Recent Responses
What are philosophy thesis defenses like? Does the quality of the questioning surpass that of the best courtroom cross examinations?
It varies by country: in some
Douglas Burnham
July 30, 2015
(changed July 30, 2015)
Permalink
It varies by country: in some traditions, doctoral exams are big public events; in others, small private affairs.
At my University, doctoral exams have a chair -- someone from outside the subject who observes, trying to ensure that the process is fair and the regula... Read more
Isn't prejudice just common sense? If it's reasonable to assume that since every dog I've ever met has four paws and a snout, then, until proven otherwise, every dog I will meet with have four paws and a snout, then why isn't it reasonable to assume, if every American I've ever met is foolish, unless proven otherwise, that every American I will meet will be foolish?
It seems to me that you have
Douglas Burnham
July 30, 2015
(changed July 30, 2015)
Permalink
It seems to me that you have at least three classes of judgement in your question. 1. Prejudice. 2. Common Sense. 3. Informal definitions. 4. Inductive generalisation.
Let's start with the latter: if all the Xs I have come across are Ys, and if I have no reason to be... Read more
Other than subscribing to philosophy journals, what kind of funding do philosophy departments need for their research and teaching? I would think that philosophy requires the least amount of funding in all of academia!
My daughter told me a
Douglas Burnham
July 30, 2015
(changed July 30, 2015)
Permalink
My daughter told me a relevant joke: A university's Dean of Research became frustrated during budget negotiations with the science faculty. "Why do you physicists always need such expensive labs? Why can't you be more like the mathematicians? All they need is paper and a... Read more
Is it an ad-hominem when I get called "a pessimist who won't be happy with positive changes in situation X, so further debate is pointless", even though I've presented my arguments for why I'm skeptical of any positive changes in situation X? I feel like it's a dismissive tactic, but would like some clarification.
This is a good, and difficult
Yuval Avnur
July 30, 2015
(changed July 30, 2015)
Permalink
This is a good, and difficult question. There's no doubt that, in some cases, this sort of objection really is an unfair, unhelpful dismissal. Calling you names ("silly pessimist!") could just be a way to fail to engage with what you're saying. Though that may be what's... Read more
Is 0 and infinity the same thing or are they direct opposites?
Pretty clearly, zero and
Stephen Maitzen
July 30, 2015
(changed July 30, 2015)
Permalink
Pretty clearly, zero and infinity aren't the same thing. For example, the number of prime numbers is infinite and (therefore) definitely not zero.
But I'm not convinced that zero and infinity are opposites either. (I'd be more inclined to say that negative infinity and p... Read more
Do you think that philosophy is too wordy nowadays and what was the case throughout the history of philosophy? I greatly appreciate the length of the responses on this site but digesting even one paragraph can take minutes so you can imagine how frustrating it would be if every panelist decided that philosophy is also a literary exercise! A lot of times it seems philosophers especially in articles and academic books add a lot of unnecessary verbiage that total pages upon pages trying to make a stab at answering a question by leaving self-refuting riddles and asking more questions.
I suspect it will probably
Charles Taliaferro
July 25, 2015
(changed July 25, 2015)
Permalink
I suspect it will probably totally annoy you that I begin a response with a question or two: is it so bad when philosophy is practiced in a way that is a literary exercise? Some of the great philosophers from Plato to Iris Murdoch, Sartre, Camus, de Beauvoir... pre... Read more
Is Math Metaphysical? Math is not physical (composed of matter/energy), though all physical things seem to conform to it. Does this make Math Metaphysical and mathematicians Metaphysicians?
I have no problem at all with
André Carus
July 24, 2015
(changed July 24, 2015)
Permalink
I have no problem at all with what Stephen says, but would add a couple of things. First, Stephen didn't address what might actually be the questioner's main concern, i.e. whether the fact that "all physical things seem to conform to it" makes mathematics metaphysical.... Read more
Quantum mechanics seems to suggest that there really is such a thing as a random number, yet all of philosophy and logic point to a reason or cause for everything, perhaps beyond our understanding. Is this notion of a random number just another demonstration of limited human understanding?
I guess I'd have to disagree
Allen Stairs
July 23, 2015
(changed July 23, 2015)
Permalink
I guess I'd have to disagree with the idea that "all of philosophy and logic point to a reason or cause for everything." There's certainly no argument from logic as such; it's perfectly consistent to say that some events are genuinely random. Some philosophers have... Read more
Is Math Metaphysical? Math is not physical (composed of matter/energy), though all physical things seem to conform to it. Does this make Math Metaphysical and mathematicians Metaphysicians?
I have no problem at all with
André Carus
July 24, 2015
(changed July 24, 2015)
Permalink
I have no problem at all with what Stephen says, but would add a couple of things. First, Stephen didn't address what might actually be the questioner's main concern, i.e. whether the fact that "all physical things seem to conform to it" makes mathematics metaphysical.... Read more
What's there to gain from romantic relationships, aside from sexual gratification? For it seems as though there is more pain and loss from attempting to find our ideal significant other, than there is actual gain from finding someone adequate enough to fulfill such an unobtainable goal. It seems more worthwhile to culminate our own happiness within ourselves, than to put our happiness at risk, especially given that females (and people in general) who are interested in philosophy seem to be on the decline; and interest in philosophy is a must for any viable partner!
Wonderful to learn that a
Charles Taliaferro
July 16, 2015
(changed July 16, 2015)
Permalink
Wonderful to learn that a viable partner for you would have to have an interest in philosophy. If you are super attractive (etc) you might give a lot of people an important motive to develop philosophical interests!
Picking up on another point, though, I am not s... Read more