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Philosophy/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| Phantom Limbs & Epistemology | 1/25/2012 | Charles K. MacKay |
| Q: Epistemology was an upper division philosophy course I took as an undergraduate student. It was the ... A: Your prof has opened one of the most fascinating areas in philosophy, which has occupied ... | ||
| Human Morality | 1/2/2012 | Charles K. MacKay |
| Q: Do you think we as a human race will ever over come differences in religion, politics and turn our ... A: You're asking a question about the arc of human history, which is a pretty tall order. I think that ... | ||
| plato's political texts | 12/18/2011 | Charles K. MacKay |
| Q: my name is justin and i am a student at a Canadian university. i am taking a class called the ... A: Basically, all of Plato's thought on these issues is in "The Republic." Anything anywhere else is ... | ||
| Philosophy | 12/10/2011 | Hank Hokamp |
| Q: How are Plato's and Kant's attempts to ground ethics, independently of consideration of external ... A: Your question is hard to understand, Ashley, but I'll give it a shot: The notion of reality ... | ||
| Perception of time and space | 12/9/2011 | Hank Hokamp |
| Q: We know that things that occur really far out in space (like a star exploding) is seen by us in a ... A: Clair. Put on your 'thinking cap.' The paradox of time is revealing. Einstein’s definition of ... | ||
| The philosophy of mystery/understanding | 12/8/2011 | Hank Hokamp |
| Q: How are you today? There are two types of mystery in my opinion: those solved and those unsolved. ... A: Kevin. Are you ready for this: We all have a style of decision making that I think is very hard ... | ||
| Not knowing or perceiving | 12/7/2011 | Hank Hokamp |
| Q: is there a theory in philosophy about why we don't know or can't perceive certain things? A: My answer is going to be a little mind-boggling, Colin, but you can handle it if you read slowly: ... | ||
| the interconnectedness of nature | 11/29/2011 | Charles K. MacKay |
| Q: how is everything in nature and universe connected? what is the mechanism(s) behind this ... A: I think when you think "void" you're envisaging something like a vacuum tank -- nothing inside it, ... | ||
| philosophy/concept of number | 11/29/2011 | Charles K. MacKay |
| Q: Let's take number "4". What is it? It is meaningless unless it is compared to number "3" or "5". ... A: It's foolish to put limits on what we might discover, but I can safely say that at the moment, no ... | ||
| why is there something from nothing | 11/29/2011 | Hank Hokamp |
| Q: As any normal person would, I am amazed that life/existence popped out from nothing. It's like ... A: Kevin. In short, God and Technology but ... I'm not going to leave you hanging. Nor will I mention ... | ||
| philosophy/concept of number | 11/28/2011 | Charles K. MacKay |
| Q: Let's take number "4". What is it? It is meaningless unless it is compared to number "3" or "5". ... A: See my answer to your other question, which involves why many philosophers of mathematics think ... | ||
| the interconnectedness of nature | 11/27/2011 | Charles K. MacKay |
| Q: how is everything in nature and universe connected? what is the mechanism(s) behind this ... A: It all depends on what you mean by "connected." In our current state of the knowledge of the ... | ||
| interconnectiveness of everything. | 11/27/2011 | Steven R. Storch |
| Q: many people would say that everything that exist in nature, life, universe is connected in some way. ... A: The answer depends upon who you ask. Ask a materialist (typical modern science approach) and the ... | ||
| hidden knowledge | 11/27/2011 | Steven R. Storch |
| Q: let's say i have zero apples in my hands. what does it mean? does it mean apples don't exist? or ... A: This overlaps with one of your previous questions. The actual state of affairs in the world, e.g. ... | ||
| connectedness/universe | 11/26/2011 | Steven R. Storch |
| Q: how is everything in the universe connected? if everything is connected, how can anything be ... A: In some sense, everything is connected. From modern physics to mystic spirituality, both argue that ... | ||
