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Metaphysician Undercover

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I am not suggesting that it's a cut and dry issue, actually I am suggesting something quite contrary, that things are more complex than you might thin...
August 21, 2016 at 23:45
I like that distinction, "wet intelligence" versus "dry intelligence".
August 21, 2016 at 11:37
The problem here is that the intent of ethics is not to maintain the status quo. It is not to maintain the human form. Ethics is all about improvement...
August 21, 2016 at 11:30
As I said, until it can be demonstrated that a past event can be prevented, or produced, like a future one can be, then the evidence, and consequent i...
August 20, 2016 at 16:12
Sorry M-theory, no offence intended
August 20, 2016 at 12:31
Actually, the future has become the past, that's what the passing of time does. We can designate a point in time, such as August 21, 2016, 12:00 noon ...
August 20, 2016 at 12:09
I believe that IBM is working on AI projects which will make Deep Mind look rather insignificant. In fact, some argue that Watson already makes Deep M...
August 20, 2016 at 11:58
It's very obvious, events which have already occurred cannot be changed, events which have not yet occurred can be promoted or prevented. This is a fu...
August 20, 2016 at 11:12
I believe you are adequately demonstrating the myth of chance, which I am referring to. You believe, and you claim that modern physics supports your b...
August 20, 2016 at 01:20
OK, this explains the future event, there is a chance that the outcome of the coin toss could be heads, and there is a chance that it could be tails. ...
August 19, 2016 at 10:46
Let me get this straight. By "outcome", I infer effect, rather than cause. So are you saying that when a particular event occurred, in the past, the o...
August 19, 2016 at 01:50
What do you think is meant by "the concept of a form of life"? In Aristotle's biology, "On the Soul (De Anima)", soul is defined as the first actualit...
August 18, 2016 at 17:47
Fine, but consider this in relation to an event which has already occurred. You cannot say that this event has the same probability of occurrence as s...
August 18, 2016 at 02:05
I think that what Is actually the case is slightly different from this. It is generally not because you are hungry that you eat food. We establish eat...
August 18, 2016 at 01:34
What makes you think that this is an abuse of language. Do you not believe that plants produce seeds for a purpose, and, that plants are non-conscious...
August 18, 2016 at 01:01
No, I don't believe that Tom. We often try for things we cannot obtain, or simply fail in our attempts, even if we do have the capacity. We've already...
August 17, 2016 at 10:55
No, but I definitely don't want to talk about random motions, that's just the type of talk I believe is nonsense. To believe in such a thing is to bel...
August 16, 2016 at 10:44
But this is more a description of being self-aware, and this is quite different from consciousness, which is simply being aware. Intention is proper t...
August 16, 2016 at 01:23
I would really like some indication as to what exactly, pleasure is. Enjoyment has been mentioned, but this doesn't tell me much. It might imply that ...
August 16, 2016 at 00:58
Intention is directly related to purpose. Do you believe that purpose is necessarily conscious purpose? Let's assume that life evolved form consisting...
August 16, 2016 at 00:16
An intentional act is one which is carried out for a purpose. That means that it is a part of a lager whole, the means toward an end. The whole, being...
August 15, 2016 at 11:12
This is exactly the kind of thinking which I am being critical of. Instead of singling out, and understanding the particular acts themselves, to see w...
August 15, 2016 at 03:06
Plato did much analysis of pleasure and pain, I'll see if I can recall some of the principles put forward by him. To begin with, pleasure is not to be...
August 15, 2016 at 02:26
Why does this appear to be so opposed to you example? In the example, a small event such as the butterfly flapping its wings, could have a huge differ...
August 15, 2016 at 01:24
No, to say that the plant intends to produce seed, is to say that it has as a goal, purpose, or objective, to produce seed. We've been through this al...
August 15, 2016 at 00:47
To say that the plant intends to produce seed implies that it is recognized by the speaker of the phrase, that it is possible that for one reason or a...
August 14, 2016 at 17:20
Entropy, to me, refers to the affect which the passing of time has on the physical world. But this concept reveals a deep deficiency in the thinking o...
August 14, 2016 at 12:18
They definitely have a relation to the future, but my favourite would be "let one's course be affected by" the future. That's exactly what I've been d...
August 14, 2016 at 01:40
Michael, I'm really tired of your childishness. You have an off-handed way of defining words for whatever suits your intention, with total disregard f...
August 14, 2016 at 01:06
And I am saying that it is quite clear that this is a mistaken assumption. It doesn't matter how many people agree with you, a mistaken assumption is ...
August 13, 2016 at 20:27
I am not misusing these words. You are attempting to impose unjustified restriction on my use of words. Look, "Intend" means to have as one's purpose....
August 13, 2016 at 19:12
Yes, there is always some type of foresight or projection toward the future with intention, but it may be very basic, to the extent of the will to con...
August 13, 2016 at 18:53
No, I am arguing for an agent which carries out the act of reading DNA and doing such things. It is your assumption, that anything which could carry o...
August 13, 2016 at 17:27
Now, consider what StreetlightX says: So here's an analogy. Consider that genes are like words, which, together in combination, produce something. You...
August 13, 2016 at 17:06
X is an attribute, a property which is necessarily attributed to something, and this implies the existence of A, which X is the property of. You say "...
August 13, 2016 at 12:10
This is where we have a difference of opinion, as to what constitutes "purposeful". I think that the carbohydrates produced by photosynthesis are usef...
August 12, 2016 at 18:59
This is the misunderstanding that we must reject in order to properly understand the existence of life. Do you think that photosynthesis is not a purp...
August 12, 2016 at 11:41
Now you have both turned to an external telos. But there is no reason to drop the notion of immanent telos, which is prior to, and acts as the cause o...
August 12, 2016 at 11:05
I think immanent telos is a good idea. But immanent implies inherent within, so to think that it is generated, or emergent from the system is somewhat...
August 12, 2016 at 01:35
Are you saying that "chance" in the sense of an occurrence which has neither a design nor a determinable cause is an incoherent notion? I tend to agre...
August 11, 2016 at 10:46
There seems to be some ambiguity with the use of the word "chance" in this thread. Allow me to clarify please. The principal use of the word, is to re...
August 11, 2016 at 00:34
Why would you call this "chance", something which has deterministic causes. If the weather forecaster forecasts no rain for tonight, then it rains, wo...
August 10, 2016 at 10:59
I'll explain why the existing evidence doesn't satisfy me. Any so-called random occurrence only happens within very specific parameters. This is neces...
August 10, 2016 at 02:50
I agree, Darwin did not flatly reject Lamarck's ideas of habituation. But Darwin was producing a refined scientific theory, adhering to empirical fact...
August 09, 2016 at 01:45
Why would you call this bastardizing, when I said that what he did was create consistency between Neo-Platonist and Aristotelian metaphysics? Isn't th...
August 09, 2016 at 01:21
For what it's worth darth, here's my opinion, and some things which you should consider. Neo-Platonist and Aristotelian metaphysics are very distinct ...
August 08, 2016 at 01:18
August 07, 2016 at 16:27
Epigenetics aside? You mean, the rule holds as long as we put aside the vast quantity of evidence which goes against the rule. OK, so "that isn't true...
August 07, 2016 at 15:41
For your information charleton, I have read a substantial amount of Darwin's work, as I have of Lamarck's. Notice in the op, that I indicate the desig...
August 07, 2016 at 15:28
I don't agree Mayor. When it is believed that there is a cause or reason for a particular occurrence, the cause or reason being unknown, yet the belie...
August 07, 2016 at 15:15