T_Clark

If you buy the idea that philosophy can help guide us on the path to salvation, which I do, then which philosophy you pick can be important. I find th...

The idea of suffering is at the heart of Buddhism. The first of the Four Noble Truths in Tibetan Buddhism is the truth of suffering. There's no way ar...

I look forward to your next post, as usual. Generally it takes till your third or fourth post in a thread before you leave me behind. I'll try to keep...

To get all meta, one problem with this scenario is that the speed of light would be the same in this universe as it would be in ours. Since all intera...

Love the story, although I said "I should notify @"Baden", fdrake has finally snapped. We've been expecting that." Then I was relieved to find you bac...

This just came to mind. It was probably my favorite thread in all the time I've been on the forum - Beautiful Things. Even tough I started it, I found...

I think we've taken this discussion as far as we can. I feel that I've made a good case for my position. I'm not sure I can do better. You're unconvin...

One thing you should definitely do is go directly to the source and not depend on what someone else says Plato said. When I go to an original source o...

I will try to spell it right from now on. A reasonable request. I read the entry in Wikipedia. As you suggested, I also read the first several and the...

This is deeply ironic. Of course he has to rigorously define the problem. You and Lauden complain about this so-called "demarcation problem" but you a...

As I've discussed, I believe there is a clear, justified distinction and I've tried to describe it. Saying something is not scientific is not saying i...

Then the astrophysicist would have to answer these questions: Do you agree with the definition of "science" given? If not, we'll have to negotiate a n...

This confuses me. I can see it mattering if a statement is true or if it is adequately justified and documented, but I don't see why it would matter i...

Been thinking about this more. Philosophy has lots of laws and principles: Law of the excluded middle T Clark is always right Law of non-contradiction...

I think you're probably wrong about wolves, but I'm not sure. Other animals perhaps - chimps, crows, dolphins?

I disagree. The thing that gives science it's power, makes it science, is that it's systematic when most human thought isn't. Science is stuff we've c...

Maybe we mean different things when we say "drawing lines." For me, they are drawn using words and symbols. It's a mental practice. We create things w...

What I meant is that we draw some of the lines we draw because of the way our brains and minds have evolved. The way they are structured. We are not a...

That's where I live too. Except that's not what science is. You can't leave out "systematic," it's what makes it science instead of "stuff I know." It...

I also am an engineer. And, sure, a lot of philosophy is crap. Most? Probably. All I can say is, if you can't find something of value in it, try somet...

There you go, you've summarized all of philosophy in two sentences. We can shut down the forum now. @"Baden" - you can turn off the lights now. Yeah, ...

Well written and well thought through. I only have a few thoughts right now: I'm not sure we have any choice. It's what we do. You can argue where the...

This is what's called "the hard problem of consciousness." It is discussed here often. I checked, there are currently three or four active threads whe...

Let's talk about science for a minute. What is it? (from various places on the web). The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systemat...

This is a good thread. In the past, I've shared your frustration with people who are quick to drop philosopher's names as if that answers any question...

This is a great post. I have posted similar thoughts many times, but I don't think I've done it as well as you have.

Lao Tzu wrote: The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao The name that can be named is not the eternal Name. The unnamable is the eternally real...

You’re not a small-p pragmatist. If you were, you would call it small-p pragmatism.

That's because you're not one. Those of us who are, do.

I have been called a Pragmatist. I have called myself a small-p pragmatist. What I am is a T Clarkist. I calls em like I sees em. I don't reject other...

There is a sense in which words bring the universe into existence. Before that, there is something unnamed which isn't really anything at all. Trees a...

I agree. Natural or scientific laws are abstract descriptions of how the universe behaves. It doesn't have to, it just does. I looked on the web but c...

Ok, ok. Rewrite. "I can't trust them to understand the value of other people." or "I can't trust them to understand what I consider the true value of ...

Isn't this "I think, therefore I am?" It is my understanding that Descartes was trying to decide what the absolute minimum undeniable truth is. I agre...

This whole issue is one of human value, not truth. It is only true that all humans are persons in the sense we are talking about because we have decid...

I used this quote from Stephen Jay Gould recently in a different thread. Thanks for the chance to use it again: “In science, ‘fact’ can only mean ‘con...

I liked your idea that a person is someone worthy of moral consideration. Now I'm thinking it doesn't really work. Dogs are not persons, but they are ...

Saying individual people matter is a statement of human value. We are social animals and we like to hang around with each other. In general, I think t...

If you really think that fictional characters are persons, i.e. as you said, are worthy of moral consideration, then I think you mean something comple...

This seems like a very dangerous idea to me. Saying humans are to be valued in the same manner as spiders may increase the respect paid to animals, bu...

The fertilized egg, at the moment of fertilization, has all the material needed to create a fully functioning human being. To me, it's not unreasonabl...

I don't think that's fair. I am not a member of any religion and don't have any beliefs in a specific God, but I don't think saying personhood begins ...

I have been diagnosed with Type 2 Bipolar Disorder. That's less intense and debilitating than Type 1, which is what used to be called "manic depressiv...

A couple of definitions of "sentience:" Feeling or sensation as distinguished from perception and thought Sentience is the capacity to feel, perceive ...

I think there's a pretty good chance that @"Baden" banned your computer. You should check with him.

I think you'll find that many (most?) people will disagree with this. It certainly isn't true for me.

I agree that a fertilized ovum is not a person, but many people do not. So, it's clear to you and me, but not to everyone. I'm not trying to be cute, ...

Many anti-natalists, e.g. @"schopenhauer1" here on the forum, do not propose legally enforcing their principles. The greatest experiment in anti-natal...

Germany let in more than 1,000,000. The US wouldn't let in 10,000. Well, we sure turned the whole middle east into a shit hole. Now Bolton and Trump w...

Here's what I said in my previous post: That's all I said. You seem to have taken great offense at Collingwood's essay. Is was not my intent to start ...