| knowledge/morality | 11/26/2011 | Charles K. MacKay |
| Q: Is the knowledge of the positive and negative(say, good and evil) in nature an absolutely correct ... A: Modern philosophers in the Western tradition regard good and evil and labels for acts of man (or ... | ||
| duality of nature | 11/26/2011 | Steven R. Storch |
| Q: do most human societies believe in the duality of nature? such as masculine/feminine, ... A: All human societies necessarily have opposing concepts in their culture/vocabulary. However, there ... | ||
| Benefits of Art | 11/22/2011 | Michael J. Motta |
| Q: I am currently exploring an EPQ project looking at Plato's view on art (in terms of paintings) and ... A: I have a useful resource that also happens to contain my thoughts: ... | ||
| Egoism | 11/20/2011 | Michael J. Motta |
| Q: The first impression I got thinking about human behaviour is that Egoism is the engine of everything ... A: I think what you're arguing for is what is known as "psychological egoism". You might read Jeremy ... | ||
| logical fallacy | 11/20/2011 | Charles K. MacKay |
| Q: I recently read the following argument which attempted to advance the historical accuracy of the ... A: A definition of affirming the consequent is at: http://onegoodmove.org/fallacy/affirm.htm In your ... | ||
| Existentialism, absurdism and existential nihilism | 11/16/2011 | Charles K. MacKay |
| Q: My question is how does someone arrive at existential nihilism the belief that life is meaningless? ... A: Your question assumes, implicitly, that theism is the normative, normal, required, or default human ... | ||
| purpose of a tree | 11/15/2011 | Charles K. MacKay |
| Q: How are you? What is the purpose of a tree? It grows due to biological and environmental factors, ... A: Trees are evolved organisms. One of the worst (and longest-lasting) ideas in biology was the idea ... | ||
| Philosophy | 11/15/2011 | Charles K. MacKay |
| Q: I do not quite understand how the establishment of a civil society creates morality. My philosophy ... A: The must basic answer is that a society must have an informal means of control which the people ... | ||
| Philosophy | 11/15/2011 | Steven R. Storch |
| Q: I do not quite understand how the establishment of a civil society creates morality. My philosophy ... A: Morality is simply the rules that govern behavior in a given culture, at a given time. Or in other ... | ||
| advice | 11/10/2011 | Michael J. Motta |
| Q: Motta, I hope you are well. I know you do not do homework questions (and frankly I am not sure if ... A: I have studied Marx, but most of it was 20+ years ago, and I never really approached him as a ... | ||
| advice | 11/10/2011 | Steven R. Storch |
| Q: Storch, I hope you are well. I know you do not do homework questions (and frankly I am not sure if ... A: I haven't read it but the only major work that I can recall that Engels wrote independently from ... | ||
| advice | 11/10/2011 | Charles K. MacKay |
| Q: MacKay, I hope you are well. I know you do not do homework questions (and frankly I am not sure if ... A: I would look for something else. Any differences between Marx and Engels were either superficial or ... | ||
| advice | 11/10/2011 | Maciej St. Zięba |
| Q: Zieba, I hope you are well. I know you do not do homework questions (and frankly I am not sure if ... A: This question is absolutely unrelated to me "expertise" yet it is related to my "experience". As you ... | ||
| Bertrand Russell | 11/2/2011 | Charles K. MacKay |
| Q: We have been studying Bertrand Russell in our class but I am having trouble distinguishing the ... A: Russell made number of very important contributions to philosophy, but arguments he triggered have ... | ||
| truth/consciousness | 11/2/2011 | Steven R. Storch |
| Q: Is the center of all knowledge/truth related to consciousness?? Is consciousness related to truth? ... A: What a great set of follow up thoughts. You are at the heart of perennial metaphysical questions ... | ||
| universe/consiousness | 11/1/2011 | Charles K. MacKay |
| Q: let's say the universe/existence is pure consciousness/mind. in other words the substance of the ... A: What you are asking about is the theory called "panpsychism" -- literally "all soul." It's opposed ... | ||
