Marchesk

Thing is that the problem of universals applies to fundamental constituents as much as it does complex objects like trees. What makes a neutrino a neu...

Ah well, okay. I wonder how a Platonist might go about defending their position. Well, what if the universe is inherently mathematical, as Max Tegmark...

And what distinguishes that line of argument from mere existence by definition? We can apply bruteness to anything we like and then when challenged, j...

Back to this again. Why do physicists need abstractions to make sense of particulars? What is it about those particulars which leads to abstract conce...

From doing some reading, I'm able to clarify my response. Universals exist if the same properties and relations exist among particulars. The exact sam...

Maybe, but it's the abstraction being a requirement part that worries me. What you're saying is that reality has no need for our abstractions. They ar...

But the concept matter is abstracting over all instances of matter, which are particulars that have the commonality of rest mass. So physics, while be...

That tends to be what I think, but I won't deny there are moments of intense pleasure, or just feeling real good after feeling crappy where I think to...

It doesn't, if to be real is to be a mind-independent thing, where thing is a particular. But independent just means it doesn't depend on us thinking ...

Okay, so what is the Y for particulars? Particulars are a real ____?

But the concepts "matter", "spacetime", "atoms", etc are abstractions over particular instances. Take time, for example. It is an abstraction from var...

But I didn't ask if universals are "things". I stated that they are real if they exist independent of us. Materialists would say yes. But "particular"...

To be is to be perceived, which makes things mind-dependent, yes? I brought that up because one can deny that particulars are real, and therefore, wha...

Because all of our scientific concepts make heavy use of universals. Matter, spacetime, atoms, etc are all universals. So is DNA, species, evolution, ...

Those are good points. The context is hedonism and TGW's comments on it. So the good is pleasure and the bad is pain. Therefore living well must have ...

I'm not asking that. I'm asking whether they are something we cooked up as part of our making sense of the world, or whether they exist somehow indepe...

Yeah, but it's important to use words precisely in these kind of discussions, or mass confusion results. Realism in philosophy denotes mind-independen...

Another way to frame the universal debate is to ask how God would view the universe if nominalism is the case. Because then it's just particulars, and...

Problem is, those are universals. You're abstracting over the entire cosmos to derive "space", and over all rate of change to denote "time", and the "...

For universals to be real, they must have a mind-independent existence. That's what realism essentially means. X is real if it does not depend in some...

Sure it is, otherwise, what's the point in having ethics? That we don't always live up to our ethical standards is a different matter. But it can and ...

Assuming that what I'm going to do isn't influenced by what I think I should do. Which it is, for everyone but sociopaths.

We suffer because we're animals with nervous systems.

Pain can be suffering. I guess it depends on the degree and the significance. I can feel discomfort going for a long walk, but I wouldn't consider tha...

It's like the difference between having to work a job you hate to make ends meet, and having a career that you love. Doing work that you're passionate...

I agree with BC. It's not pain or the striving of the will that causes suffering, it's when you lose purpose and become hopeless. It's the feeling tha...

Actually I have a better answer. You can think of it as verbal sparring. People sharpen up their positions going toe to toe with each other. And in th...

So many questions! Personally, I like to argue topics that interest me. Feuding happens sometimes with certain posters as a result. Particularly if yo...

Really? That's answering a question with a question.

Easy. You tell the person they asked the wrong question, or phrased it incorrectly.

So you expect people to be different just because the topic is philosophy? (That's a rhetorical question). Is it? Is that what professional philosophe...

I already gave you an answer. You don't like it, okay. *shrug*

Also, I'd like to point out that your question was an attempt at defending your position by pressing mine. But I didn't really ignore your question. I...

LOL, because your question missed the point, as does your complaint. Most online discussions aren't simply an exchange of information and viewpoints (...

I said "try to win", since I'm referring to your average contentious discussion anywhere online. Try, because there isn't really winning, not in the o...

I would say the essence of arguing is trying to win the argument, usually because you think your position is right, and the opposing one is wrong.

Maybe you miss the part where people like to argue.

Is that like saying that there is no feeling of being in love, but just something you say? Anyway, I do feel it and I say it to myself when I do. And ...

But I don't need to do that to feel like life is worth living. That stems from how I feel, which admittedly I don't always feel good about life, and I...

Because you're arguing about the subjective state of other people. You're claiming that life can't be worth living to them, even though they disagree ...

Feeling good, interested, motivated, like life has a purpose, looking forward to things, enjoying other people, etc. It could include joy, flow, inten...

Fortunately, I never made such an argument. Yeah, life has real problems. We suffer at times. Okay. The question is, does that make life not worth liv...

So you think there is an objective, universal truth to be had here? That's very odd for someone who values the Cyrenaics. I never claimed that anyone ...

Because we're talking about how an individual values their life. Sure, the pessimist can point out the bad things about life, but what if the individu...

A value judgement is being made. What else is it but an opinion? My life is worth living or my life is not, or it's a mix between the two. It's an opi...

Sure, the pessimist is right about those problems, but the big problem for their position is that a judgement is being made about the value of life, a...

Exactly. The pessimist seems convinced that the rest of us are lying to ourselves because we don't agree that life is so awful. But that's a really po...

If there is a world, then there is a problem of perception. Get rid of the world and you can dispense with the problem of perception. Problem with tha...

I guess it would be. It's just something interesting I heard on NPR.

Only if you happen to agree that there is no world.