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1500 questions
26
votes
16 answers
Is the claim "this coin is fair" falsifiable?
Wikipedia says,
The claim "No human lives forever" is
not falsifiable since one would have
to observe a human living forever to
falsify that claim.
Thinking on similar lines, even if the coin is fair, it can produce a arbitrarily…
AIB
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26
votes
8 answers
If the Bible contains circular reasoning, does it discredit it?
If the Bible contains circular reasoning, does it discredit it?
One of the reasons why I wonder about this is because in most academic/professional fields circular reasoning would discredit the research/answer/ect... Does this apply to religion as…
Programmer
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26
votes
12 answers
Are there any philosophical arguments to disprove or weaken solipsism?
My philosophy professor once told our class: The only people who believe in solipsism are infants and madmen. I was inclined to agree at the time. Yet years later, I have still not encountered any good arguments to disprove this idea.
Thus, I am…
user151
26
votes
4 answers
What are the philosophical implications of category theory?
I have heard about topoi being the ideal entities to use for foundations of mathematics (since we are able to reasonably interpret our theories in them), so I imagine there might possibly be some reasons for using categories in (an intuitionistic…
Dejan Govc
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26
votes
11 answers
Does the lack of randomness imply the lack of free will?
Let us assume that randomness does not exist. For example, even the flip of a coin is not considered random. The coin's flip can be calculated if certain variables are given (the force used for the flip, air resistance, distance from the ground,…
aanrv
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26
votes
3 answers
What are the major research programmes in contemporary logic?
As an interested outsider who is prone to reading about different formulations of logic, I've become interested in better understanding the big picture of what people are trying to accomplish as they are researching logic, or merely talking about…
Niel de Beaudrap
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26
votes
12 answers
Does hypocrisy invalidate an argument?
I was listening to a political podcast and David Poltz (one of the presenters) said of an argument that he was unconcerned whether the argument was hypocritical. I found that attitude jarring, counter-intuitive but very interesting. The contention…
Crab Bucket
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25
votes
7 answers
Does any philosophy designate thoughts (independent of expression or action) as a subject of morality?
Most moral philosophers consider only physical actions, speech and thoughts that may have an impact on others as within the scope of morality, while many religion believers who suppose the omniscience of deity (deities) think that there are ‘immoral…
James Young
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25
votes
7 answers
What type of rhetorical device is the offering of a source which is really long and not specifying what part of the source is relevant?
I'm encountering a frequent recurrence of a rhetorical device that seems to me fallacious but I can't figure out what it's called. When making an argument, the person does the following:
Makes a claim that is unrealistic.
Provides a source which…
Kiril
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25
votes
3 answers
What is modal logic for?
I understand "pure" logic as a structural description of what a valid proof is but I have never understood the reasons for using modal logic.
What's an example typical of how modal logic is used?
user3085
25
votes
2 answers
What is the difference between "reductio ad absurdum" and "proof by contradiction"?
What is the exact difference between reductio ad absurdum and proof by contradiction?
Wikipedia used to state that:
Reductio ad absurdum (Latin: "reduction to the absurd") is a form of argument in which a proposition is disproven by following its…
loudandclear
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25
votes
3 answers
Is the "legacy" of Marx & Engels unwarranted?
So something strange I've been thinking lately is that Marx & Engels are still pretty popular figures, even though their ideologues can be interpreted to be failures. They have numerous statues and continue to be cited over and over again, even…
mavavilj
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25
votes
7 answers
What is Philosophy?
What is a comprehensive definition of Philosophy? Alternatively, is it impossible to define Philosophy? This is a pseudo-meta question, but it seems like it belongs here.
Joseph Spiros
- 451
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25
votes
7 answers
Why is Aristotle's objection not considered a resolution to Zeno's paradox?
It seems to me, perhaps naïvely, that Aristotle resolved Zenos' famous paradoxes well, when he said that,
Time is not composed of indivisible nows any more than any other magnitude is composed of indivisibles,
and that Aquinas clarified the…
martin
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25
votes
14 answers
Is mathematics founded on beliefs and assumptions?
Note: I originally posted the question in meta.math.stackexchange.com but I reckon this would suit a more philosophical audience so I am posting it here.
Background: I am a 28 year old undergraduate at a college majoring in mathematics with goal of…
user1207