You are viewing the historical archive of The Philosophy Forum.
For current discussions, visit the live forum.
Go to live forum

Metaphysician Undercover

Comments

"Have I habitually told people the space above their heads is empty?" If you answer this question for yourself, would you invent the answer, or would ...
August 10, 2022 at 10:15
I would say that we distinguish old beliefs from new, by means of the justification. One would not drop an old belief in favour of a new belief, unles...
August 10, 2022 at 01:01
That map is extremely vague, just showing some generalities. It's not at all useful for any attempt to determine anomalies. The whole concept of "ocea...
August 10, 2022 at 00:24
Very often, people act in ways contrary to their beliefs. Therefore you cannot make accurate conclusions about one's beliefs, from ones actions. Furth...
August 09, 2022 at 11:10
The general principles involved in ocean currents can be described. First, the prevailing wind at the equator is from the east, due to the spin of the...
August 09, 2022 at 01:35
This is why, we, as human beings are required to to shape or formulate our principles in such a way so as to make sense of the universe. The onus is o...
August 08, 2022 at 11:08
Maybe it was a plot. Beware of wooden shipping containers from China.
August 08, 2022 at 00:54
Ad hominem instead of making an attempt at a coherent reply, 180 Proof's MO. If you're into counting points, mark one for me, zero for you. Care to tr...
August 07, 2022 at 23:25
We can draw an example from weather forecasting. The accuracy of the long term forecast is highly dependent on the accuracy of the short term forecast...
August 07, 2022 at 12:31
That a specific claim has no grounds is something which needs to be proven. The person making the questionable claim may be asked to justify it, and f...
August 07, 2022 at 12:11
Do you understand the difference between an instance of something being good, and the ideal good, the best thing?
August 06, 2022 at 20:42
This is not true, and it is a very common mistake. A thing, be it a self or any other thing, is described by referring to its properties, not by refer...
August 06, 2022 at 11:44
I don't know, I'm not a mathematician, and I wouldn't want to try. Here's a couple things to keep in mind though. The symbols "-" and "+" mean somethi...
August 06, 2022 at 11:27
You know there is a problem with multiplying and dividing negative numbers, which results in imaginary numbers, adding another whole level of complexi...
August 06, 2022 at 02:07
That "basic empirical dogma" is the reason for the separation between divine ideas or divine intelligible objects, as independent, or separate Forms, ...
August 05, 2022 at 10:58
If -4 x 2 equals -8, then -4 + -4 ought to equal zero. "-4 x 2" means negative four taken twice, and that is negative eight. But "-4 + -4" means negat...
August 05, 2022 at 10:45
I must admit that I haven't read Schopenhauer, only secondary sources, so I'm sorry but I'm really not in a position to comment on this. I don't see h...
August 05, 2022 at 00:54
Number 1 idealists are dualist as well. Notice they say that the mental is the ultimate foundation of reality, like Plato, Neo-Platonists, Aristotle, ...
August 04, 2022 at 11:13
As far as I know, most of the famous Idealists are dualist, Plato, Hegel, Kant, even Berkeley. Notice in the the quote I produced from Stanford, that ...
August 04, 2022 at 11:02
I've noticed that as a serious flaw in this thread. Idealism is represented as "mind alone exists". In reality, idealists are mostly dualists. In gene...
August 04, 2022 at 01:18
In many ways, and places, wind, as mechanical energy, offers a better source for power than solar. Tesla claimed to have figured a way to harness the ...
August 03, 2022 at 01:46
That didn't answer my question. Evasion, Banno's MO.
August 03, 2022 at 01:30
Get back to work then! It's not the weekend yet.
August 03, 2022 at 01:22
Am I the only privileged one around here, or are there other lucky members?
August 03, 2022 at 01:19
I don't know, this thread has not gone anywhere in millions of years of discussion. Maybe a good conspiracy theory could liven it up a bit.
August 03, 2022 at 01:17
I don't understand why you would say this. Care to explain?
August 03, 2022 at 01:10
It really does not make "general sense". It's a counterintuitive principle which facilitates calculations when using electromagnetism as a measuring t...
August 02, 2022 at 12:09
Actually, what I described is how "cell" refers to two distinct concepts, in one case a whole living organism, and in the other case a part of a livin...
August 02, 2022 at 11:48
The physics and the mathematics go hand in hand, the problems of one are not the cause of the problems of the other, but they do amplify each other. E...
August 02, 2022 at 01:42
You don't seem to have had any introductory level instruction on logic. Saying "thought does not need words" (which is the proposition being discussed...
August 01, 2022 at 17:07
Thanks for the interesting passage, to refresh my memory. Hegel places "the Idea" as the fundamental principle, the basis or foundation of human exist...
August 01, 2022 at 12:03
There is nothing being "picked out" by the name, like I said originally. I just went along with that notion to show you the fault in it. As I said, th...
August 01, 2022 at 11:06
A "cell" as commonly defined can be either a complete living organism, or a part of a living organism. How is it, that in some cases an entire living ...
August 01, 2022 at 02:47
Why would you want to eat sand anyway?
August 01, 2022 at 02:13
Two distinct types of sandwich, one uses bread, the other a bun. Some prefer to call it a bunwich. That's got a nice ring to it.
August 01, 2022 at 02:12
Anything in a bun is a sandwich... isn't it?
August 01, 2022 at 02:09
"Cell" does not refer to a specific "biological machinery" (which really makes no sense anyway, as biological organisms are not machines), so your rep...
August 01, 2022 at 01:53
I think the point is that at that time, the word "cells" was not in use, nor was the concept which the word refers to. So at that time it is impossibl...
August 01, 2022 at 00:47
The principal difference between a particular and a universal is that all properties (including accidentals) are necessary to the individual, whereas ...
July 31, 2022 at 12:44
That is incorrect. You have made a category mistake, caused by equivocation. You are equivocating between "thought" as referring to numerous specific ...
July 31, 2022 at 12:14
The earth's magnetic field also reverses, but over a long time period of time, hundreds of thousands of years, and not in an organized cycle. Magnetic...
July 31, 2022 at 11:55
The standard, observed sunspot cycle is approximately eleven years, we are heading into a maximum period right now. At the minimum period, the sun's m...
July 31, 2022 at 11:39
If some thought does not need words, then the proposition "thought does not need words" is true. This is true, regardless of the fact that some though...
July 31, 2022 at 02:09
The point was that radiant heat from the sun has the biggest influence over the earth's surface temperatures, and scientists seem to know very little ...
July 31, 2022 at 01:22
What I asked about was the cause of the changes in Earth's orbit. @"Joshs" gave somewhat of answer, referring to the gravity of other planets, but I d...
July 30, 2022 at 11:57
In this case, I suggest that you think of zero as potential. If you're counting apples, 0 represents the potential for some apples, but no actual appl...
July 30, 2022 at 11:44
That's what the Quote Cabinet, in the Lounge is for.
July 30, 2022 at 10:55
"Abrupt" was your word.
July 30, 2022 at 10:53
What do you think causes the shape of earth's orbit to abruptly change?
July 29, 2022 at 11:24
Think of it as pure potential. Zero, or empty set. is nothing, but it is a type of nothing, or nothing of a specific type of thing. If we proceed to s...
July 29, 2022 at 11:15