Recent Responses
Is feeling good the only thing that has value in itself?
Alexander George
November 4, 2005
(changed November 4, 2005)
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This doctrine is sometimes known as ethical hedonism and itlies at the heart of some very grand traditions in ethics, inparticular, utilitarian ethics, first forcefully and extensivelyarticulated by Jeremy Bentham in the 18th century. Feeling good, orperhaps the net balance of pleasure o... Read more
Does the equation "e to the power i x pi = -1" have any physical meaning? Is there a meaning waiting to be discovered?
Daniel J. Velleman
November 4, 2005
(changed November 4, 2005)
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Euler's equation is important in quantum mechanics. In quantum mechanics, the state of a particle is given by a function, and the formula for that function generally includes a term of the form eix, which, according to Euler's equation, is equal to cos(x) + i sin(x). The appearance o... Read more
Seeing that there are a great many virtues such as truth, justice, honor, strength, etc., what is the real meaning of virtue, and which is most important?
Roger Crisp
November 4, 2005
(changed November 4, 2005)
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I'm tempted to recommend first that, if you haven't already done so, you take a look at Plato's dialogue *Meno*. That dialogue raises all sorts of issues about what virtue is, and how we should best go about understanding it. The view Socrates takes there seems to be that there is some single... Read more
Am I the same person today that I was when I was 2 years old?
Amy Kind
November 5, 2005
(changed November 5, 2005)
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See also the discussion in response to this question.
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Can you have knowledge that is based on a false belief?
Richard Heck
November 5, 2005
(changed November 5, 2005)
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One can slightly simplify Mark's case as follows. Suppose one believes that p and also believes that q. One therefore believes that p and q, but also that p or q. The disjunctive belief surely must be "based upon" one's beliefs in the disjuncts, but neither of them is essential: The belief i... Read more
Would you agree that a cat or dog can love a human in the same way humans can love in a non-romantic sense?
Alexander George
November 4, 2005
(changed November 4, 2005)
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No, I wouldn't. Humans are creatures with language and thought, and these features of our life permeate our loving. Dogs lack language and thought (in anything like the sense in which humans possess these), and so whatever it is that they are doing, it's not loving in the sense that we... Read more
Is philosophy of any actual use in everyday life?
Alexander George
November 4, 2005
(changed November 4, 2005)
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If this site shows anything at all, it's that philosophical questions and problems are part of many people's lives. And if philosophy is useful in understanding and responding to those questions, then we have the answer to your question.
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Is it possible for a statement to be partially true and partially false?
Mark Crimmins
November 4, 2005
(changed November 4, 2005)
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Yes and no.
But seriously, now. First, a "conjunction" (an and sentence) might have a true part and a false part: "2 > 1 and 7 > 9". But the usual view of logicians is that a sentence like that is simply false despite having a true conjunct: its truth requires precisely that both c... Read more
If I could produce a perfect copy of a famous work of art, could it have an equal value to the original? Furthermore, if I was then able to mix up the two items, would they then have an equal value?
Mark Crimmins
November 4, 2005
(changed November 4, 2005)
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A perfect copy? Wow! That would be an incredible technical achievement, requiring immensely precise matches of material composition and construction. The product of such a vast and unprecedented undertaking (were it feasible) would probably merit a price higher than any original artwork... Read more
The numbers e, i and pi are related. Is this natural or a consequence of the way we do our mathematics? Iain Nicholson
Daniel J. Velleman
November 5, 2005
(changed November 5, 2005)
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Richard makes a good point, but I still think that I had a good point also, although I may not have expressed it as well as I might have. It is often said that Euler proved that eix = cos(x) + i sin(x), but it seems to me this is somewhat misleading. Many (most?) modern complex analy... Read more