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

Devans99

Comments

That the universe must be live supporting is a given; the real question is why is the universe life supporting? 1. A billion to one fluke comes of (th...
May 08, 2019 at 15:21
The fundamental constants could of all been very different: - The strength of the 4 forces - The masses and charges of the subatomic particles - The r...
May 08, 2019 at 14:10
Specific counter arguments rather than waffle please.
May 08, 2019 at 04:50
But in this lottery there is only one participant - only one of the billion tickets was bought - as represented by our universe. So it is remarkable t...
May 08, 2019 at 04:49
But it is still remarkable that we won at a billion to one - there was only one lucky ticket (the one life supporting universe). Suspiciously remarkab...
May 07, 2019 at 16:17
What he's says there about absolute infinity not being subject to maths... if only he'd realised that was the case for infinity full stop (there is on...
May 07, 2019 at 12:38
Agreed. He was mad: “I have never assumed a ‘Genus Supremum’ of the actual infinite. Quite on the contrary I have rigorously proved that there can be ...
May 07, 2019 at 12:36
Cantor. The transfinite numbers in set theory.
May 07, 2019 at 12:30
Proof infinity is not a number First, we realise if two different types of infinity existed, they would have to be larger than each other. Thats a log...
May 07, 2019 at 12:10
This is how I see politics (and decision making in general): Net Pleasure I use a definition of pleasure and pain includes all forms of pleasure and p...
May 07, 2019 at 07:09
"Stoicism is predominantly a philosophy of personal ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world. According to its teachi...
May 07, 2019 at 07:02
- Something cannot exist eternally in time because it would have no temporal start - Eternal existence outside of time is however possible. This argum...
May 07, 2019 at 06:41
No idea.
May 07, 2019 at 06:39
Actually the set of all objectively real sets would have to be defined to exclude its own power set else we have problems. I'm not sure the set of all...
May 07, 2019 at 06:34
It has to be one or the other: - I think the set of all sets exists only in our minds along with all the other infinite sets. - I think the set of all...
May 07, 2019 at 06:31
How can a set contain contain itself and not contain itself at the same time? Surely that is a logical contradiction?
May 07, 2019 at 06:25
The set of sets only exists in our imaginations. All infinite sets are purely things of the imagination. They are a mental approximation of the very l...
May 07, 2019 at 06:20
In set theory it is claimed that the set of all sets does not exist. 'Proof’: 1. Let S be the set of all sets, then |S| < |2^S| but 2^S is a subset of...
May 07, 2019 at 06:12
Not sure I understand the question. All possibilities in the lottery are a billion to one - all equally unlikely. So losing is almost 100% certain. So...
May 07, 2019 at 06:00
We know lotteries tend not to be rigged. We do not know if universes are 'rigged'. It could be that universes are not rigged and we just got lucky, bu...
May 07, 2019 at 04:44
Why does 'a set of constant values does not constitute a coincidence'? Over 20 independent physical constants had to be the way they are for life to b...
May 06, 2019 at 16:55
- There are conflicting measurements of the expansion rate. I do not have complete faith that the astronomers have it right - The rate of expansion ha...
May 06, 2019 at 16:33
Whether there is infinite anything is another question, I am personally of the opinion that there is not, but that is a digression. Occam's razor woul...
May 06, 2019 at 16:23
It has traction as far as I'm concerned: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_timelike_curve A causal loop is possible according to general relativity...
May 06, 2019 at 16:06
So for example the strength gravity has to be strong enough for stars and planets to form, but not so strong that we get too fast nuclear fusion or to...
May 06, 2019 at 12:59
You have not given a context where my assumption of a large sample space for possible physical constants etc... does not apply
May 06, 2019 at 12:39
You have given no justification as to why this card trick analogy applies; the universe is not tricking use; it could very easily have come out differ...
May 06, 2019 at 12:33
Whatever type of universe is created, conflation of existence with delusions is likely possible. Put it this way, on God's required features list for ...
May 06, 2019 at 12:29
So we imagine countless billions of years throughout which the physical laws and constants are evolving. Eventually, by sheer luck, they hit a configu...
May 06, 2019 at 10:04
Lets take an example; the universe's expansion rate is set such that matter can still cluster into stars and planets yet it is expanding fast enough t...
May 06, 2019 at 09:09
Yes I do; there are about 20 constants in physics that all have to be about where they are now for life to exist. The chances of that happening by cha...
May 06, 2019 at 08:48
Either there is no trick involved, in which case I gave the answer above or it is fixed in which case the sample space is 1 and the probability is 1
May 06, 2019 at 08:33
Well then I suppose it is 1/52 * 1/(audience size) ?
May 06, 2019 at 08:26
1/52 I imagine.
May 06, 2019 at 08:13
But it looks like the laws of physics and the standard model have been constant since the singularity. The Big Bang theory predicts things back to a f...
May 06, 2019 at 07:44
I'm not sure about a function, but the number of results that depend on a given result might be a possible metric. So at the bottom of an inverted dep...
May 06, 2019 at 06:14
There has to be some mechanism by which the very constants/laws of nature change - the standard model has to 'evolve' some how for example. The mechan...
May 06, 2019 at 05:18
I agree. I think existence has a set typed property: all material objects. We then separately have non-material objects, concepts like 'fairies and sq...
May 05, 2019 at 14:22
I believe the axiom of infinity does introduce inconsistencies, but that is for another post. I am a bit old fashioned; I believe an axiom needs to be...
May 05, 2019 at 13:36
That is the weak anthropic principle (WAP) you have given. The problem with the WAP is that it says that the universe must support life, it does not s...
May 05, 2019 at 12:36
In theory, if maths axioms were based solely on observation of reality, then our maths should be the same as the alien's maths. But our maths axioms a...
May 05, 2019 at 12:30
Sorry you will have to expand on that last point.
May 04, 2019 at 19:31
It's the first I'm questioning - the possibility space is boundless. I'd say the second applies - we have no evidence for parallel universes but it is...
May 04, 2019 at 19:21
I not sure I understand what you mean. I think 'there is no such thing as x' just applies to our observational range; our universe. So it counts as in...
May 04, 2019 at 18:42
If we judge what is possible just based on our experience of this universe then we miss a huge realm of possibility. How do we know that other states ...
May 04, 2019 at 18:35
How do I control another me in an alternative universe? Is it somehow that my decisions have an impact on the other me's behaviour? If it is not the c...
May 04, 2019 at 18:25
The start of time/causality is a unique event and different from everything we normally encounter. In everyday life, motors and intelligence require c...
May 04, 2019 at 05:47
Following with interest. Thanks.
May 03, 2019 at 17:09
I was just pointing out a motor is not a valid first cause - a motor has a prior cause - the machinist.
May 03, 2019 at 16:53
A motor would require intelligence to construct it.
May 03, 2019 at 16:49