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1500 questions
30
votes
5 answers
Why should I read about philosophy?
My knowledge of philosophy is probably only a bit greater than an average person's. I am a trained mathematician so I have the basic knowledge of mathematical logic. I know more or less what modal logic is, but I definitely don't know much about it.…
ymar
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29
votes
8 answers
When is absence of evidence not evidence of absence?
"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."
I think this statement raises some kind of epistemic problem. Like, how are we supposed to conclude the potential non-existence of something, like Santa Claus or dragons?
vorpal professor
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29
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4 answers
Does the no true Scotsman fallacy apply to anti Stalinist etc. communism?
The internet is awash with claims that anyone arguing that Stalinist Russia / Maoism wasn't communist is committing the no true Scotsman / ad hoc rescue fallacy. However, I suspect that few of its proponents understand what they are saying.
if…
user34105
29
votes
14 answers
Since words are defined in terms of other words in dictionaries, leading to infinite loops, does it mean natural languages are meaningless?
Since words are defined in terms of other words in dictionaries, leading to infinite loops, does it mean natural languages are meaningless? Are infinitely recursive definitions valid? If we visualize the relationship graph of a dictionary, where…
xwb
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5 answers
What does it mean for a book or a theorist to be "post-modernist" as opposed to "modernist"?
I'd like a succinct comparison of the two "-isms", though I know this is a tall order.
unusualhabit
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5 answers
In what way(s) does popular New Atheism fail to be philosophical?
I've seen some derision against the popular New Atheism movement, in particular against Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris (particularly interesting since he makes a big deal that he studied and received a philosophy bachelor's). …
adhoclobster
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29
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8 answers
Is it possible for something to have no cause?
Bertrand Rusell writes in his essay "Why I Am Not A Christian":
There is no reason why the world could not have come into being without a cause; [...]
Warren Rachelle, however, states in his response:
To simply state that "there is no reason why…
eflorico
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28
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6 answers
Have professional philosophers contributed to other fields in the last 20 years?
Here are some quotes from Scott Aaronson's interview:
progress in math and science — think of natural selection, Godel’s and Turing’s theorems, relativity and quantum mechanics — has repeatedly altered the terms of philosophical discussion, as…
Michael
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28
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16 answers
Is mathematics politically and culturally neutral?
Lately, there have been many people who say that mathematics itself is racist, that it is simply a creation of dead white Greek men. As a mathematician, I strongly disagree, and believe that mathematics transcends any particular culture or political…
user107952
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28
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Why is it impossible for a program or AI to have semantic understanding?
relatively new to philosophy.
This question is based on John Searle's Chinese Room Argument.
I find it odd that his main argument for why programs could not think was that because programs could only follow syntax rules but could not associate any…
Abraham
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28
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4 answers
Where is the weakness in the ontological proof for God's existence?
I read the ontological proof for God's existence. As much as I understood, it says that if you consider that existence is part of essence, then the most complete essence should also exist.
Now, I see that as a perfect, flawless argument, on the…
Saeed Neamati
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28
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18 answers
Aren't we all philosophical zombies?
I've been reading about the philosophy of the mind, and I'm a bit confused. Everything I've read seems to start with the (unjustified) assumption that there is some aspect of the mind that isn't purely physical or deterministic. For example, take…
Alex
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28
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13 answers
Why does Dawkins think it is wrong to posit that a paragon of 100% morals could theoretically exist?
Let’s move on down Aquinas’s list.
4. The Argument from Degree
We notice that things in the world differ. There are degrees of, say, goodness or
perfection. But we judge these degrees only by comparison with a maximum.
Humans can be both…
user8572
28
votes
5 answers
How is First Order Logic complete but not decidable?
Why doesn't completeness imply decidability for first order logic?
First order logic is complete, which means (I think) given a set of sentences A and a sentence B, then either B or ~B can be arrived at through the rules of inference being applied…
Taylor Hornby
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28
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12 answers
Evil thoughts without actions?
Can a thought without a corresponding action be morally wrong?
More fully, under which approaches to morality do thoughts, in and of themselves,
carry moral significance?
In particular I'm looking for approaches that yield affirmative answers to the…
Dave
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