Recent Responses
My question is simply this: Does God (or a divine being) exist? Based on my own personal views, it is very difficult to believe that there is more to this life than what we have experienced so far. The Christian God ask his followers to believe in him through their faith alone. Yet, for someone who must live in this modern world, it is always difficult to believe in a "God-like-figure", even though it would seem that a question like this would simply be a test of one's faith. What are we to do when we want to believe, but want a justified reason to believe?
Richard Heck
November 29, 2005
(changed November 29, 2005)
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This question does have a philosophical dimension, in so far as it forces us to confront the question in what sense belief is or can be voluntary: Can you simply choose to believe something absent a decent reason to do so? Many philosophers would say that you cannot, that belief is not rea... Read more
Given that there is no proof for either statement, is it any more valid to say 'there is a God' than it is to say 'there is no God'? Or is the only valid answer 'I don't know if there is a God'?
Louise Antony
November 29, 2005
(changed November 29, 2005)
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There's a common misconception about "proof" -- that if a statement cannot be "proven," then it's equally rational to believe either it or its contradictory. If "prove" means "establish with logical certainty from self-evident first principles", then nothing outside mathematics, logic,... Read more
According to Goethe, the only people who are truly happy are those who are like children, who are made blissful by the smallest things, and if you try to see life as it is you would be doomed to despair. What would fulfill the requirements of being like children, and how would that make you happy?
Nalini Bhushan
November 29, 2005
(changed November 29, 2005)
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The image of the happy child is often invoked as a model for adult happiness (you mention Goethe; Nietzsche, in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, in the section on the three metamorphoses, for instance, does so as well). While this seems an overly romantic view of a child's world, the model as s... Read more
Is there a logical reason why most people prefer their own opinions rather than someone else's?
Peter Lipton
November 29, 2005
(changed November 29, 2005)
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This is a tantalizing question. On some subjects I do have a good reason to prefer my own opinions, say because I was there at the time and saw it with my own eyes. But consider philosophical opinions. Why do I bother to form my own opinions? Why don't I just agree with everything Hila... Read more
Where can I read something about the difference between explanation and justification? How would you put this difference in a few words?
Peter Lipton
November 29, 2005
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When you ask for an explanation, you usually already have a justification. You want something more -- understanding -- which is what an explanation provides. Thus when you ask why the same side of the moon always faces the earth, you already know that it does, but you do not understand w... Read more
Why do philosophers think they know everything?
Richard Heck
November 29, 2005
(changed November 29, 2005)
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Socrates famously said (roughly) that philosophy begins with knowledge of one's own ignorance. And I think any careful reading of this site would find most of us being extremely careful to add all kinds of qualifications and expressions of uncertainty to much of what we have to say. Of co... Read more
What are the most important similarities and differences between "Literature" and "Philosophy"? Akbar Baharlou
Aaron Meskin
November 29, 2005
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Works of literature and works of philosophy are both the meaningful products of human thought and action. This makes them interpretable, which is an important characteristic of both. Moreover, both philosophy and literature are predominantly linguistic, although non-linguistic representati... Read more
Say we could speed up matter and go further into time. I went and I saw my future self, no interaction, and I noticed that I had a finger missing or some dramatic change in my body since my present self. Could I dedicate my life to keeping my finger safe, or will it happen anyway?
Marc Lange
November 29, 2005
(changed November 29, 2005)
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I agree with Professor George's answer, but I would like to add one thing. Suppose you are a professor of English. You take a time-machine trip into the future and learn from a reliable source that you died in dramatic fashion: in the midst of teaching a Shakespeare class. You tend to get ve... Read more
If an infinite number of monkeys were at an infinite number of typewriters, would the work of Shakespeare eventually come out?
Aaron Meskin
November 28, 2005
(changed November 28, 2005)
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They couldn't produce the work of Shakespeare. Only Shakespearecould. In fact, there's good reason to think that they couldn't produceany work of literature at all. Doing that would require sorts ofintentions that those infinite monkeys would not have.
ProfessorVelleman's reasoning shows... Read more
Is time a relative concept or an absolute one?
Peter S. Fosl
November 28, 2005
(changed November 28, 2005)
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Relative.
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