Well, that's a point of view and it may be valid in some cases. But I think it is a bit unfair as a generalization. Presumably you accept that the sci...
That's true, although the pedant in me hesitates over "everyone". But it seems that recognition of spectra of mental illness is quite widespread and a...
I get that feeling from time to time and if it's known, that's different. But the attribution isn't just coming from a post. It is possible that I'm a...
Yes, I can see that. But I wouldn't move to a diagnosis of mental illness. Until they have been through some training, people are really not very good...
That's true and it is true also that it is still a live question for us. Whether the difference in context makes a difference is an interesting questi...
I followed the link and read some of the posts. I picked out:- "In modern science ultimate reality is thought of as a place of no things, in other wor...
Quite so. This site is moderated. I wouldn't join anything that wasn't. There's a code of conduct (somewhere - I'm afraid I can't remember where). You...
I recognize the problem. But would insisting on a definition help? Wouldn't those people ignore you anyway? One could try it, of course. Part of the p...
Quite so. There are two strands to those stories. Wishful thinking and control of the population. IMO. I've never found them particularly interesting ...
I agree that the ambiguous role of money as a medium of exchange - a measure of value (in a practical sense) - and as a good to be exchanged leads to ...
Both of you are right, in principle. But in practice, it seems to me better to wait until specific and relevant differences about the definition of te...
On the question of definition, there is a problem that if you insist on a clear definition of terms as the beginning, you are quite likely to end up a...
Before I get to the economy, some thoughts on the question what distinguishes humans from other animals. Each species of animal is similar to and diff...
That seems like a good summary, but I worry about complications. There are cases where fear and pre-mourning may not happen, don't you think? People w...
Yes. So one is always two selves. Or perhaps one self stands in two incompatible relationships to the narrative. Or perhaps there is no outside and no...
H'm. I need to go carefully here. Which way is straight ahead? One cannot do philosophy and Zen at the same time, except perhaps in something like the...
If your map has no territory it is not a map. Or if it is a map, it is a fictional map and consequently not your narrative. I'm tempted to suggest a Z...
Your account of a train of thought as we experience it is a good one. The saving grace is that a train does at least connect internally and can be con...
There's much I don't know about it, but, like many other people, I encountered sociobiology (E.O. Wilson) when it was fashionable. I live in liberal -...
That clarifies a good deal. Sleep and unconsciousness are not really interruptions, but part of a narrative - a cycle in the case of sleep, and an inc...
There's a lot here I agree with. Narratives are an important part of how we think of ourselves and the world around us. But aren't there complications...
I think evolutionary explanations are useful from time to time. But to think they are THE explanation is to fall for the myth of origins (Derrida? or ...
If you mean the concepts of "wary", "fear", "anxiety", you were right, not in the sense that I don't know what the words ordinarily mean, but in the s...
I didn't mean to suggest that. On the contrary, I think that "wary" is perfect (as near as one ever gets, anyway). Yes. But that doesn't mean there's ...
Thanks for the link. I'll have a look. By the way, I'm still thinking about "wary". It's not the same as fear or anxiety, not obviously an emotion or ...
Thanks. I'm afraid I have a problem - I don't know which thread is your other thread. Isn't there a third possibility? Neither positive nor negative, ...
Does it help to say that we have to start somewhere and the things around us and affect us are not a bad place to start? But there's always more to be...
As a person with a (mild) tendency to anxiety, I have never wondered that. What relieves my anxiety is not so much feeling in control as confidence th...
The flexibility of all this is quite tiresome. Philosophers, at least, regarded the subjective ("introspection") as preferable because they thought it...
I take your point. Life is complicated, isn't it? However, your last clause hints at the basis of success for a dogmatic person. Keep the people quiet...
Yes. Maybe this will be merely annoying, but there is a difficulty when we cannot appoint a referee. We look for a substitute - something that will de...
That’s a problem. If there is to be a discussion, there needs to be shared ground. Wittgenstein would talk about shared practices and ways of life. IM...
I'm sorry, I can't decipher NIST. What does it mean? One could claim that one brand of peanut butter is better than another on objective grounds - tha...
Well, yes - if you don't have a definition of "reputable" that's not subjective. I like unenlightened's first sentence. I don't understand the second....
Quite right. I was careless. I should have said, "I was thinking that if there is some validity in the madcap interpretation, it isn't madcap". Howeve...
I was thinking that if there is some truth in the madcap interpretation, it isn't madcap. But still, there is the point that interpretations may be mi...
"Giving the wrong time" makes some sense. I'm not sure in advance that all madcap interpretations provide an understanding of meaning. On the other ha...
You may well be right. So I will retreat to saying that it depends on the details of the case and I won't argue about what "significance" means. I ass...
:grin: But seriously... there is another variety of dogmatism, which is not quite the same. It starts from exactly the same response - "you must not u...
I was please that you like my previous post. I have to say, you have a way of putting things that I simply cannot help responding to. And it seems, we...
It's a question of one's attitude to others. Subject to the paradox of tolerance and provided tolerance doesn't mean one cannot listen to others and t...
Point taken. Not recognizing a bit of fun when I was talking about the role of fun in philosophy is a bit of a mis-step. I'm very taken with Hume's di...
That's fair. There's a very fine line between parking the question what burning (as in fire) is when you are an alchemist and don't have the theoretic...
Yes. But I don't think that anything goes. "Valid" is the word I think of as correct. Validity depends on context. By asking different questions, one ...
That's a pity. You're missing out. The original guys enjoyed it. (The dialogue between Searle and Derrida is a good example.) It was having a sure-fir...
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