Recent Responses
Is there a way to prove reincarnation? Has the possibility been explored?
Alexander George
November 10, 2005
(changed November 10, 2005)
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(1) Only mathematicians and logicians are in the business of proving anything, and I don't think reincarnation is a hot topic for them.
(2)Scientists offer evidence for their claims, making them more or lessreasonable to believe. But before that can be done, one has to make theclaim qu... Read more
Do you agree with this statement: There is no such thing as bad art?
Mark Crimmins
November 10, 2005
(changed November 10, 2005)
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No. And to prove it, here's my ascii picture of a car:
__ _/ o\_=O----O}
That aside, I don't know exactly what you have in mind. Is it that maybe the term "art" already excludes what someone might have wanted to call "bad art"---so that "good art" is redundant? If that's the questi... Read more
Is there a way to prove reincarnation? Has the possibility been explored?
Alexander George
November 10, 2005
(changed November 10, 2005)
Permalink
(1) Only mathematicians and logicians are in the business of proving anything, and I don't think reincarnation is a hot topic for them.
(2)Scientists offer evidence for their claims, making them more or lessreasonable to believe. But before that can be done, one has to make theclaim qu... Read more
If the aim of the philosopher is not getting the right answers but to ask the right questions, how then can we hope to gain any further knowledge of the universe? Because questions in philosophy can only lead to scepticism or more questions, what if anything is the point in progressing philosophically if we may never find meaningful or truthful conclusions?
Jay L. Garfield
November 9, 2005
(changed November 9, 2005)
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I think the anwers are pretty important, too. But in order to find them, you first have to get the question right.
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Does personality prove self-consciousness? If an animal has a defined and changeable personality (can get depressed, etc.), is it then self-aware?
Jay L. Garfield
November 9, 2005
(changed November 9, 2005)
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There is a difference between consciousness and sel-consciousness. It is one thing to be aware of things around oneself, or even of one's own physical states, and another to be aware that one is so aware. The latter is self-consciousness. Personality is yet a third thing. As a reasona... Read more
I realize that these terms are vague and inexhaustive, but nevertheless there seems to still exist quite a bit of discussion about the "continental/analytic" distinction in philosophy. While at times the issue seems to be little more than academic bickering, it points to a pressing question about philosophy's place in today's world. From what I understand, empirical-minded analytic philosophers tend to think that vague issues dealt with by continental philosophy can be better expressed through, say, art, while continental thinkers argue that analytics are better off just doing math or science. Who's to be believed, if anyone?
Jay L. Garfield
November 9, 2005
(changed November 9, 2005)
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I really do think that it is time we got over this distinction. Since many people called "analytic" by those who are fond of the distinction were born, lived or wrote on the continent in questiion, and many of those dubbed "continental" live and work on other continents, it is at least mi... Read more
Is every type of happiness or pleasure explainable (possible to articulate through reason or logic)? Should I be distraught that I am unable to articulate clearly some of my pleasures? And does an unexplainable pleasure (if it exists) suffer from its unexplainable nature or flourish because of it?
Nalini Bhushan
November 9, 2005
(changed November 9, 2005)
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Approaching your question a little differently, one might ask a further, pragmatic question, to wit: what difference does it make in your life (to your happiness, to your sense of well being, to your life projects) to experience pleasures/passions that remain inarticulate or not fully art... Read more
Why do some words like "gorge" sound ugly, and some words like "exquisite" sound pretty?
Nalini Bhushan
November 9, 2005
(changed November 9, 2005)
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However, following up on Richard's point about meaning, consider two similar sounding words:
a) gorgeous (for gorge)
b) excrement (for exquisite)
Does 'gorgeous' sound as ugly to you as does 'gorge'?
Does 'excrement' sound as pretty to you as does 'exquisite'?
I think that while there migh... Read more
What is the exact purpose of math? Why is it that math was created? I know that some math has a purpose like finding out how much you may owe someone, but how about Linear Equations or Polynomials? What is the purpose of all this?
Daniel J. Velleman
November 9, 2005
(changed November 9, 2005)
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Math has many applications. To take one of your examples, a physicist might use a linear equation to describe the position of an object moving at a constant velocity. Some areas of mathematics have applications to other areas of mathematics (which may then have applications outside o... Read more
In upholding the concept of "race," do we make racism possible?
Peter S. Fosl
November 9, 2005
(changed November 9, 2005)
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Yes, I think we do--generally speaking. For this reason, one of the purposes of philosophical interrogation of the concept of "race" must be to undermine it. In my teaching I try to do this where possible, and in ordinary conversation I have been experimenting with either trying to avoid... Read more