| truth/consciousness | 10/28/2011 | Steven R. Storch |
| Q: Is the center of all knowledge/truth related to consciousness?? Is consciousness related to truth? ... A: Sorry for the delay. My e-mail sometimes filters out allexperts.com messages. Truth has nothing to ... | ||
| universe/consiousness | 10/28/2011 | Charles K. MacKay |
| Q: let's say the universe/existence is pure consciousness/mind. in other words the substance of the ... A: How could there be one physical object if all the rest of the universe is mind? Answer that, and ... | ||
| universe/observer | 10/28/2011 | Charles K. MacKay |
| Q: Does the universe need an observer/consciousness for it to be true? Is the universe itself ... A: You're raising the question of how observation related to quantum mechanics at a very high ("macro") ... | ||
| epistemology-Theory of knowledge perceptions | 10/26/2011 | Hank Hokamp |
| Q: I am taking a beginners epistemology course. I have to write an essay on perceptions based on the 3 ... A: All I can say, Simon, is, "WOW! What great questions." Let's see if I can dig up some answers: ... | ||
| philosophy and terminology ( | 10/19/2011 | Michael J. Motta |
| Q: I am a political science and also a philosophy major in college, and am a senior. I am currently ... A: In general, I would encourage you to read quality literature in order to increase your working ... | ||
| philosophy and terminology ( | 10/19/2011 | Steven R. Storch |
| Q: I am a political science and also a philosophy major in college, and am a senior. I am currently ... A: Reading philosophy can be very difficult. Each tradition, e.g. the rationalists, the empiricists, ... | ||
| Learning Philosophy | 10/18/2011 | Michael J. Motta |
| Q: I regret that I didn't take more philosophy classes in college and although I don't think it would ... A: It's always refreshing to receive correspondence from someone who wants to learn for the sheer sake ... | ||
| Reincarnation. | 9/28/2011 | Charles K. MacKay |
| Q: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnation Scientifically it has till not proved till date that ... A: Sorry not to have gotten back to your earlier. The key issue with what you propose it this, from ... | ||
| Reincarnation. | 9/25/2011 | Charles K. MacKay |
| Q: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnation Scientifically it has till not proved till date that ... A: No, I don't believe it. It's an attempt at what the West calls "theodicy" -- explaining how God can ... | ||
Philosophy
Answers by Expert:
Charles K. MacKay
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can answer a number of questions in philosophy; my academic concentrations (graduate school at Cornell) are ethics, political philosophy, and 19th-century German philosophy (Marx, Hegel, and hangers-on.)
Experience
EDUCATION:
BA, New College, 1971, Philosophy and Religion
Awarded four graduate fellowships upon graduation
MA, Cornell University, 1974
Social and Political Philosophy, Danforth Fellowship
All course work and dissertation drafts completed for Ph.D. Cornell University, 1971-1975, Social and Political Philosophy, Danforth Fellowship
Courses in statistics and microeconomics, George Washington University and The American University, 1976-1978
EXPERIENCE:
Health Insurance Specialist 2005 - Present
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service
US Department of Health and Human Services
Allentown Business School Instructor (Computer Science) 2003 - 2005
Northampton Community College
Adjunct Professor of Philosophy 2003 -2005
Lehigh County Community College
Adjunct Professor of Philosophy and Computer Science
PUBLICATIONS:
Medicare Made Easy (with Charles B. Inlander) Addison-Wesley, 1989
Good Operations, Bad Operations (with Charles B. Inlander) Viking Press, 1993
Health Rebooted: Information Changes Everything (in press), 2008
Education/Credentials
Bachelor of Arts, Philosphy and Religion, New College, 1971
Master of Arts, Social and Political Philosophy, Cornell University, 1975
Awards and Honors
Danforth Fellowship, Woodrow Wilson Fellowship
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