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What are some resources on belief dissemination?

In the social psychology literature, there is a lot of discussion about the pathways through which one achieves social belief formation (i.e. persuasion, coercion, etc.). These differ from those provided in the philosophy literature (i.e. imitation,…
user155194
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What is the motivation for Plato's forms?

I read up on the theory of forms and I understand it like this: When I see a cat I am seeing the particular of the true form a of a cat. All of the cats I see are just imperfect copies of the true form. Why would we want to make this…
Shaurya Bhave
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Is it possible to be truly unbiased?

I was pondering this question: Inductive Argument Against Believing Anything I his argument, the OP suggests that, in the position of choosing a system of belief where there are multiple, large followings of different ideologies, even after hearing…
ShemSeger
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What exactly is informal logic and is this what I'm looking for?

I've been reading and researching about formal and symbolic logic for some time now, mainly out of interest in rationality. But I've come to a point where the various logical systems seem more like irrelevant calculus than serious attempts to…
Kevin Holmes
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Roko's Basilisk as Descartes' evil genius?

I'll try to pose a shortened version of Roko's Basilisk below and then ask about how it relates to Descartes' evil genius: The idea is that down the line may it be decades or centuries from now, there will exist some AI that is as capable and…
dhillonv10
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Is human exceptionalism justifiable?

This is syntactically a little awkward, but my question is: Is there some objective sense in which the differences, taken in sum, between humans and other animals are greater than the differences between any two non-human species? For instance,…
Tim kinsella
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Which ontological commitments are embedded in a straightforward Turing machine model?

Let's assume that in response to a question or problem, a certain type of idealized finite Turing machine can be presented as an answer as if it would really (=physically) exist. Is the corresponding ontological commitment from this assumption…
Thomas Klimpel
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What is a miracle, and why should it influence our metaphysical beliefs?

There's a question on this site regarding what a rational person should accept as a miracle, but the question and its answers seem to take the definition and categorization (as well as consequence) of a 'miracle' for granted. Hume defined a miracle…
That Guy
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Are mathematical statements necessary truths?

I apologize if a similar question has been asked here, but I haven't found it. Are mathematical statements necessary truths? By 'mathematical statements', I mean both mathematical axioms as well as statements such as 2+2=4, but I'm not referring to…
That Guy
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Why is Nietzsche so against Socrates?

Nietzsche recalls the story that Socrates says that 'he has been a long time sick', meaning that life itself is a sickness; Nietszche accuses him of being a sick man, a man against the instincts of life, and hence a 'monstro animo' (a monstrous…
Mozibur Ullah
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How does Kant respond to Hume's problem of induction?

It's generally well-known that Kant was responding, amongst other influences, to Hume's critique of the empirical method on purely logical grounds. One could consider him as a modern-day Pyrrhonniste. The problem of induction is sourced from a brief…
Mozibur Ullah
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Can Rawls justify eugenics?

Rawls seems partial to the idea of eugenics, as perhaps this is the corollary of the difference principle. Am I correct in this understanding? I refer to p.92 of A Theory of Justice (1999): In the original position, then, the parties want to insure…
QuizzicalTest
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What does 'consciousness' indicate in the context of the anthropic principle?

The anthropic principle postulates that our universe is selected for the presence of consciousness in it. I cite Wikipedia: the anthropic principle is the philosophical argument that observations of the physical universe must be compatible with the…
anon
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What, if any, are the differences between materialism and empiricism?

Are the differences, if they exist merely semantic ("First World War" vs "World War One") or are they more substantial; for example one's a historical trend and the other's a broader philosophical system? Speaking only as philosophical amateur I…
Luke Isham
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Current research on experimental philosophy and the philosophy of technology?

X-Phi, the practice of performing philosophy based on experimental measures from the "real world" tends to concern itself with moral philosophy testing. As I'm finishing up my thesis on the philosophy of data, I am wondering if there are other…
Brian Ballsun-Stanton
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