General Philosophy

I want to build an empty box and put a message on the outside reading, 'Empty box with hope fireworks inside.' God inspired me on that. David Elkins,

Why is it that some nations that were essentially agnostic became theocratic (like Iran post Ayotollah Khomeini) ? Does this represent a change in the public psyche ? Why do some nations remain secular ? Please opine.

In many cultures the theme is that Light is sacred. Drill down and you find that at a granular level photons are sacred. The absence of photons implies absence of an emitter (mass). Hence mass is sacred. Matter and energy are convertible and hence energy is sacred. (E=MC2). Man is a manifestation of matter and energy and hence man is sacred. Man is a manifestation of Life and hence Life itself is sacred. Do you agree ?

1st I would like to say I am not a scientists, I'm an artist. What I am about to present to u I have no proof, and have no idea how to go about getting any proof. This is just my theory. U might find it stupid or not? If u don't find it a east of time I would like someone to look in to this and prove me wrong or right. I'm not the smartest think u can tell with my spelling. But I do find science fascinating. Think we can agree there is a theory that there are different planes of existence, dimensions or what ever it is u call it. Taking that and the little we know about humanity, such as conciseness, individuality, and spirit / soul, could it be our physical …

What, exactly, is a natural right? I'm not sure it even makes sense to talk about rights as anything other than a type of promise.

What is it that our scientific models aim to do? Do our scientific models tell us what reality is like, or are they tools to make predictions and to allow us to understand reality? Explain what you think and why. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model-dependent_realism- What Stephen Hawking thinks www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gixvLGyJlI - What Brian Greene thinks

Just a useless, worthless comment on "testing" Now, in a driving test one either passes or fails. In a school test, we might get a certain score. And when you claim a scientific theory is "tested", what would it take to fail the test? Observation disagreeing with theoretical predictions? But I think we all know by now, scientists don't do that. They'll cling to a cherished theory until something they like better comes along. This may be provocative, but hey... what fun would it be if we all bray in unison. LOL P.S. I hear a lot about evolutionary theory being "tested". Will someone please give me an example of one of these tests? Thanks. …

What would one expect to see if they were inside of a 3D object that was slowly turning into a 4D object? This is a little broad I am aware. But to be honest I wasn't really sure where to start on this one. The reason I want to put this out there is that the more I grasp some of the theoretical side of science and the maths, I'm starting to see a trend to the possible max speed of causality and the number of dimensions. This brought me to what if Dark energy is an energy that slow's Causality by increasing the dimension count. Please let me know how wrong I am but remember the original point of the thread.

Example Problem of Perception in Science Theory: Case of Ether by Scott Mayers From Wikipedia: To me, the intension of any 'theory' of aether is about questioning whether space itself is what 'matters'. Of course, we predefined what 'matters' originally to the things which occupy such spaces in a way that simply ignores or diminishes any significance to things that we cannot "make sense" of. Often this is more about 'which' senses we are actually referring to only, not all of them. For instance, from our ancient past, the idea of what matters was often only granted to strictly certain solid things. The hints of this can be found in our now-religio…

I wasn't sure where to post this. I prefer the math section but see how this likely will get moved here. It may be interpreted as a puzzle too? This is a question about probabilities as well as how this can relate to the ideas of determinism and indeterminism. In the following illustration, I show a simple diagram that can illustrate how one may have to make decisions. In this one, assume you are in a car to which you come to a T-intersection of which you must choose between going left or right to reach some destination or goal. (1) What are the odds of turning left or right? (2) Given real life, what are the odds of choosing to turn left or right? Can y…

Hi, I've already signed up here before but want to clarify up front that I'm only here to seek help with others already invested in the sciences and philosophy of sciences with sincerity. I don't approve of how this or all sites that I've encountered before have created EULAs and have forms of moderation I have severe disrespect for regarding our intellectual input (that much of our own inputs can be co-opted by our loss of rights to a default to protecting our credibility in terms of things like copyright, etc.) and how almost universally these sites present themselves to dismiss outright anything against specific inquiry or theories that differ with the status quo on co…

I struggle with depression and I have this philosophical question that I need an answer for. Actually, it might even be a scientific question. Now I need to know the answer to this very vital question. I am thinking that there is only one way love, joy, happiness, and inspiration can be experienced. That being, through our reward system (our good moods). The more our reward system is functional and healthy, the more of those things we will have in our lives since our good moods would be greater. But like I said before, there is the difference between words and phrases and our mental states. So by depressed people focusing on words and phrases alone of love, joy, h…

Can we conceptualize an ideal man ? What would be his attributes ? Good physique / Good IQ / Flair for art and music etc. ? And where would that leave autistic individuals (especially those with Asperger's syndrome) ? Would we then have another Newton or Einstein ? Please opine.

