General Philosophy

This thought struck me while reading the recent traffic on the subject, so instead of dragging that one off topic, here we are in my default forum (if anyone can think of a better place, feel free to let rip 😉) I mean that philosophically, it seems little more than a semantic exercise; but if we pulled it off politically, then it could liberate millions of prisoner's because we'd understand just how culpable they were and society would be satisfied with a far lower bar, as regards justice. But what could it mean scientifically other than just knowing?

With the recent debates about determinism v some other explanation of everything is a belief in determinism unwise ? I ask this because throughout the entire history of mankind there has never been a time when there was not something known that was unexplained. Even the God-did-it squad can only say GDI, they cannot say why or how he did it so cannot in all honesty say it was or was not determined. Likewise those philosophers and scientists who cleave towards the mechanistic 'clockwork universe' have to admit that they cannot definitely conclude that everything, because if their their best explanation is ' we believe there is an explanation, we just…

Hi there, I have studied logic and found it offers significant practical benefit to me in everyday life. I wondered if other philosophical topics might offer me practical benefits as well. So I started learning about Metaethics. After studying various theories and with no apparent end in sight (and no obvious practical benefit), I thought I might try a different subject so I started reading about epistemology. However, once again it seemed that it was just various theories with no practical benefit to it. At this point it seems to me that the main benefit of studying both metaethics and epistomology would be to 1. Contribute towards our growing knowledge so that we m…

True enlightenment can begin now. We have the force of kindness, the force of truth, the force of understanding, and the force of beauty. Enlightenment equals kindness, truth, understanding, and beauty. Gods work is complete.

How to understand anything and everything. Is it talent or skill that allows people to understand? The answer to me is a bit of both. Low latent inhibition seems to be the theme that appears to me from experience. Low latent inhibition is hard to teach but we can learn from what has been gleaned from those who do have low latent inhibition and who are willing to share what they have seen. Being able to understand anything and everything also is a bit of an art. Which is to say, it can be practiced. The more you do it, the more easily it can become. It is also important to note that to solve, we must also have the right information in our heads. Once we have the right info…

Drawing from the rich history of philosophical inquiry and the ever-evolving landscape of neuroscience, the question of free will versus determinism remains a focal point of academic discussion. Building on past dialogues and incorporating the insights of modern scholars like Daniel Wegner**, what is the prevailing perspective in the field today, and how has the latest research in neuroscience and psychology advanced our comprehension of human agency and decision-making processes? How do recent findings on the neural basis of decision-making and the subconscious factors influencing choices impact the debate on whether individuals possess genuine free will or if their acti…

hello ive always wondered if, 50,000 years ago, 1000 earths were put in the universe, and humans ( just as they were cavemen) were put on all the 1000 earths at the same time would all those hunans end up in the same place…ie invented fire, internet, space flight, cars etcetc

When we don't understand what it means... Discuss

It seems to me that that this question might be resolvable depending upon the response of an AI to something it has not been taught. For example I don't believe a human would have much trouble understanding this One of the earlist proposed uses for AI is as a robot driver. So what would such a driver's response be to the following

This sentence (see the title) has appeared several times recently in this forum. Could somebody please explain to me what it means? I honestly don't understand.

I put this topic here instead of the lounge, because it's a pseudo-joke... I'll start: I get a warm feeling, when I think about the horrendous things Jimmy Saville did to children, by imagining what the god of his victims did to him, when he died before he faced true justice...

What did he mean by the Übermensch?

Hello, my name is Grayson. I am more a scientific person than anything else. So, I don't use slang as much as any other foe. But why do people use slang? What is the evolutionary point of it? I don't know whether I should've put this in philosophy or biology, but treat this as both.

I have heard from people who would rather be anonymous that manifestation is scientifically proven. Is this true? I have no idea. Then my existential crisis kicks in. I would think that everybody sees, and tastes, and has all of their senses different. So, then what color is an apple really? Well, it has no color. It is just photons which don't have a true color. But is the universe real? I don't know, so all I would say is that your brain is the universe. As there is no "true" universe so it makes random crap to make it make sense. We don't know if we are a brain in a jar, making up consciousness so everything can make sense. Therefore, your conscious mind must control s…

This thread is to open a discussion about this quote, its meaning and implications.

I know all words are more words, and therefore, all words are silly. Do you know this? If you don’t, then you believe all words are more than words, and therefore, all words are serious. To believe that, you must say that. When you say that, do you know you prove this? If you don’t, then you don’t know this. When will you know this?

As has been well documented by now, our bodies respond positively to acts of kindness. As noted in the linked article, seratonin, dopamine, and endorphins are released when we are kind, giving us a pleasant feeling when we do something nice for another party. In other words, our bodies provide positive feedback for altruistic behavior. On the other side of the spectrum, we have shame. I will cite a brief excerpt from Building Self Esteem by Joseph Burgo, Ph.D , pg 14/15. As the book further goes on to explain, this provides negative feedback for bad deeds to promote better social behaviors. Taken in aggregate, combined with our capacity to learn and develo…

I'm reminded of a sci-fi video game I played as a child called Wing Commander. It was more than a game really, they produced books and as a result, an entire backstory. The bad guy's of the game were an interesting case study for why Star Trek's prime directive exists. They were on the verge of annihilating themselves as they had just discovered atomic weapons. They were "fortuitously" visited by another race from the stars who were kind enough to give them the ability to travel among the stars. What did the bad guys do? They proceeded to wipe out the visitors and anyone else they came into contact with. One can start to see why the Vulcans were so hesitant to assist the …

I absolutely detest the question; What is the meaning of life? It's just, really poorly worded when you think about it. So I spent a decade or so, trying to just figure out a better question to ask. This is it; What is the nature of our existence? I could go on I guess, but I'd rather just let people sit with the question. As for why "What is the meaning of life?" Is a pretty shite question; that's a whole other thread!

I wanna that if there is no concrete definition or widely agreed upon definition of an abstract concept then what do you do with those that are given by various philosophers throughout time. Do you choose which one to use? For example the terms Philosophy, Environment, Love, Justice, and Equality. I'm pretty sure that it doesn't work in a way like "Oh I think I'll use Plato's definition of Philosophy cause I want to," which in this case is very arbitrary? In a way, it kinda led me to the question of what is real and what is not for all these concepts which only made me more confused.

This may come across as a self-answering question, but here goes: if a robot was able to "convincingly" pass the mirror test, does this prove it has self-awareness? Or would it be simply down to clever programming? In other words, are there limits to the mirror test as it applies to robots? (I've restricted this query to free-standing robots because I'm uncertain how a mainframe computer or AI system could be tested in this corporeal sense). Thanks for reading this post. Any responses would be greatly appreciated.

Freedom of speech is absolutely essential. Everywhere. Even at "private" forums who obviously found a loophole around the cornerstone of the most fundamental and important human right of all. FREEDOM OF SPEECH!. But don't take my word for it. Consider what these people of note had to say on the matter.

Being a science forum, I would think that there are educated people around here. Being that, in theory, there should be people around here who are interested in the truth. "IF" you are one of those people, this isn't the forum to get it. From what I see, this forum is as much about censorship as most other forums out there are. Your utter and complete ignorance outside the realm of science seems to be what this forum is all about. If you don't have the freedom to think, then you are just a slave. If these things don't set well with you, I will tell you one of the things that your masters probably won't allow me to say to you. After all, my username is Disobey. Com…

Not that logic is hell. But I have found that the average political forum views logical thought as hell. And will ban you for using it. For example, let's take a logical look at the topic of "racism." If racism is wrong, what is wrong about it should be easy enough to point out. So that if anybody came along and said something racist, what is wrong with that point of view could be pointed out. Therefore settling the matter. But the vast majority of forums won't let you say racist things. The only logical conclusion as to why is because there is nothing wrong about such statements to be pointed out. So if it isn't wrong, that must mean it is good. While I'm…

I have been to many other forums. Mostly what i run up against is stunning stupidity. I hope things will be different around here. Seeing how this is a science forum. But being good in scientific matters doesn't necessarily mean that there aren't things that even you are wrong about. For one thing, if you are well educated, that means that you have a lot invested in your education. Your education isn't much use without a "stable" society in which to practice it. With that being the case, you are probably more prone to not want to "rock the boat." Even if the boat of society needs rocking. So instead, apart from science, you may choose ignorance. After all, they …