T_Clark

After the discussion yesterday, I thought about this subject a lot, asking myself questions. The article you linked answered them all. Good article. T...

Just looked this up in Wikipedia: The sum of the angles of a triangle on a sphere is 180°(1 + 4f), where f is the fraction of the sphere's surface tha...

Do you mean a three-dimensional spherical surface? I don't have much experience at 3D geometry, but I don't think the flat-lander would be able to kno...

I believe I am the poster being referenced here. The thread was my "Ad Hominem, Ad Schominem," which I think was a good one. It ended two months ago. ...

Many, including me, include epistemology in metaphysics. It doesn't make sense for them to be separate. In my understanding, ontology and epistemology...

Lesser known Latin phrases: Scio te esse, sed quid sum. - I know you are, but what am I? Semper ubum sub ubum - Always wear underwear Veni, vidi, vici...

I had never heard that term before. Thanks for the education. Actually, for me, this is a more interesting entry into the subject of knowledge than th...

Seems to me there are a lot of different issues to be discussed under the subject of "Coronavirus." Political, ethical, scientific, psychological. Giv...

Shhhhhh. I know sometimes it's hard for old folks to remember we shouldn't say everything we think out loud.

The way a crow Shook down on me A dust of snow From a hemlock tree Has given my heart a change of mood And saved some part of a day I had rued.

Nothing like a little misogyny to lighten up the mood.

Sometimes, when I disagree with my wife and she's pissed at me, she says "That's right, I'm a liar." I say, "No, you're just wrong."

You're right. I overstated the case. In this case, that's a sin for someone who sometimes calls himself a pragmatist. I'll restate: On a practical lev...

Ultimately, what value do facts and the truth have other than providing information to allow making effective decisions?

I'm ok with some of this, although I take a more pragmatic, less cynical, view. It's not that I want to "further my agenda." It's that I need to make ...

It is undeniable that there is uncertainty in everything we call a fact. No matter how well-established it is, it might turn out not to be true. I'm n...

Facts become knowledge when they are needed. When they are used. You can't know whether or not a piece of information has been adequately justified un...

Is there a way of blocking posters we'd rather not hear from anymore?

And welcome to the forum.

Seems to me you are equating abstraction with generalization. Are they the same thing? I don't think so, but I'm not sure. I think the real generaliza...

You're kind of a nasty arguer, snotty and condescending. Insulting. I've looked at some of your other posts so I know it's not just with me. It's kind...

Aww. Geez. There you go getting all agitated and angry again. We should really stop having these discussions if they're going to upset you so much.

This is exactly the kind of rhetoric that lead to the persecution of intellectuals in the Third Reich.

The only way the D-K effect is meaningful is if a person's competence is a personal characteristic with some more or less independent existence. Here ...

Nunh unh. This is a flat out falsehood. I quote: All in all, I think my response was much cleverer than yours. Did you notice how I accused you of bei...

I already explained it. It's just because.

The underlying, absolutely radical, meaning of "Origin of Species" is that life, evolution, and, by extension everything else, are not for anything. T...

He was banned by the citizens of Athens using hemlock.

It is bullshit because 1) it is often, usually, used to add a patina of reason to a poorly-thought-through criticism. 2) Many people who use the term ...

This is baloney. I was an engineer for 30 years. Before that, I was a cabinetmaker for 10. I knew who was good at what they did and who was not. It's ...

"Dunning Kruger" is just another example of bullshit jargon replacing focused thought, just like the logical fallacy fallacies. It's just another way ...

@"Noble Dust" Socrates was banned.

I left it around here somewhere, Dusty.

It is my understanding that Nietzsche did not speak or write English. I've also heard that he was computer illiterate.

I whine and complain about the needless tangle of words with which western philosophy ties up important philosophical issues. None is sillier or more ...

To the extent that it exists, the source of the separation of church and state in the US is from the First Amendment to the Constitution, in particula...

Yes...well. Ahem.

I have sometimes been critical of moderators' decisions in the past. It was not my intention to be critical in my post this time. I was laying out wha...

Smoochy, smoochy.

Does anyone still think that JTB is a useful way of thinking about knowledge?

For me, the main criteria by which a member's value to the forum can be measured is by a body of quality posts and discussions built up over time. Onc...

Hope for you as a valuable, contributing member of our community.

I've looked over some of your discussions and posts. In general, they're pretty substantive. Perhaps there is hope for you.

Thanks.

True generosity is not performed with the expectation of gratitude. Which is not to say that showing gratitude is not important. It is.

There's no reason people can't have more than one reason for the things they do.

When I was a kid, the local drugstore made all its sodas from syrup and soda water, including coke and root beer. Add some cherry syrup and you get ch...

The difference between an exemplar and an avatar..

And just to show that philosophy does have an impact on my everyday life, I bought a Dr. Pepper at the Deli today. I'm drinking it now.

No, no. Your just having a flashback memory of "Smokey and the Bandit." That's the one where Burt Reynolds played my father and Sally Field played my ...