It is our mental states that define the terms good, bad, love, joy, happiness, inspiration, suffering, despair, sadness, anguish, rage, etc. and it is not a matter of how we personally define them. Our mental states are what define those terms and not the other way around. How we personally define them does not define our mental states. For example, if you said that you being dead is a peaceful, joyous, or sad experience for you, then this would be false. The activity of our brains is what defines all our experiences (mental states). It is us being alive and conscious that gives us all our experiences. So if you were dead, then you couldn't experience anything. …

I'm always trying to reconcile consciousness and physics. This is a thought experiment that scrutinises the relationship between our experience of the universe and the idea that consciousness is just neurons firing in a predicatable way due to their position in space (and their connection to each other). Disclaimer: I don't know if this is an old thought experiment or if it just sounds naive and stupid, I am here to discuss the idea and make some progress with what to me seems like a bit of a conundrum. Imagine we create a replicator. With the recent advances of 3D printing it's not completely implausable to think that we might one day have a device that could sca…

"All our deeds, emotions, thoughts, creeds – and whatever else we are trying to relate ourselves with – are expression of ConsciousNess which thus exercises its possibilities in order to realize itself." The following is based on the supposition that unity comprises multiplicity in order to realize itself. The interaction of unity and multiplicity is called ConsciousNess* and regarded as an inter-extrapolation that relates in a viewpoint which manifests ConsciousNess. In 2750, an Egyptian priest of Ptah paraphrased it like this: “The seeing of the eyes, the hearing of the ears and the breathing of the nose report to the heart; the heart is the center of co…

Over the years I have noticed that a characteristic of True love between people is to exhibit the following behaviour ! If someone has TRUE LOVE for someone else he/she allows that Person to take oneself for granted. Call it for granted or take advantage of or ignore etc it is one and the same. It engenders empathy tolerance and indulgence or closeness and avoids friction over it. Everyone does not allow this privilege to all and sundry unless it is one's own nature and he/she can love the entire nature. Can not extend that to any Tom, .... , or Harry OR Pam, ...., or Mary for that matter ! Of course if the one loved so abuses this privilege by ove…

That's all our Basic needs ! What else do we need ? All other Additional Needs we can live without I suppose !

I'm going to ramble a lot here, so don't be afraid to call me stupid. Also, I have a hard time explaining this, but I'll do my best. So, I believe that destiny can be proven by the fact that everything depends on the first initial event that created the universe (Big Bang, God, or whatever). For example, let's say you kick a ball and it smashes a vase. Since that first initial event (kicking the ball), due to the strenght that you used to kick it and the way you did it, it was destined to hit that vase, and that's it. It is what it is. Now, thinking bigger. Assuming the Big Bang is true (which doesn't necessarily has to be), didn't its initial event (the cosmi…

Reality: Mortality bears witness that we are the dream.

Why do people focus on external appurtenances rather than internal synergies ? Should we not talk heart to heart rather than face to face ? Is this a step in social evolution ? Please opine.

There are many definitions of qualia, which have changed over time. One of the simpler, broader definitions is: "The 'what it is like' character of mental states. The way it feels to have mental states such as pain, seeing red, smelling a rose, etc." Examples of qualia include the pain of a headache, the taste of wine, or the perceived redness of an evening sky. I believe that there are two types of qualia. The first type only conveys information. For example a black and white image or the sensation of touch or a pure tone (without harmonics) The second type conveys a pleasant or unpleasant sensation. For example a beautiful color image of a rainbow or t…

How difficult is positive social engineering ? (the social network). Humans usually agree to disagree. (wars occur as a result). Try to create harmony among individuals through humor (as an illustration). We all know how difficult it is to share a joke and be appreciated for the same. (Good comedians are the soul of the party.). Think of how difficult it is to create a positive social group (or network). Why is it that humans essentially like to isolate themselves from the mainstream? Is it an evolutionary adaption for our survival ?

We consider humans to have the ability to make decisions on an individual basis -- the property of free will. The question is whether it is considered a human right. In the U.S., a person can commit a crime and have certain rights taken away because of this. If a person commits a n atrocious crime and has no ability to leave prison or is facing the death penalty, should their right of free will be taken away?

Nations are created around ideas. There must be common grounds and homogeneity among peoples that cause the building of nations. Homogeneity is essentially of : 1) Language 2) Race 3) Religion 4) Political philosophy Some or all of these factors contribute to development of nations. Please opine.