Metaphysician Undercover

Formalists take rules for granted. That's Platonism.

It's structurally similar because what constitutes "a group" is artificial, just like what constitutes "a set" is artificial. So you are just comparin...

Then I would say that they misunderstand the foundations of the principles they believe in.

It's a paradox.

I believe it is required to validate any formalist approach. If you think otherwise maybe you could explain.

If we don't differentiate between objects sensed and ideas grasped by the intellect. then there is nothing to prevent us from believing that the unive...

The problem which I have encountered in this forum, is that there is an attempt by many, to represent numbers, and other mathematical objects like set...

Birth certificate? Driver's license? Social security? Taxation? What are you anarchist?

Ontological assumptions are what foundations are made of, and Platonism provides the assumptions required for formalism, the idea of pure form.

I don't see what this all has to do with your claim that a concept like a number, 5, could have a physical instantiation . Fingers are fingers, and ar...

That's foregone, the moment the shot rang out:

I would say that this is a type of problem solving, wouldn't you? The problem being worked on is not necessarily a practical issue. Philosophy is like...

I strongly disagree with this. Our most reliable access to a person's intention is through observations of the actions which that person causes. This ...

Yes, that is what I am arguing. We ought to associate intentionality with the act itself, which is the means, rather than with the end. Intention is a...

If you desire to avoid the long posts, I think, by the end of my reply here, that I have isolated the primary point of disagreement between us. It is ...

This is exactly the problem. Notice you refer to "any textbook in mathematical logic", rather than any textbook in mathematics. If you look at a textb...

= Equal sign ... equals ... Indicates two values are the same -(-5) = 5 2z2 + 4z - 6 = 0 https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/definition/Mathem...

Explicitly stated by you, the head sophist

How long did it take GPT to compose that one?

Sorry Tones, but "for any x, x=x" does not say "for any x, x is x", unless "=" is defined as "is". And, in mathematics it is very clear that "=" is no...

I'm talking about things totally unforeseen. I agree that we do not commonly call them "intentional", but in the sense that they are the direct effect...

I don't understand you. I gave you an example of how equivocation of "same" has a considerable effect. Of course it has no effect in "pure mathematics...

I don't quite get what you mean here. Let's say there's something about reality which appears to be unintelligible. If we assign a name to that aspect...

Yes there are vast differences between Plotinus and Plato. Plotinus goes far beyond Plato in his theory of Forms, to propose a hierarchical order, ema...

I think it is a matter of two different ways of using the word, "intentional". In one sense, we say that an accident is not intentional. However, in a...

All eels have very interesting life cycles. They begin life in the ocean, and stay there many years, often traveling thousands of kilometers. Then the...

Please allow me to clarify, if I wasn't clear enough for you last time. You and I have a completely different understanding of the nature of "a relati...

This is debatable. Humans, with intellect and will, provide themselves the freedom to choose from a multitude of options in their activities. Animals ...

This issue was actually resolved a long time ago by Aristotle, in his discussions on the nature of "becoming". What he demonstrated is that between tw...

"Accidents are never intentional" needs clarification. An accident can be the unintended result of an intentional action. As the result of an intentio...

I think that this is what the so-called "paradox" of supertasks is all about. What is revealed is that at least one or the other, space or time, or bo...

I believe that's what The Lounge is for. The deep stuff gets booted off the main page, being for most, undistinguishable from shit. I agree, it's no c...

Sorry tim, I have no interest in engaging with you here in the Lounge. You have demonstrated that you are very steadfast with an extremely closed mind...

As I said, the context dictates their order, and context is singular. An object does not exist in a multitude of distinct contexts at the same time, d...

The sense of humour leaves the head sophist exposed, revealing no control over the inclination to equivocate. This is not more than one order, it is j...

I never spoke about "one and one", nor about "many". I have no idea what you are making reference to, or how you draw the conclusion that "one and one...

@"fishfry" I think you and I agree substantially on the difference between abstractions and physical objects, and that the elements of a set are alway...

Having X hat does not exclude having Y hat, that's obvious. The two do not contradict. But if X order contradicts Y order (e.g. John is closer to the ...

It's still very important to understand the difference between formal cause (as the existing conditions of constraint), and the final cause, that for ...

The orderings are different, and contradictory properties of the set. And, it is a violation of the law of noncontradiction for that set to have those...

So which is it then? Does a set consist of concrete things, or does it consist of abstractions?

I know, that's the problem. For you, a set may consist of concrete things, or it may consist of abstractions, because in your sophistry you do not dif...

I think it might have been a rob job.

I think it would be better to say that your eyes have purpose, the purpose of seeing, but they were not designed by an agent. This demonstrates someth...

I know you never said such a thing. You mix up physical objects and mathematical objects as if there is no difference between them, and as if the law ...

That's a very good op Bob. If I remember correctly, "good" for Aristotle is a principle of utility, what is often translated as "that for the sake of ...

Pushing back the time that modern pigs first showed the capacity for creative thinking. I always thought it all began at Animal Farm.

In many cases of common language usage, "slowing down" is stopping, but that implies the end, not yet achieved. The point is that "stopping" is distin...

Any expression whatsoever is an expression of an idea. "Moon", "earth", are expressions of ideas. Even if we use a name to refer 'directly' to an obje...

Excellent, I love it. TPF's head sophist has a sense of humour. OK, so here we have the issue. Remove the examples of real world objects (schoolkids e...