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Exactly. Which is why a first cause is a cause which has no prior cause for its own existence. The universe cannot always have existed co-temporally a...
February 02, 2024 at 16:46
The problem here is you are looking at the numbers only, yet including emotional implicit outcomes that would likely not align with the numbers. For e...
February 02, 2024 at 16:24
It is my experience in philosophy that when you have to bend over backwards and create a convoluted argument why your ultimate goal still holds, its a...
February 02, 2024 at 15:56
Do you understand that if there is something which caused the Big Bang, then the Big Bang is not a first cause? A first cause is not an opinion or bel...
February 02, 2024 at 15:29
Your point has largely been, "Maybe there's a prior cause to the first cause." This is what I'm addressing. I have not seen a concrete example that de...
February 02, 2024 at 15:24
I have not been intending to use reason as a cause, but as an explanation. Of why "X" is a cause. I think the problem some people have been having is ...
February 02, 2024 at 15:08
I will clarify with more care. I'm simply using this as an example, not trying to say such a thing actually exists. My point is that there is no way t...
February 02, 2024 at 14:58
A first cause does not have to instantiate motion. A first cause may be already in motion, with again, no prior cause as to what it is in motion. As a...
February 01, 2024 at 15:15
I believe causation is the factual reality of some entity X which explains why some entity Y exists. Thus a first cause would be a Y with no other X e...
February 01, 2024 at 14:32
I know where the information can be found. You have not demonstrated any specific type of other cause, only vague, "maybes". So far the main point is ...
February 01, 2024 at 14:28
Almost certainly. As I've noted before its incredibly difficult to prove something is a first cause. And it would need to be proven. Not believed, not...
February 01, 2024 at 13:48
This is a good point. I appreciate the specific point out to where cause is ambiguous. I have always considered constituents as causes depending on ho...
February 01, 2024 at 13:43
No apology necessary Javra! :)
January 31, 2024 at 21:40
Always nice to see an attempt at epistemology. I would say in general your world 1 and world 2 viewpoints seem sound as an introduction. I don't know ...
January 31, 2024 at 21:38
Yes, we agree on this again. To give a less abstract example, imagine that a photon appeared without prior cause somewhere in the universe, while a sm...
January 31, 2024 at 16:05
Everyone here knows the right thing is to say you would if those people were equal in worth to the world as yourself. It would be another matter if it...
January 31, 2024 at 13:21
If I stated, "The first cause by energy", then of course that leads it open to there being another specific cause like "The first cause by matter". Bu...
January 31, 2024 at 04:37
I don't see it being particularly fraught myself, but I'll define it if need be. Take any set of existence. What caused that set of existence is anyth...
January 30, 2024 at 23:52
Hi Chet! Awesome that you decided to post! Its always a vulnerable position to put yourself out there, but glad you did. :) I have a few starter quest...
January 30, 2024 at 19:56
Yes, my description of a first cause has nothing to do with our observations or measurements. It is the reality of whether there was something prior w...
January 30, 2024 at 15:53
I wouldn't call it deception. I'm not trying to trick anyone, I'm trying to have a conversation to see if what I'm claiming holds upon scrutiny. The w...
January 30, 2024 at 15:50
Much appreciated Banno. He is correct. Which is fine, but how does that apply to the argument? I cover both finite and infinite chains. We don't have ...
January 30, 2024 at 15:44
You are misunderstanding my claim here. I'm defining what a first cause must be. Its just like defining what the term "first" means. I can give exampl...
January 30, 2024 at 15:39
Great points Bob, this is where we can get into the discussion in earnest. Yes, an excellent question. One thing to remember is that the human being t...
January 30, 2024 at 15:20
That still does not explain a first cause. An atom decaying into a refrigerator would have a prior cause of the atom's existence. Its really just the ...
January 29, 2024 at 15:05
I really wish you would stop demeaning the post without anything but a deriding opinion. I have answered your questions and critiques, so I would like...
January 29, 2024 at 12:49
Oh, I never claimed that there was no reason for a first cause. The reason for a first cause is that, "It exists without prior cause." Meaning that th...
January 29, 2024 at 12:44
I've written my own viewpoints on knowledge that I've developed over years here if you're interested. https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/14044/...
January 28, 2024 at 18:06
Correct. Ah, you've made an unknowing contradiction here. That which is productive is something that is useful and good. If you go into the garage and...
January 28, 2024 at 17:28
Hey Metaphysician, I'll address your second post as well. I see it bleeds into my other response to you, so I'll try to address anything that was left...
January 28, 2024 at 16:13
Oh, let me clarify the way I define of knowledge. Knowledge is not truth to me. It is a tool we use to best assess what is most likely to be true with...
January 28, 2024 at 15:53
Then this I need to be clearer. The idea is that a first cause is not separate from the chain but is part of the chain, or the chain itself. A first c...
January 28, 2024 at 15:43
I largely agree. The logic points out that there must be a first cause, but it does not make any claim as to what that first cause might be. There are...
January 27, 2024 at 17:28
This is an interesting idea, but interesting ideas are not proof. With the idea of first causes, anyone can propose an equally competitive idea. For e...
January 27, 2024 at 17:18
No, it is the first cause. Its entire existence is uncaused by anything prior. That's exactly what this is. If the universe is infinitely regressive, ...
January 27, 2024 at 16:51
I'm not intending at all to debate the soul, so lets assume one exists. If free will comes from the soul, then free will is not a first cause. Is the ...
January 26, 2024 at 15:06
I appreciate the history lesson. I was taking a stab in the dark. I probably shouldn't have. :)
January 25, 2024 at 22:25
I don't see any separation between realms, or a loss of causal connectivity. You observe, your mind stores the observation and definition as memory in...
January 25, 2024 at 22:24
We don't get to create the chain. We are not first causes. We can extend the chain into different branches. but we are not existences that formed with...
January 25, 2024 at 22:05
No. What causes the description? The interaction between a human and the link. The chain exists despite our ability or inability to define it. If a tr...
January 25, 2024 at 21:50
Yes, the first cause is its existence. What is the reason why this infinitely regressive chain of causality exists? There is no prior cause for it, it...
January 25, 2024 at 21:41
I meant that there are no existing proven discoveries of anything that is a first cause. No one to my mind, has ever conclusively proven that any "x" ...
January 25, 2024 at 21:17
Oh, I see what you're asking for now. Let me give you your answer and then a bit more. First, I'm not a physicist which is why I linked you the materi...
January 25, 2024 at 21:13
My apologies if I missed an earlier reply! Here's a quick summary of how radioactivity works. https://www.arpansa.gov.au/understanding-radiation/what-...
January 25, 2024 at 16:17
One paradigm shift is likely The Gettier Problem. Knowledge was generally understood to be justified true belief. Then Gettier came in and scuttled al...
January 25, 2024 at 14:55
Yes, a first cause is that which is not caused by something else. It may be difficult to comprehend, but it is logically necessary. No, its just a log...
January 25, 2024 at 14:33
A random event is not about our current ability to measure to predict, it is about a hard logical limitation to predict. A first cause is something se...
January 25, 2024 at 14:25
Hi Metaphysician, good to see you again. :) I think there was a misunderstanding. A first cause is uncaused. Meaning its existence is a purely random ...
January 24, 2024 at 23:11
AmadeusD, especially since Christoffer posted, I see no point in continuing to comment on this issue. He has answered my accusation of a straw man arg...
January 24, 2024 at 19:29
But what is my definition of a first cause? Its that which has no prior cause for its existence. There is nothing beyond reality. Reality is what is. ...
January 24, 2024 at 18:34