Metaphysician Undercover

The problem I pointed out involved using self-reference in a definition. What happened was that you first defined "one's own choices" as a choice rela...

The uniqueness of the revelation is not attributable to the individual, as a subjective uniqueness. It is attributed to the circumstances, or situatio...

I stand by my interpretation. This is what you said: This is what I said: Notice, you made a statement about what there really is, or specifically "th...

I think the key issue here is repeatability. The capacity to reproduce a similitude of the experience (the observation), commonly known as the repeata...

Yes it is circular. It's a self-referential definition, as I described. And that's a huge problem for the concept of "rights" in general. The definiti...

That's the problem. Depending on which "scale" we "look" at things from, what we "see" is vastly different. The terms "look" and "see" are meant in th...

Rather than "objects which reflect light", it might be better to say that we distinguish through our eyes, the energy levels of groups of electrons re...

There is no good reason to believe this. It's just like what atheists say about people who believe in God, you just believe this because it makes you ...

That is not the issue. "One's own choice" is defined as a choice concerning what to do with one's own mind, body, and property. It is not defined as a...

That is overwhelmingly false. As we've discussed, every choice which an individual makes concerns what to do with one's own mind, body, or property. T...

I would say that the idea that evolution has reached some kind of end, would be very foolish.

The issue is how to determine which choices belong to a person and which do not. The ability to make "one's own choices" is what you desire to protect...

In quantum physics reflection is actually an interaction between light and electrons, explained as simultaneous absorption and emission of photons. Ea...

The argument from Aristotle is that a body is an organized existence, and an agent is required for any type of organization, as the organizer. Therefo...

That's cool, the way to fight fascism is through sexual freedom, and the pure unadulterated enjoyment of it, "harmonious channelling of libido and org...

But dogs can see in the dark. They forfeit one advantage for the sake of another.

Well, I do not agree with this, I think consequentialism is all about judging the moral value of actions through an assessment of the consequences. Mo...

I guess I just don't see the metaphor here, and the use appears to me to be literal.

I really do not understand what you could possibly mean by "higher moral value" here. Perhaps you could explain. Suppose I\m watching the approach of ...

What does it refer to then?

What are you saying, that "direct realism" is better terminology? I suppose it's better because the word "direct" clearly exposes the faults. Obviousl...

Oh my lord, sick for a week is not pleasant (downright unpleasant in fact). I hope you're feeling better now.

This example is not comparable. Pushing the kid is an intentional act, whether or not the intent is to kill the kid. Since it is an intentional act, t...

There is a reason why the word "naïve" is used to describe naïve realism. The person holding this view is like an ignorant child rejecting higher educ...

The issue with determinism is that what has happened in the past determines what will happen in the future. A determinist and a free willist may both ...

We have a deep difference as to what constitutes "morally valuable" In my understanding, what provides moral value to the consequences of an act is th...

You are still not making any sense. If people intentionally turned the tornado, then that act could be judged as morally good or bad, perhaps based on...

There is inconsistency in the belief that all reality is governed by the laws of physics, and the belief in free will. The fundamental discrepancy in ...

I disagree. The moral value is in the act itself. Consequentialism measures the act by the outcome, but it does not place the moral value in the resul...

I don't know Dan, we're not making progress. In fact, what you write now, is making less and less sense to me. For instance, this appears to be totall...

Hi Jack, I think that your op, and the title, show an inadequate approach to the issue. The questions you ask imply a separation between what we call ...

You need to justify this. We are talking about moral value here, moral praiseworthiness. If these choices are not necessarily morally praiseworthy, th...

Ok, so we're back to where we were a few posts ago. The goodness or badness of an intentional act is judged according to how the "ability of persons t...

Yes, that is the point I am making, the two are dissimilar, because in the case of your ethical example, the ideal is not something which relates to t...

What I mean by "ideal", is a thing upon which a standard is based. For example in the temperature scale, the freezing point and boiling point of water...

Good luck trying to get Dan to understand that. He seems to think that by representing "relative to the agent" as "types of freedom", he can get aroun...

You said: If you cannot understand that this means that this type of choice ("their own choices") is the ideal in relation to what makes any action ba...

This discussion has strayed too far off topic.

Obviously, size is measured by the importance of the content, and my posts are larger than anyone else. (Give me a Trump role.)

If such choices, "one's own" are generally not good choices, then why seek to protect that ability. I think it's incorrect to say that these choices a...

But we still don't know how animals make choices. And, it's doubtful that selections made by other animals can even qualify as decisions. To choose, a...

You're still make irrelevant comments. The fact that human beings are animals is an essential aspect of the human condition. So, presenting the fact t...

Take this principle, "the extent to which it protects or violates the ability of persons to understand and make their own choices". We have to justify...

You're still not making any sense. Let's assume that there is a whole lot of people, and each one has the capacity to make one's own choices, and so w...

What you believe about "free will" is irrelevant. We do have the capacity to choose, and we all know and accept this. Some call this 'free will", if y...

I think this is where the op goes astray. Information is what is represented by symbols, and "mathematical" is a type of information. Mathematical sym...

That is an unwarranted assumption. It is quite possible, and even likely I would say, that dreams are prior to sense perception.

The problem is that the choice being made does not belong to the person making it. It is not one's own choice. It is a choice concerning the life of a...

No, that doesn't make any sense. Obviously, having a true understanding of the human condition requires knowing about free will, as a part of the huma...

This is really very meaningless. It's like saying that a good act is one capable of being seen as good by a creature so capable. Notice, you take some...