Recent Responses
Why do people say that there is a thin line between love and hate?
Alan Soble
November 8, 2005
(changed November 8, 2005)
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My guess, and only a guess: they say it because they are confused or unsure about "love." Many people (I include me) have had this experience: you are profoundly attracted to someone, but he or she is not as profoundly attracted to you, and maybe even doesn't like you very much. When he or sh... Read more
How can I ever know my wife loves me when there is no one definition for love?
Alan Soble
November 8, 2005
(changed November 8, 2005)
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Here is one thing you can try. In what sense of "love" do you love your wife (assuming you do)? Then ask whether she loves you in that sense. If you can assert truthfully that you love her in that sense, and you can defend that assertion, then in principle you should be able to determine wheth... Read more
Is there anything in this world that we can be 100% sure about?
Jay L. Garfield
November 8, 2005
(changed November 8, 2005)
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A complex question. Being sure can be read as a psychological state, a feeling of complete confidence. And of course we are, as a matter of fact, completely confident about a lot of things. At least I am. But the real question is whether we are entitled to that feeling. That raises th... Read more
Why is it that when I'm thinking about something that I don't want to think about, and know that I don't want to be thinking about it, that I can't stop thinking about it?! -Ben Horney
Tamar Szabo Gendler
November 8, 2005
(changed November 8, 2005)
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Harvard psychologist Daniel Wegner has done extremely interesting empirical work on this topic. You can read a summary of his findings here (http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/%7Ewegner/seed.htm).
Wegner’s research suggests that consciously trying to suppress a thought has the ironic conseque... Read more
If someone is tolerant, in the sense that they accept, and do not wish to change, views held by others which are different from their own, are they obliged to tolerate intolerance in others?
Louise Antony
November 10, 2005
(changed November 10, 2005)
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I think the matter is a little more complicated. There is a sense of "tolerance" that means "indifference," as in "I don't see why those parents tolerate that kind of behavior from their children." This is the sense I think people have in mind when they say, plausibly, that no one shoul... Read more
I believe that it is assumed that the 'laws of physics', as we know them, apply throughout the universe. Is this a reasonable assumption or is our concept of cosmic reality an error?
Peter Lipton
November 8, 2005
(changed November 8, 2005)
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I agree with Alex that our best hypotheses may well not capture the actual laws of nature, and that physicists strive for unification, and I think there is a third aspect to this question. In spite of what the 20th century philosopher of science Karl Popper maintained, science depends on ind... Read more
Is there any use to examining aesthetics independently of medium?
Aaron Meskin
November 8, 2005
(changed November 8, 2005)
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Yes. Some aesthetic questions are about natural beauty, and the notion of medium does not apply in the natural context. There are philosophial questions about artistic genres (e.g., how do horror and suspense work?), and it may be worthwhile to consider those independently of the specifi... Read more
I've heard many arguments concerning whether or not free will is compatible with an omniscient god, but none concerning the omnipotence of god. Doesn't absolute power necessarily negate the power of all other things, including the freedom of will?
Peter Lipton
November 8, 2005
(changed November 8, 2005)
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I don't think it does. I have the power to determine which toy my child will play with, say because I could remove all but one from the playpen, but I decide to leave lots of toys there and let my child choose. Having power doesn't mean excercising it, and if I hold back in this way I seem... Read more
I believe that it is assumed that the 'laws of physics', as we know them, apply throughout the universe. Is this a reasonable assumption or is our concept of cosmic reality an error?
Peter Lipton
November 8, 2005
(changed November 8, 2005)
Permalink
I agree with Alex that our best hypotheses may well not capture the actual laws of nature, and that physicists strive for unification, and I think there is a third aspect to this question. In spite of what the 20th century philosopher of science Karl Popper maintained, science depends on ind... Read more
Is it more probable that a universe that looks designed is created by a designer than by random natural forces?
Mark Crimmins
November 8, 2005
(changed November 8, 2005)
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Here's something we might agree on, at least for the sake of argument: the chance that a (sufficiently powerful, etc.) designer would produce a "designy" universe is higher than the chance that a random selection of natural laws and initial conditions (i.e., "no designer") would do so:
Prob... Read more