| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
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| Infinite matter and empty space | 5/3/2009 | J.M.J. West |
Q: how are you? I would like to ask you some questions about a hypothetical situation. Let's say an ...
A: 1) Define "space", because by some accounts, "space" as a term is a useful abstraction and nothing ...
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| You can never step into the same river twice | 5/3/2009 | J.M.J. West |
Q: how are you? I would like to talk about a particular situation. I'm sure you have heard of the ...
A: Heraclitus said this famous phrase, and it wasn't in reference to a metaphorical river, but to an ...
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| Infinite matter and empty space | 5/2/2009 | J.M.J. West |
Q: how are you? I would like to ask you some questions about a hypothetical situation. Let's say an ...
A: Hey Joe, There are two ways to answer this. The first way would be to understand that filling ...
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| justification | 4/29/2009 | Steven R. Storch |
Q: I've been reading your responses and I would like to get your opinion on something Do you think ...
A: Not sure what you mean by "justified." What I think you are trying to get at is can we ultimately ...
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| Education in Plato | 4/29/2009 | Michael J. Motta |
Q: I am a researcher and have following problem:in Plato political thought are citizens free to choose ...
A: Presumably we're talking about "The Republic". As for your first question, no. Second question, ...
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| reality | 4/27/2009 | Michael J. Motta |
Q: !! I'd like to ask you about the first sentence below. "Unless we postulate that somehow each ...
A: Howdy Luke, I think the first sentence is trying to draw a dichotomy between the purely subjective ...
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| psychology | 4/21/2009 | Ajay Verma |
Q: My question is not related to your subject but i would like to get answer from you, why we feel as ...
A: sorry for the delay in reply. Thanks for your good and simple question. I believe that this is the ...
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| Government between people and their rules | 4/20/2009 | Ken Bell |
Q: The idea that government is an agreement between people and their rules is called what?
A: The short answer to your question is "(Social) Contract". The way the agreement is reached, how it ...
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| Inauthenticity and Jean-Paul Sarte | 4/20/2009 | Michael J. Motta |
Q: When we try to avoid making choices or living up to the responsibility of making choices, according ...
A: since it's Monday morning! Two words: "bad faith". Please see one of my personal archives here: ...
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| lagarde | 4/19/2009 | Michael J. Motta |
Q: I have a few questions about “George de Lagarde”. 1. His date of birth. 2. His date of death. 3. His ...
A: Wow, you sure know how to ask tough questions! I'm sorry that I won't be able to give you much, but ...
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| Free Will vs. Existance of God | 4/16/2009 | Ajay Verma |
Q: Free will or existance of God... Which argument is the most compelling and why do you think so?
A: Though philosophy of religion is not one of my areas. But probably I could ask your question by ...
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| relation with itself? | 4/9/2009 | Charles K. MacKay |
Q: MacKay can someone have relation with himself? (does it contradict the definition of relation?) is ...
A: This is one of those incredible tangles that medieval philosophy liked to get itself into one of ...
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| God paradox | 4/8/2009 | Charles K. MacKay |
Q: I would like to ask you a few questions about God and omnipotence. The paradoxical question "can ...
A: This is an old, old, old puzzle. We ascribe omnipotence to a God who is clearly a god of Greek ...
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| objective reality | 4/6/2009 | J.M.J. West |
Q: How does one prove rationally and scientifically that objective reality exists or not? How do we ...
A: Joe, Great question (one of the fundamental questions of modern philosophy); and one which by most ...
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| natural law and chance | 4/3/2009 | J.M.J. West |
Q: I would like to ask you some questions about a hypothetical scenario. Let's say I am the only ...
A: Joe, