Most active questions
51 questions from the last 7 days
18
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12
answers
3k
views
Does it matter whether mathematics is discovered or invented?
What are the implications of whether mathematics is discovered or invented? Either way, would it change how mathematics is done?
- 1,666
7
votes
14
answers
2k
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Is consciousness just an illusion?
If consciousness is merely the product of complex brain processes and chemical reactions, can it truly be said to exist independently of the physical brain? If the mind is purely a byproduct of the ...
- 87
8
votes
15
answers
2k
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Can something exist halfway?
Traditionally, either something exists or it does not. But could there exist something that is between existence and non-existence - e.g. if we take an existence function that returns 0 when something ...
- 197
12
votes
5
answers
2k
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Why is philosophy mostly communicated as essays?
To start with I must confess I am very new to philosophy since I am still in high school. Hence I am very sorry if this seems a stupid question. Throughout my reading of both philosophical works and ...
- 129
5
votes
5
answers
1k
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Some worries regarding possible illusion of introspection
Recent developments in cognitive psychology and neuroscience seems suggest that introspection—our ability to directly access and report on our own mental states—may be fundamentally unreliable or even ...
- 51
6
votes
6
answers
2k
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How, Why do we Experience Time?
The question further is do we experience "Time" or "Passage of Time"?! To move through Time I don't need to move through Space, but even when I am sitting completely still ...
- 1,183
8
votes
7
answers
1k
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Is morality falsifiable?
I was having a conversation with a friend and I was trying to argue that there is no point in asking questions that are unfalsifiable. My friend objected that humans constantly ask what the morally ...
- 430
2
votes
10
answers
1k
views
Is the multiverse a pseudo explanation?
I have noticed that people, whether scientists or not, have posited the idea of a multiverse or many worlds to explain certain things happening in the universe.
For example, the multiverse is posited ...
- 5,289
5
votes
8
answers
681
views
Serious challenges to materialism or physicalism?
I'm a materialist and a physicalist myself, in general and about consciousness in particular. I find both very, very depressing, but frankly uncontestable.
I am, however, wondering whether there are ...
4
votes
5
answers
264
views
Can the whole have regularities represented by physical laws but not the parts?
In science, we seem to have laws that apply to groups of things but not the individual things themselves. Some have used this to suggest that in some sense, the “whole” is more fundamental than the ...
- 5,289
8
votes
3
answers
701
views
If there are set-theoretic multiverses of "possible" worlds, are there set-theoretic "impossible" worlds?
The SEP lists four main types of impossible worlds: impossible ways for worlds to be, general logic violators, classical logic violators, and contradiction realizers. I can easily see how the latter ...
- 2,637
-1
votes
5
answers
177
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Is there a way to formulate a clear moral ideal of perfect and absolute non-racism?
The question is simple, but perhaps some readers don't see how or why difficulties could arise.
If it's common sense that the perfect is often the enemy of the good, then we can consider what you ...
- 326
2
votes
1
answer
173
views
Quantitative assessment of the most well-cited philosopher in the Western philosophy canon
The classic quote (citation: Internet) from Alfred North Whitehead states:
The safest general characterization of the European philosophical
tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to ...
- 2,019
-1
votes
1
answer
119
views
Do I just have to accept Frege's assertion that x³ – 4x = x(x – 4) whatever number we take for x? [closed]
During an address on Function and Object (1) in 1891, Frege says in his explanation of his notion of "value-range of a function":
We have generally:
x³ – 4x = x(x – 4)
whatever number we ...
- 10.8k
2
votes
3
answers
89
views
Is there something inauthentic about committed integrity?
How does committed integrity mean having already made up my mind, when faced with challenges, which seems inauthentic?
A person is subject to many conflicting desires. If one simply acted
at each ...
- 137