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Metaphysician Undercover

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Right, and special relativity is about curved space-time too ... not. Yet they're still both "relativity". I think you're missing something there Bann...
April 28, 2021 at 00:14
What is the case is that separation caused by spatial expansion, is not considered to be properly called spatial "motion". Very large objects like gal...
April 27, 2021 at 12:14
If you cannot see how Luke's adherence to the game analogy has lead him into a dreadful misunderstanding of the nature of language, as outlined in my ...
April 27, 2021 at 11:53
I have stated that language does not require rules, that they emerge as a feature of language. So there is obviously rules within language. The point ...
April 27, 2021 at 11:45
I believe that happiness is a stable, balanced state of existence which is consistent with true well-being derived from an inner source of contentment...
April 26, 2021 at 12:30
There was no equivocation. The first line in the Wikipedia entry on "Normative": "Normative generally means relating to an evaluative standard." Isn't...
April 26, 2021 at 12:07
You ought to recognize, that in my context of usage, a "standard" is an example or model used for judgement, like a criterion. That any specific stand...
April 26, 2021 at 02:34
It's my opinion and belief. It's my opinion that if it hasn't been stated in some form it cannot be a rule, and I believe this. This "must" in your st...
April 25, 2021 at 23:45
As I said, it's not my argument, so those questions I'll ignore. I was just pointing out some issues I had with what you were saying. Those questions ...
April 25, 2021 at 13:54
I think that's exactly the point of the op, designating "the speed of light" as a constant has been proven to be a mistake.
April 25, 2021 at 11:53
Wise move. Educate yourself on the law of identity, and prepare yourself with some principles before you attempt to argue that identity is a relation....
April 25, 2021 at 11:49
Sorry, I don't see the relevance, but you can make that conclusion if you want, I will not.
April 25, 2021 at 00:41
That's right, you can use "rule" however you please.
April 25, 2021 at 00:37
Both it is. What makes a rule a rule is to be explicitly stated (my opinion, notice "I think"). But there is no rule which states that "rule" must be ...
April 25, 2021 at 00:17
It is not really insolvable, because we do this with logic. That is what logic does for us, it allows us to extend our knowledge beyond the limits of ...
April 24, 2021 at 21:57
Well, I think the principal issue is that "suffering" is a very broad, general term, encompassing many types. So the questions of what types of suffer...
April 24, 2021 at 13:26
Sorry tim, but your references don't seem to address the issue, and I see no basis for your accusation of "colossal stupidity". But It's not my argume...
April 24, 2021 at 13:18
OK, I'll recant, and say that the law of identity implies necessarily, that things are independent of the mind. So let me explain this, in a way which...
April 24, 2021 at 13:07
It looks like we're pretty much on the same page here, except where you see a difficult task, I see an impossibility which ought not even be attempted...
April 24, 2021 at 11:46
The law of identity: A thing is the same as itself. What does this mean to you? Do you see any mention of a mind needing to apprehend that thing?
April 24, 2021 at 02:26
I think Gary explained it to you quite well. If I understood correctly, what he said was that for the (material) parts of the universe to get to where...
April 24, 2021 at 02:24
The law of identity stipulates that there are things independent of the mind, and these things have an identity proper to themselves. The true identit...
April 24, 2021 at 02:14
Because the transhumans would be superhuman in some ways, they would be seen as a threat to the naturalists (or whatever you want to call them), and t...
April 24, 2021 at 01:04
Yes that's what I've been trying to explain, "rules" is just a metaphor. That's exactly the point I'm making. So "language games" is just a metaphor a...
April 23, 2021 at 12:12
Wouldn't there be a vast portion of the human population which for one reason or another would not engage in this designer baby process? I would think...
April 23, 2021 at 11:34
Right, so long as we posit the real existence of those unobservables, dark energy and dark matter, to account for the discrepancies between what is ob...
April 23, 2021 at 01:40
The scale of galaxies, where what is called spatial expansion has an impact, with the requirement for dark energy, dark matter, etc..
April 23, 2021 at 01:07
Within the universe there is a wide range of existents, from very large to very small. Relativity works in the middle area.
April 23, 2021 at 00:43
Right, that's my point. We learn how to talk simply by hanging around, not by learning rules. Yes, when children misbehave the rule is made explicit. ...
April 23, 2021 at 00:34
Well, I really don't see how there could be such a thing as a normative rule which is not explicit. That seems to be a self-contradicting idea. It's e...
April 22, 2021 at 11:22
Whether Banno's statement is acceptable or not depends on one's ontology. If rules are imaginary things, and imaginary things do not exist, then it ma...
April 22, 2021 at 01:00
I suppose that would require that you're already superhuman. At what point do you think we might cross the threshold between human and superhuman? Cou...
April 21, 2021 at 22:02
This would only be the case if the word is being used to refer to a particular thing. We could see that "dog" was the name of that particular thing. B...
April 21, 2021 at 20:08
Yes, "2+2=green" has meaning. But I would reject this statement as inconsistent with the principles that I already understand and accept. I don't know...
April 21, 2021 at 12:03
Are you distinguishing between ordinary language (whatever that means), and language games? How would you distinguish between ordinary language and no...
April 21, 2021 at 01:40
I can't see your point. Your premise that no one exists prior to birth is wrong, because it ought to state that no one person exists prior to one's ow...
April 20, 2021 at 12:00
It's not like that. You can physically force a person with love and affection. So I'm totally dismissing the degree thing as relevant to good or bad. ...
April 20, 2021 at 01:00
I don't think you're quite grasping my use of "force". Force is anything external to the will of the free agent, so it includes all the natural forces...
April 20, 2021 at 00:40
I see this as a somewhat backward approach. As living beings, we are inclined to act. This is our nature, and we will do so regardless of obligation. ...
April 19, 2021 at 12:20
Right, "2+2=4" has meaning without referring to anything, just like "green is a colour", and "the acceleration of gravity is 9.8 metres per second per...
April 19, 2021 at 02:32
I don't deny that there are rules in language, that's what formal logic is all about. The thing is that it's not an essential aspect of language, beca...
April 19, 2021 at 01:17
Look at what you say above, "2+2" says something about 4. What is 4? It is a quantity, or a value, it is not a thing. Remember, my argument is only ap...
April 18, 2021 at 19:56
Compare these two statements: You describe "obligatory" as following one's own intuition. But then you do not understand "good" in the sense of what o...
April 18, 2021 at 00:40
The problem, is that if "game", and "having rules" is just speaking metaphorically, then there is not any rules, literally speaking. That's just a met...
April 17, 2021 at 18:50
Aristotle identified two senses of "time", the primary one as a measure, and the secondary as something which is measured. Einstein treats time as a m...
April 17, 2021 at 18:38
By the laws of physics, time does not move. It is a principle of measurement, and is therefore moved by the measurer. This is the great advancement of...
April 17, 2021 at 12:58
I think you ought to distinguish ethics from law. Law is enforced, but law is not properly "ethics". Ethics is a code of principles for moral behaviou...
April 17, 2021 at 12:52
This conclusion is clear evidence of how the metaphor of "language games" leads us astray if we take it seriously, as a literal description rather tha...
April 17, 2021 at 11:58
Potentiality is a requirement for motion and is therefore prior to it. So is time a requirement for motion and is prior to it. How would you support y...
April 17, 2021 at 11:14
In Aristotelian physics and metaphysics, the potentiality of a thing is its matter, and the actuality of a thing is its form.
April 17, 2021 at 02:46