We didn't when we spied the rock. According to you, we immediately (and perhaps unconsciously) generated a working definition of the rock. Why could w...
OK, that seems to be a reasonable way of looking at things. :smile: And yet, when we spied the rock, you suggested that we automatically generate some...
All of those now passed continue to exist, in the sense that what they said and did during life does not disappear when they die. The influence they h...
Perhaps (and this is only one example) because I've seen it? If I spy something new, I don't collapse into a mire of uncertainty, unsure whether to na...
Sorry, this isn't right. Science is one tool we have to use in the pursuit of understanding. There are others too. The most obvious example is simple,...
Perhaps you can't. Others seem to have less difficulties with general topics than you do. * - N.B. we're not actually considering something with no de...
And the OP did just that, setting out a general matter for us to consider. Use the lack of precision, and enjoy a general discussion, whose use, value...
What is it with you definitionists? These things can be considered - properly considered - without mandating a sequence of discovery. What something i...
Consider something newly discovered. We, just this second, discovered that it exists, even though we have no idea what it is (yet). Imagine this is ou...
This is a debate derail waiting to happen. Some adopt a mild definition for objective truth, as you seem to: unbiased or impartial truth. Others use a...
Yes, although Wikipedia is not quite the democratic organisation it used to be. Too many hurdles to get over to become an editor. Still, as you say, i...
Your first sentence, and already you're sinking. :wink: Young and inexperienced engineers probably conform to your strange impression of engineers. As...
Is this the right approach, I wonder? You seem to be replacing one claim of superiority with another, opposing, claim. I rather suspect neither POV ca...
But, because our moderators (as we would expect of them) are moderate in their own actions, trolls can get away with a fair amount before significant ...
Here I think acceptance is of more use than challenge. Language really is a democratic institution, and its usage is dictated solely by its users. So,...
There is surely disagreement about the meaning of these terms, but is it "fundamental"? I don't really think so. All of the various meanings show shad...
Exactly. :up: There are some contexts, at least, where "atheist" is used in a deliberately general sense. And it is used usefully in this sense. I am ...
Why is that? Must you prove that Donald Trump exists before we will discuss him with you? Every believer (belief in anything, not just God) decides wh...
This, I think, is the core of this issue. Like most English words, truth has several meanings. Worse, in the case of truth and other similar (general)...
Agreed. :fear: We hippies had the right ideas. We knew about the importance of the environment, and all that jazz. We knew, as previous generations ha...
Yes, with Chinese being so different from English, understanding (very) often relies, not on the reader, or even the writer, but on the translator. My...
:smile: In other threads, and on other forums, I have found that the most common 'strain' of philosophers have a very low tolerance for ambiguity, see...
Maybe I'm getting the wrong message from this: you'll have to let me know if I have misinterpreted, OK? :up: The tone of your words reminds me strongl...
I don't know if it's wrong, but I do wonder. I wonder if this is like that stuff about WEIRD, where results obtained from (say) young, (mainly) white,...
Hmm. I've been talking about these terms, terms that deliberately (in some cases) remain imprecise in order to describe something that is itself impre...
No, You'd need to know the interconnection map of every cell in the brain too, and understand what that map meant as regards mental function. That's q...
No. There is no 'good art' or 'bad art', nor is there any such thing as 'better' art. If the artist presents someting as art, it is art. Your part, an...
Well, they wouldn't. But if the thing up for discussion is intrinsically ill-defined? Should we just shy away, and not try to talk about it? What abou...
A clarification: these words might give the impression that I discount Pirsig's thoughts as a simple mistake. This is not so. I just chose my words po...
Good analogy. I am saying that those discussions that refer to areas of the map, not pin-pointed places, should be recognised, and treated differently...
I agree with pretty much all of this. But I think perhaps we might sometimes avoid the problems with poorly-chosen topics and poorly-defined terms by ...
No, if "atheist" is a general term such as we are describing (I'm not 100% convinced it is, which is why I said "maybe"), then its intended job is to ...
I'm almost embarrassed to reply to this, in case anyone thinks I am opposing your views. I find that I agree with both of us! :smile: But I cannot hel...
Yes, I think many (most?) such terms are abstract. But "without utility"? I think not. An umbrella term for a number of related things must prove usef...
When there is no definite information, we speculate. It's what we humans do. :smile: But speculation is not, of itself, persuasive, as you say. It can...
Yes, this way of thinking leads to such sayings as "if God is good, how come she allows tuberculosis into the world?" And the answer, of course, is th...
I wonder if it's useful to judge spiritual experience as you do? Experience, not just the spiritual sort, is , er, experienced. It happens, and we acc...
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