Moliere

Cool. Cool. Say you have a friend who is an alcoholic. They have lost their house, life, and work to said disease. They turn to you for help to keep t...

I feel like this is really a broad question, because 1) it sort of depends on the particulars, and 2) interpretations can vary. This is especially the...

I had to read the wiki entry on Laing; I didn't see anything there that lead me to think he did a disservice to people. But I just may not know what h...

By guru pitfall do you mean where a single person is able to dicate to others when they are right or when they are wrong? Or what? Because I can see a...

I don't know if I'd include either as doing philosophy... though I guess that's the stickler of the question. There is something about popularizes of ...

But is it philosophy? I guess that's where my hesitance comes in. It depends on how we understand philosophy. And as it is understood now, even if I d...

OK, this is different from what I understood you saying. By "necessity" I just meant true or felt for all. So while "Do as you want" may lead to contr...

I think we're in agreement there. At the end of the day as long as we understand what we're talking about it's all good. I don't mean to argue definit...

I'd say that these both qualify as kinds of desire. One of the reasons I'm fond of Epicurus is because of his tripartite division of desire -- what is...

That's part of the disagreement I think. Though I'm sure there are other ways one could argue for idealism, too. But also there's the bit about the wo...

I feel like the answer is supposed to be "Because of quantum mechanics" -- but I'm not sure. Sure, there are levels of understanding. I agree with tha...

:D It could be done in a different way, just not exactly the same way -- the role of 'school' is taken and integrated into an economy which doesn't ex...

I have not. Two questions. If invoking a tree falling in the woods is the same as invoking QM, why invoke QM to start a thought experiment on idealism...

If it's the same, then what is the point in referencing QM? What does that add to the thought experiment? As far as the arguments I see being offered ...

So in what way is this example any different than, say, that of a tree falling in a forest? Because the word "observe" you use here really does mean s...

I don't deny that there is a philosophical dimension. Heck, I don't think there's a reasonable difference between science and philosophy. Specifically...

I'm interested in what you mean by "get its hands dirty again" -- you reference the stoics, so I think you might have something like establishing a sc...

I don't see it. What's the argument? Wiki doesn't give a very good overview, from my perspective. Not one that utilizes QM specifically -- we could ju...

Yeah, I think it's something that comes up mostly out of misunderstanding. I don't think QM has much to say on idealism, either way.

Yes. In fact I'd say that it's not a resolvable debate at all. We can always save a belief from refutation. That would include beliefs about the funda...

I am. The double-slit experiment does not imply that its outcomes are the result of consciousness. If, for instance, a photon came across a double sli...

I do these abstract doodles with butcher paper and sharpies. I started doing them as a joke a long time ago, but then I actually started to like them....

I don't believe that the United States is a strictly secular culture. While religious life is in decline, it is still by the far the majority. I took ...

Whether they are attacking religion or not -- evolution is a well-founded scientific theory. And a very large percentage of people do not believe it t...

While I agree that formally speaking such thinking is unpopular, I'd say that informally it is not. People talk about their beliefs regarding the worl...

Yearp. I agree.

On "soul": I sort of take inspiration here from Aristotle, but my best understanding of the term is the wholeness of a person -- so that includes my m...

I'd probably fall closest to number 3. Seems about right to me.

I could be more fair than what I was, I agree. But I'd have to want to :D. There's a lot of junk out there so sometimes I'll be less-than-fair to an a...

Oh, hey. That is a "who" there. Whoops! Sorry. I read "Would", for whatever reason.

Yes and no at the same time. I love Kant, but we all still argue over interpretation, and interpretation is a big part of Kant scholarship. So yes, it...

It is mentioned in the CPR. But if you're hoping for something in the affirmative, then you should look for another writer.

I think translations are roughly sufficient. Or semi-smoothly sufficient. I don't think you need to read the original to understand the arguments, esp...

I took a gander at the paper he linked in his 'books' page. I stopped reading at this point. Seeing this I sort of gathered that the man is just not v...

It might help, too, to note that beliefs of the form "does not exist" or "does not necessarily exist" would also count as metaphysics, in my view. So ...

I agree there's a difference between those two, but I don't know why you'd think science is restricted to one or the other. How would a biologist work...

Regularities may be all that are required, but even specifying some belief in regularities is already a commitment. And if scientists said all things ...

I guess my thinking is this -- if you can model a physical system without reference to the principle of least action, then in what way must we be comm...

I doubt that it's central, but I know I'd just say that I find it fun and interesting -- and that's enough for me.

This sort of thinking is a kind of madness which arises when we decide to accept what is unacceptable, to my mind. Prison is a good thing which cures ...

I'm sorry to hear it. It's always hard to offer consolation via text, but I hope it turns out for the best.

I believe there is no meaningful difference to be made between scientific and metaphysical beliefs. That being said, I have to echo some of what Stree...

Hahaha. No insult intended. Sorry :D tldr: It's reasonable to look at hunter-gatherer societies as affluent, rather than simply eking out a mediocre e...

A bit off the beaten path, but a good read when considering older economic forms: https://libcom.org/files/Sahlins%20-%20Stone%20Age%20Economics.pdf E...

So I think my response depends a little bit on whether or not what you propose as solution is a strict rule, or more of a suggestion. As a suggestion ...

M'kay, maybe there is more disagreement after all then. At risk of committing the error you're after I'm tempted to ask: What is the problem? I wonder...

I think I'd just say that it's part of the practice of philosophy to route out our own ignorance -- so even when a question ends up being a bit silly,...

I think philosophy can invite a sort of pretence -- but I don't know I'd say that said pretence is unique to philosophy. I think that simple questions...

I'd say limiting work hours is more realistic. One, it's a demand that's worked to build a movement before. And two, there are large sections of the e...

I feel we're kind of going around the circle, too, but I'm willing to keep it up to see if something latches on. My rejoinder here is that the same ca...