Metaphysician Undercover

Ten days ago it was more than just "verging on". Why pretend that you can understand what I'm saying? Is this what your form of anti-skepticism gives ...

The real solution is to recognize that language is not a sort of game at all, nor is it analogous to game playing. When we see that "game" when applie...

I don't think that this is a true claim. As Plato demonstrated pain and pleasure are categorical distinct. They are not simply the opposite of one ano...

Sure, why not? But be careful not to categorize this doubt as a form of certainty. To doubt is to be uncertain as to yes or no. So to doubt whether or...

This criticism by Trendelenburg is not altogether truthful of Aristotle's concept of "potential", because it does not pay attention to the second usag...

It's not a circle, but there is the possibility of an infinite regress. Why is A good? For the sake of B. Why is B good? For the sake of C. Etc.. That...

I don't agree with this. As much as you apprehend it as compelling, it is not the truth. The point I made is that agony and despair are often seen as ...

Here, you are assuming the existence of objects. The point of the cosmological argument though, is that every object comes into existence, and before ...

Did I ever say, or imply that my reasoning is infallible? If you can show me a way to understand the concepts of potential and actual which you think ...

Perfection is a requirement of logic, that is how logic works. Following the rules to the degree of perfection is necessary. If you propose a part of ...

What?

As you yourself have repeatedly stated, in this thread, your proof is that 2+2=4. And, you've also stated that you recognize that I do not dispute the...

In other words, you can't distinguish between the potential for something, and that thing's actual existence, so you conclude that the two coexist for...

Me? I was happy to participate in this thread, and proceed in many other discussions with you, without ever mentioning this small disagreement we have...

I think that the easiest way to understand the cosmological argument is from the way that it is expressed by Aristotle. He demonstrated that anything ...

You know I do not dispute the fact that 2+2=4. That's why I'm fulling justified in ignoring your strawman proof.

I really don't remember the specifics of your so-called proof. I remember that you produced something you called a proof, and it was very easy for me ...

According to how you have characterized laws already, I think you are wrong to say here "the law is...". You'd have to say "a law is...", because you'...

Can you explain to me exactly where, or how a law exists? In other words, where is the law in relation to interpretation? Is the law what is written o...

Let me see if I properly apprehend your position. There's an independent world, but there's no shared access to it. Because of this lack of commonalit...

I've just been ignoring those claims because you ignored my reply to your proof.. And you continue to ignore this. If I remember correctly, your propo...

I didn't ignore the proof, I showed you how it was not a proof of what you claimed it was. But we could go through it again if you want.

What I meant to say is that these premises are simply unacceptable, as false, just like your claim that knowledge is shared, which I can't seem to fin...

Oops, posted accidentally.

This just indicates that the concept of energy is deficient. It is not applicable where it is being applied, to the vast expanse of the universe, beca...

You just said: "I did at one point present to him a clean proof from the Peano axioms in which I defined "2", "4", "+", and "=", and proved that 2 + 2...

I never denied that 2+2=4. That would be stupid. What I deny is that "=" indicates is the same as. I think that to believe such a thing would be stupi...

I have no problem with the idea that the external world is theoretically inferred, because I lean toward idealism, but I think "theoretically inferred...

Imagine that wherever there are massive objects, spatial expansion is slowed, and the result is what we observe as gravity. Thanks for the link fishfr...

I would say the evidence suggests that gravity is the other force which is at play here, causing different rates of expansion. But gravity and expansi...

What exactly do you mean by "theoretical" here? I see this statement as self-contradicting. To say that something is theoretical is to say that it is ...

You asked me "Would you put the earth at the center of the universe in denial of subsequent discoveries?". I only wanted to show you that, "subsequent...

You deny the truth of a shared external reality. If you also deny the reality of free will of the individual, as inferred from the individual's capaci...

Thanks for telling me your dreams.

This does not resolve the issue, because now we have the question of what makes one person's judgement that such an interpretation is the correct one,...

This is not true. The cosmological argument distinctly proves the need to assume a creator "God" to account for the reality of what we experience as t...

Doesn't the evidence of the cosmological background radiation put the earth at the center of the universe?

I find this to be an interesting statement. How could a law intentionally correlate to morality? Let's say that different lawmakers make laws for diff...

Oh no! The muon is a fiction and now the whole Standard Model is fucked. Oh well, I'm sure the physicists can apply the appropriate mathematical smoke...

What does "the Law" here refer to, other than an assumed standard?

Being very destructive and mean makes them quite interesting. The wild boars are so destructive that many states have open season on them, no laws wha...

The fact that I express my uncertainty with language, just like I might express other emotions with language, doesn't mean that the emotion is a featu...

I explained very clearly why doubting the entire belief system is the only reasonable form of skepticism. Beliefs within a system are necessarily logi...

I am arguing that a certain type of doubt is reasonable to assume, not that I have that type doubt. Anyway, the fact that it appears to you that my pe...

What if he raised his arm and said "this is an arm"? How would that act of holding up his arm be different from the act of holding up his his hand? Ho...

I could try to explain it to you, but if you are already doubtful of what I am saying without understanding what I am saying, then you probably alread...

I think what Wittgenstein intends, is that it doesn't make sense to ask this question, because to ask whether they are true or false is to doubt them....

The question you asked me was how can I apprehend that there is something which I cannot conceptualize. The example was, when someone speaks a foreign...

The deficiency in this perspective is the idea that doubt must be justified. Once this idea is dismissed, doubt is merely uncertainty, and uncertainty...

You're clearly not trying, if it makes no sense to you. Have you ever "grasped" the idea that you do not understand something? That's what I mean. Whe...