EnPassant

As far as we can tell, the human mind is the most evolved, complex entity in the universe thus far. That is what matters. Most of the rest of the univ...

True. Philosophy is like a workout for the mind, it teaches us how to think critically provided we don't take ourselves too seriously.

"We cannot define anything precisely. If we attempt to, we get into that paralysis of thought that comes to philosophers, who sit opposite each other,...

If living intuitively - "aimlessly and ignorantly" - is more fulfilling than framing one's existence within the box of philosophy then philosophy migh...

I believe there is a law in Britain that says if you're starving you can steal a few vegetables from a farmer's field without breaking the law. There ...

Matter is secondary because it is contingent or caused. The cause of matter is beyond matter. I don't see entropy as a definition of time. It may be -...

Social contexts are just that, a context in which moral standards are interpreted. But morality, in spiritual terms, should be a guard against crimes ...

In a sense yes because nothing of substance is added to create matter. Matter is nothing in the sense that it is only form.

Some are good. Most are weakly bad. Some are evil. But doesn't a dog love its owner? Isn't love the ultimate moral good? The beauty of the world is al...

I had not heard of that. Very interesting. The Greeks did math by geometry so they may have discovered it geometrically first and then did the algebra...

What about abstract thought? If you have a pain in your foot and you go to the doctor s/he might tell you that the pain is not really in your foot at ...

It is an intriguing idea and, granted, we have not looked deeply enough into reality to go beyond its contingent elements. But I'm sceptical...

I know but it doesn't matter how you define these things the question still remains, how can {0} U {0} = {{0},{0}} have an existence unless it exists ...

It seems to me that none of the five senses are required to make us aware of our minds. The mind is conscious over and above the senses. In fact the s...

Matter is not real anyhow. At least not in the naive way our senses lead us to believe. A hydrogen atom is only a geometric condition that energy happ...

As an artist I would counter the idea that there can be a theory of aesthetics. I still don't know what art is. It is a mysterious thing. It happens b...

Ok, I'm getting your drift. If the world is really a 'mathematical' abstraction then how is it possible to construct such a world from the atoms and p...

Our beliefs about God tell us something about God. They may be simple compared to the reality of God but they provide a context in which to comprehend...

Not entirely. God can be known as a person. That is not total knowledge of God, it is an aspect of God that God wants the individual to understand.

I think it is very difficult to frame theism in general in the context of any religion. Most modern religions have permuted many times over the genera...

Exactly. Russell said there was not 'enough evidence' for God's existence. But everything is evidence. Every dust mote, every star, planet and galaxy....

In principle yes, but here you are only talking about contingent things. I'm still having great difficulty seeing how there can only be abstractions '...

I don't think a/theists believe or disbelieve on the basis of intellectual machinations - they are post hoc and apologetic, on both sides. The decisio...

The difference between philosophical arguments and mathematical arguments is mathematical truth is demonstrable. Once proven it can't be unproved. Phi...

To prove non determinism it is sufficient to show that mind transcends determinism. If that were the case a mind can choose to do something - like mov...

That is an extreme rhetorical distortion of what I believe. My beliefs are based on many things including reason - see my last few posts - and many ot...

Perhaps there is something because it is possible for there to be something. Much the same argument as above...

See my post here - https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/8779/turtles-all-the-way-down-in-physics

Draw a circle in ink. You now have two things, substance/ink and form/circle. If there are two things you can separate them - that is, if the circle, ...

It is not a supposition that form/contingency, must have substance, otherwise the universe is an abstraction. It is a deduction. There can be no prope...

God is substance. One of the most difficult questions in philosophy is why there is something rather than nothing. We don't know why or how but we kno...

By God and as a home for creation. God is not going to force faith on anyone. To do that would be to destroy free will. There is no need for God to sh...

There are many arguments based on a reasonable assessment of the situation we find ourselves in. Eg the cosmological argument, the fine tuning argumen...

You cannot seriously compare theism to flat earthism. Some of the best minds in history have presented very reasonably arguments for theism. It is a r...

It is not temporal causal relationships that matter. The question 'What came before the beginning of time?' is almost trivial. Physical Time, like any...

Something I wrote some time ago... One of the most intractable questions in philosophy is Why is there something rather than nothing? Very little prog...

What matters is that there is an initial substance. Contingent things are properties of that substance. As I said, first steps first. What I'm trying ...

Yes, graphite, being a physical substance, is a property or is contingent. Maybe it is. If energy, as we define it, is contingent upon some deeper sub...

Well, if that's the argument it is wrong. Many mystics have known God's Presence. Contingent things are essentially properties. A property depends on ...

Faith also teaches that it is possible to know God. So 'unknowable' must be qualified. Faith says that it is possible to know God as a person but that...

Contingent means there must be a preceding substance. For example, matter cannot exist without the preexistence of energy. It is not possible to have ...

That is only true for non theists. Theists would disagree. So flat-out atheism must assert theists are misguided/deluded and that claim cannot be conv...

To start with, the definition of God as the source of all contingent things is sufficient for 'belief in God' and sufficient for a simple definition o...

The so called laws are not separate from nature. They are merely a description of nature. The electron is not obeying a law that is imposed on it from...

There is a difference between nothing and no-thing. Nothingness is just that, no space or time or energy or God or creation. No-thing is no formed thi...

I'll definitely check that one out. Thanks.

If I understand you correctly, you are saying "the set of all sets which are not subsets of themselves" is necessarily a set. But it turns out that it...

Yes, this is the difficulty with notation but it is really just a notational wrinkle. You can rename the set X' and you have it. All that is required ...

I've had great difficulty in this thread with notation but the concept I'm trying to define is simple, namely X\X. Suppose set A = {a, b} the subsets ...

I don't know enough to say but as far as I can see this question can be resolved with simple set theory alone - if my ideas are coherent that is. The ...