For the reasons I gave - that ‘metaphysics’ was devised in respect of Aristotle, and it has a meaning in that context. Which is not to say ‘Aristotle ...
The discussion has to be related to Aristotelian metaphysics in some way. That’s where I found Edward Feser’s writing useful. Yes, he’s probably a stu...
What about intelligence? Or mind? Where does that fit into the picture? Is it ‘a product of’ energy? I think not. I tend towards the view that things ...
I take a keen interest in US politics - son lives there - but I can’t see how the Democratic Party could have done anything other than what it has don...
:lol: I agree with your analysis. It's ridiculous how ideological it became in the USA. Stupidity has far to much sway in America. I blame it on mass ...
What is the point of the question? Why is its solidity an issue? I think that it will remain solid - hope so, I’m eating lunch on it whilst typing thi...
If it's an indulgence, then it is to be avoided, but the problem is, Austin is treating philosophy as an indulgence, to be dissipated by a bit of plai...
Austin wants to evade the problems of philosophy, and he does so by trivialising them. The metaphorical 'table' or 'tree' or 'apple' is a stand-in for...
The risks from being vaccinated are demonstrably far smaller than the risks associated with getting the disease. I put anti-vax on the same footing as...
But then, how to account for the Putnam-Quine article? It is replete with gems, such as: And then the clincher: That 'special, non-sensory capacity' i...
What I said was that materialism must reject anything that is ‘real but incorporeal’, which it must do, by definition. So if number is real, but not m...
Philosophy has a common border with both science and religion while being distinct from either. Christianity tried to drag it into its territory, a lo...
I believe that mathematical Platonism is less prevalent in academia than other philosophies such as fictionalism. And from what I’m saying, nominalism...
As you yourself have noted in other contexts, fish have never heard of water. In the context in which I quoted it, I was referring to the 'Enlightenme...
To get a perspective on what the question means in philosophy, I'm convinced you have to start with Parmenides, and then with Plato's dialogue of that...
I read HWP in the summer before starting philosophy classes. I noticed his comments on quantum physics in his concluding chapter - matter was becoming...
I am reminded of the well-known Bertrand Russell quote - ‘ Physics is mathematical not because we know so much about the physical world, but because w...
There's an interesting review of of Lawrence Krauss' book A Universe from Nothing which is relevant to this debate. In that book, Krauss attempts to a...
Actually there's been a bit of a sea change in that respect. My first Prof. of Religious Studies was old school - religion was a phenomenon to be stud...
Yes, quite true! But, we have to find a way. (Hence my name!) There are many factors that will undermine that, one of which is making it bigger than i...
I think there’s an obvious disparity between the imagery and tropes of the Bible and post-industrial culture. All of the imagery around sheep and fiel...
Interesting that David Hume was familiar with Pyrrho at all. Interesting essay on that topic here (subtitled David Hume, the Buddha, and a search for ...
Well, there are those who think the speed of light changes over time, and that at least some of what we understand as scientific laws are 'habits of n...
I'm not particularly interested in trying to explain it. I'm exploring the symbolic and allegorical dimensions of religious ideas in the light of phil...
I will never tire of pointing to Pierre Hadot in respect of this. (oh no! Yet another book!) Bolds added. That point is often an obstacle. He is speak...
A reliable source on the subject is Walter Isaacson's recent bio, Einstein: His Life and Universe, Chapter 17 'Einstein's God'. A relevant Einstein qu...
Except for the unfortunate fact that Rovelli still maintains physicalism. I say this is wrong. Physical things don't observe, make judgements, or take...
It interferes with the understanding. Much of what was best in ancient philosophy was absorbed into Christian theology, and then became rejected along...
I learned from reading about The Inklings (the group of friends including Tolkien, C S Lewis and others) that Tolkien attended Mass every day. And tha...
One thing that can be noted is the way the politics often trumps the science, especially in respect of the COVID epidemic. The arguments about vaccina...
The ancients didn't use the term 'emotions'. As I said, they talked in terms of subduing the passions, which is something you never read of in modern ...
Not 'some strange reason'. Part of 'the Enlightenment'. You'll actually find many cogent criticism of that in 'critical theory' - Adorno, Horkheimer, ...
Notice the emphasis in those texts in 'subduing the passions'. You never hear about that in modern psychology. The economic order relies on exploiting...
Such a question can only be understood by framing it in terms of 'domains of discourse'. In different domains, it has different meanings, and I don't ...
The reference to 'species' is significant, because it implies an essentially biological perspective. Which in turn suggest that you're wanting a natur...
Including yours. Incidentally as we’re on the topic, I was fortuitously offered a COVID jab when I went to a medical center on other business in late ...
They're not the only two alternatives, but I'll let it go. //edit// what I mean to say is that science is no gaurantor of wisdom. It is wise to apply ...
What it means is that it is perfectly feasible for science to generate delusions as easily as to discover truths. There might be widely-entertained sc...
Although I have to add something to what i wrote above, I think I was being ingratiating. I do seriously think that science as currently construed cou...
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