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PeterJones

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You make a good point. I spoke sloppily. They are undecidable if one assumes that their extreme answers are an instance of A/not-A. For a neutral theo...
October 15, 2023 at 11:58
Clearly seen by you and me perhaps, and Kant and most philosophers, but apparently it's not obvious to everyone. I suppose someone can believe that tw...
October 15, 2023 at 11:25
Yes, but the approach is different. .
October 15, 2023 at 11:21
I'm not sure what this post is for. I think we should bring our discussion to a close,. but I'll reply to your other posts first.
October 15, 2023 at 11:19
You clearly don't believe this, given your views on experience. . .
October 15, 2023 at 11:16
This is the issue on which I've been trying and failing to convince you. You seem to prefer to chat about opinions and conjectures. . .
October 15, 2023 at 11:14
Okay. Your a realist. I seem unable to persuade you to examine the facts of philosophy so there's no way I;m going to be able to change your mind. . .
October 15, 2023 at 11:11
What metaphor? That the space-time world is unreal (in a specific sense) is a result of analysis, not a metaphor.or anything to so with your attitude.
October 15, 2023 at 11:07
If you cannot conceded that metaphysical questions are undecidable and feel it;s just my opinion then there will be no purpose in our talking about me...
October 15, 2023 at 11:03
Yes, this is an issue. But the work is not for everyone.
October 15, 2023 at 10:58
That metaphysical questions are undecidable is not a view any more than that F=MA is a view. .
October 14, 2023 at 12:13
I'd put Heidegger in a different class to Wittgenstein. I can't make head or tail of the Tractatus but the later Philosophical Investigations are naiv...
October 14, 2023 at 12:09
I have no comprehension of the mathematics and for philosophy it's not necessary to know more than that it works. The point is his reduction of form t...
October 14, 2023 at 11:45
Hmm. I see no reason to make this assumption.It;s something to work out or explore, not to preempt with assumptions. Your realisation of its unreality...
October 14, 2023 at 11:20
Yes. Nobody can understand philosophy for us. But what I;m suggesting is that you don't need to be a great thinker to do this. One just has to take ac...
October 14, 2023 at 11:02
I suppose you could say it;s a positive claim, but it;s not a positive metaphysical statement. Whatever it is it's a verifiable and demonstrable fact....
October 14, 2023 at 10:50
I can agree with this. A positivism that dismisses metaphysics as meaningless is not so much extreme as simply wrong.
October 14, 2023 at 10:47
They are philosophy, yes, but look where it gets the people who take this approach. Good point about mathematics. It is this 'hygene' that I'm advocat...
October 14, 2023 at 10:44
This is exactly the sort of approach that I would warn everybody to avoid. If we do philosophy like this we will become lost forever in a muddle of id...
October 13, 2023 at 12:24
There are a few exceptions, of course, but for most philosophers it has only become practically possible to study this area of knowledge in recent tim...
October 13, 2023 at 12:12
Unless one is a meditative practitioner It would impossible to sort these issues out without a close study of metaphysics, and this would mean startin...
October 12, 2023 at 13:58
Eckhart is very clear. He states they are 'literally nothing'. They are something as appearances, of course, but for an ultimate analysis they are not...
October 12, 2023 at 13:43
I see this as an opinion since you cannot prove it. I would suggest it's an unnecessary assumption,and that it's best not to make it. Cartesian doubt ...
October 12, 2023 at 13:04
All this is very fair. I should have been more careful. Russell did express uncertainty as to whether Wittgenstein was a genius or a fool, and it's tr...
October 12, 2023 at 12:58
I appreciate that you were very polite about it, but it seems a bit brutal to just stop talking without an explanation. Could you just quote the words...
October 11, 2023 at 11:09
I'd say it's the only way to do business. I stated that metaphysical questions are undecidable. What else can this forum be for than exploring the fac...
October 10, 2023 at 14:18
Exactly! And no-thing is precisely what we need as the ultimate for a systematic fundamental theory. Again, Kant proves this. At any rate, mysticism w...
October 10, 2023 at 12:14
Because it's a matter of logic and experience. Kant famously makes the case. Even in modern astrophysics this is recognised, hence Victor Stenger's id...
October 10, 2023 at 12:06
Sorry to be dense, but I don't know what this means. I don't nee to work hard to justify what I said. I was agreeing with just about every philosopher...
October 10, 2023 at 12:00
You'll find that your view does not allow you to make sense of metaphysics or consciousness. You call this unchanging reality the 'classical understan...
October 10, 2023 at 11:00
Good point. But it;s not a definition. It;s a result of analysis. A fundamental theory must reduce space-time, motion and change. Heraclitus points ou...
October 10, 2023 at 10:45
I like Emerson also. Nietzsche is a great thinker but Emerson is nearer the mark for me.
October 10, 2023 at 10:25
It is simply a fact. All selective conclusions about the world as a whole are undecidable. This is demonstrable and old news. Figuring out what it imp...
October 10, 2023 at 10:21
Yep. I'd go along with that.
October 10, 2023 at 10:11
Aha. I can show you how to untangle it. It requires knowing only two or three vital facts. If you know that all metaphysical questions are undecidable...
October 09, 2023 at 21:30
Nicely put. Indra's Net is a wonderful metaphor.
October 09, 2023 at 21:23
I found your post interesting but couldn't quite understand it. For the mystic time and change would not really exist and this is because they have se...
October 09, 2023 at 21:22
I also believe in the value of analysis, since although it cannot take us all the way to an understanding it clearly signposts what it is we need to u...
October 09, 2023 at 12:42
In this case we're on the same page. Waves on the ocean or sparks of the divine are common metaphors for our situation as individuals. “Dost thou reck...
October 09, 2023 at 12:36
I expect the book you mention is good in its way, but with the possible exception Augustine your post mentions no philosophers who understood mysticis...
October 09, 2023 at 12:31
Many thanks for the book recommendation. It looks like a rare book and a much needed one.
October 09, 2023 at 12:15
It's wonderful to talk to someone so thoughtful and open minded.
October 08, 2023 at 17:45
Under analysis the phenomena of this world are found to be empty of substance or essence. This is not a metaphysical speculation bur a verifiable fact...
October 08, 2023 at 17:43
Okay. But in this case how do you explain the odd fact that the mystics have the only metaphysical theory that works? All others are rejected by analy...
October 08, 2023 at 16:48
Hmm. I'd say it is the only way to go. No other idea allows us to create a fundamental theory. The crucial idea here is the principle of nonduality an...
October 08, 2023 at 16:42
Nor me. I feel this is his biggest mistake. It leads him to the view we can know nothing about ultimate reality, which is NOt a logical result. But th...
October 08, 2023 at 16:38
But I can't follow the proof. Does this mean I can never know an example of G? I'd say computing is mathematics, so I'm not sure this is a valid examp...
October 08, 2023 at 16:25
Yrs, but should I believe them? They simply don't seem to know.
October 08, 2023 at 14:01
Agreed in respect of discursive philosophers. For practitioners their authority is direct experience and not speculation. . This is interesting. Do yo...
October 08, 2023 at 13:58
I don't know. I wish a mathematician would tell me but they don't seem to know either/ .
October 08, 2023 at 13:34