Janus

Because we can arbitrarily think of any old selection of objects as a collection. Do we really need to go over this again? The fact that our understan...

Yes, and a good example of that is the realization that arbitrary collections exist only in thought. Then I don't know what you are saying or how it d...

I disagree because your position disqualifies any talk about the objective existence of anything. We are a part of nature, which means that our experi...

What alternative criteria for deciding objective existence would you suggest?

Perhaps in terms of quantum entanglement this is so; but in terms of energetic (gravitational, electromagnetic) physical connection there would be a t...

Yes arbitrariness is on a spectrum, it is not "black and white': there is nothing absolutely arbitrary or non-arbitrary. But it seems reasonable to sa...

There are things such as organisms, planets, stars, land forms, rocks and so on which can be made up of other things. These are not arbitrary grouping...

There is no group over and above the Sun, Moon and Earth themselves, apart from the idea of them as a group, and there is no idea of them as a group a...

There was the Sun, Earth and Moon, but no collection...

Not that I have noticed: perhaps I missed it, so indicate where it has been answered then.

Not that I am aware of, but that doesn't seem at all relevant.

Yes, it sounds a lot like heaven. There would seem to be no logical reason why God could not have created a heavenly physical world if he was omnipote...

We do commonly imagine that the responses of (so-called higher, at least) animals are not mere reflexes, such as seems to be the case with insectivoro...

It is not impossible to imagine a world in which such things do not exist; therefore it is not logically necessary that they should exist (if it is ph...

The sound of the bell, what do you think?

It elicits a response; is that not what you mean by "meaningful"?

There is yet to appear any argument from you to refute. Where have I denied that? "Appropriate behavior" here indicates that it is the predicted behav...

All we know is that the animal has come to habitually respond to the sound. Talk of "connections, "correlations' and "associations" is superfluous and...

How do we know that anything means anything to an animal? We know only because we can observe that they respond to things in appropriate ways. We have...

I don't see any reason to believe that "all meaning is attributed". Do you have an argument to support that contention? I also don't see any need to, ...

So what is "sensation in and of itself" apart from sensory experiences?

I can see a sense in which we can say that objects are dependent on human perception and understanding, and a sense in which we can say that they are ...

So sensation is part of experience? You apparently agree with me that it is, so is sensory experience (the sensation part of experience) not, just as ...

Really? Then quote where I said that experiences are meaningful. And of course, in your usual evasive mode you have failed to answer the question as t...

You assume too much about what my "framework" is. Such presumptuousness is not helpful to discussion. In any case I have defined sensation according t...

If the one questioned thinks the question is poorly conceived or irrelevant or otherwise deficient in whatever way, then the onus is on the one questi...

NOTHING is more fatal to discussion than having questions answered by questions.

What is a sensation if not a sensory experience? I see. I hear, I taste, I smell, I feel; those are sensations, experiences. What is interpreted if no...

Thanks anyway, MU, but I don't eat fairy floss.

It's not as though there is "the real over there" and our senses show it to us "over here": it's the "showing" itself that is real. The physical realm...

Sure, and that's the constraint; that conjecture must be rational, sensible, related to experience or else empty, which would mean no real conjecture ...

Not a free creation of the mind, but a constrained creation of the world, since the mind is also a constrained creation of the world. Poetry might be ...

Ja, hooda thort? :chin:

If you are talking about efficient causation then it makes no sense to say the cause could happen after the event. The very idea of a sequence of even...

Is not the value of the gold or silver merely a perceived value just as with paper currency? A "real asset' is primarily something essential to suppor...

The engines were developed to burn them or to utilize the heat from burning them. The existence of the available fuels led to the research and develop...

I doubt this. I think the discovery and use of fossil fuels, the beneficence of cheap energy, is the main cause of both prosperity and the development...

As amusing as that anecdote might be, I'm afraid I can't see the relevance; could you explain?

There is evidence for the experiences, but not that they are actually cases of divine revelation. It could never be conclusively demonstrated whether ...

I don't think most of what occurs on philosophy forums consists in what I would count as 'doing philosophy'. For me religious beliefs (the publicly sh...

I thought we got on well too, and I still do. I can engage in heated disagreement with you and still respect you in the morning! :grin: I think the on...

So, you envisage (part at least) of metaphysics as a kind of phenomenology of religion? I would agree with that. I have no doubt that is true. Maybe m...

Thanks for the link; that paper looks interesting, although I am not sure if it is available free? I'm outta time now, anyway, so later....

That's true and I agree that such discussion could be constructive for one who has not acknowledged that her beliefs are extra-rational.

I do agree that comparative religion is an important area of study. Although I'm not sure that it or even metaphysics, if based on religious dogma, re...

What I said specifically related to religious dogmas. Sure if you are interested you can investigate other religious dogmas than your own. But there w...

I said there was no philosophical point in discussing religious beliefs with those who do not share them. What would be the point of discussing the fi...

I thought you said you like to discuss different perspectives. I was asking for some examples, and an account of how such a discussion might proceed.

What kinds of things would you like to discuss then? Examples?

Of course it is not possible; @"Jake" is being silly.