Wayfarer

That is Nancy Cartwright's point - that the concept of 'laws' doesn't really make sense without God. But you did say already: So if it has any organis...

Agree. It is an indisputable fact that through mathematical physics, many things have been discovered which could never have been foreseen by any othe...

Well, as I said, it's scandalous, in that there are many huge generalisations in it and it would never stand up in the court of refereed journal artic...

How times have changed.

However, you're overlooking the fact that: So, we all should be grateful that Rich remembered to get up today, and consequently that the solar system ...

I would say anyone who votes for Kant as being 'the most over-rated philosopher' is in a very exclusive club indeed.

I think that gnosticism was suppressed in large measure, because it's much easier to control believers than to impart higher knowledge. There is a rea...

Thomas is a very interesting character. I don't know if you're aware of the significance of Thomas in respect of the discovery of the Gnostic Gospels,...

I want to say that (1) the guy who is continuously shown to be a liar, is, in fact, a liar, and (2) the fact that there is some degree of spin involve...

Do processes determine the laws, or are what we describe as 'laws' simply a generalisation of processes? And, if such processes, or laws, were constan...

I think that ought to be interpreted in context, and not applied willy-nilly to any kind of circumstance, which gives rise to all kinds of relativisti...

Generally I argue against reductionism and philosophical materialism - so, no. I can see the sense of methodological naturalism, which amounts to the ...

No, I wasn't saying that 7 is 'a law'. The reference was an ironic response to your statement 'mathematics is constantly changing'. There is a sense i...

I remember you from another Forum, about five years back. Your posts haven't changed at all. ;-)

So, sooner or later, 7 will equal 6? Just a matter of time?

Sorry, I didn't want to be hostile but what is happening is scary, in my opinion. My social circle and friends are genuinely frightened of what Trump ...

Sorry for being touchy. With respect to the cyclical nature of reality, I think it is one among many speculative ideas being considered. After all, if...

Pity that it has to come down to ad hominems, isn't it? I think it's a near-certainty that the universe will turn out to be a cyclical process of expa...

I think it's important to understand why mathematical laws were taken to represent 'timeless truths' in the beginning of the Western tradition. If you...

I wonder how much of this enterprise is the attempt, in Stephen Hawking's words, to know 'the mind of God'. HIstorically, the notion of 'laws of natur...

Virtues sometimes turn into their opposites. It's happened in plenty of religious cultures. Perfectly agree! America was founded on the principles of ...

By lone wolves. Well I don't believe it. But I think there really was a conspiracy, to get people to believe that it was done by the US, and its been ...

Yeah, but do you believe that? You yourself can post anything you like on this forum. OK, since Snowden, we know that much of what is said, is being m...

I don't see that as a lie, and I'm not American. But America is at least founded on moral principles, even if they're obviously compromised in practic...

Ah yes, Woody Allen, now you mention it I remember the quote. I've been watching a few of his movies again lately. On PEL I'm reading the essay on whe...

Your posts are invariably witty and often insightful, but if you're a celeb, you hide it well. X-)

Partially Examined Life seems a really good site, been perusing some of their articles of late. Could be some synergy between the two sites.

Notice Trump's response to the legal challenge to his Executive Order - casting doubt on the integrity of the judge in question, by calling him a 'so-...

What about those who kill in the name of religion? Do you think that means God encourages murder?

(Y)

There are things that could happen that could trigger the collapse of the Western economic order. It damn near happened in 2008 - most people don't re...

I don't think it's against the US, but the catastrophe of Trump having been elected. The President of the US has the power to literally destroy the wo...

I think that, under the circumstances, Turnbull's muted response was the best one. If he had sounded off or played to the gallery, Trump would be been...

He has to see it on television in order to understand it. The Democrats ought to rapidly produce a 'Judge Judy'-type show, and then get all the charac...

Sure - I think it's a worthy topic, if that is your area of interest.

Mind-body medicine has some interesting clues. Placebo effects, psychosomatic illnesses. There are even cases where physical symptoms manifest as a co...

The underlying problem with many discussion of 'substance dualism' is in the interpretation of what early modern philosophers (Liebniz, Spinoza, Desca...

Unfortunately for you, that is a general argument. It's really no different to saying 'generalisations are false', which is, of course, a generalisati...

The 'extreme nominalist' would have terrible trouble making a general argument.

I do beg your pardon. X-)

actually have to say as an amateur Kantian I think Willows post is OK

According to Christians, that's exactly what the God of Abraham did, in the person of Jesus Christ. I'm not saying you have to believe it, but you oug...

or, you might believe you had thrown one at me. How could you tell the difference?

I'd rather be stoned. X-)

BY PICKING UP A STONE AND THROWING IT AT YOUR FACE.

not a legitimate comparison

I've answered that question twice already. In the case of atomic physics, there is evidence in the form of traces, imprints on film or in bubble-chamb...

Clearly you don't understand what you're quoting, so unless you care to try explain it further, I think the discussion is finished.

Nice resource, thanks. I'm not likely to share his overall attitude - he's rather too positivist for my liking - but he's an exceptionally clear write...

There are centuries of medical trial data, about the effectiveness of medicine, which have measurable consequences in terms of healing illnesses. Data...