of issues that are absent in love between friends that does not, such as the nature of physical passion, issues... Read more
Did teleological arguments give us reasonable grounds to believe in a Creator before Darwin?
Amy Kind
March 8, 2007
(changed March 8, 2007)
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I agree with the posts above on the decisiveness of Hume's criticisms of the teleological argument in the Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, but thought I'd add one point on the other side. In The Blind Watchmaker, Richard Dawkins suggests that he "could not imagine being an atheist" before Darw... Read more
Did teleological arguments give us reasonable grounds to believe in a Creator before Darwin?
Amy Kind
March 8, 2007
(changed March 8, 2007)
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I agree with the posts above on the decisiveness of Hume's criticisms of the teleological argument in the Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, but thought I'd add one point on the other side. In The Blind Watchmaker, Richard Dawkins suggests that he "could not imagine being an atheist" before Darw... Read more
Have the advances in brain scanning techniques that allow the brain to be monitored in real-time had an effect on the philosophical discussions regarding the mind/body question? If so what are they? I'd be interested to find out what a student of Wittgenstein or Peter Winch had to say about the subject?
Peter S. Fosl
February 24, 2007
(changed February 24, 2007)
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Wittgenstein once posed the following question: If one could open up the top of one's head and then hold a mirror in front of oneself so that one could see inside one's own brain, would one see one's thoughts and feelings? It seems to me that the answer is no, and so whatever the relati... Read more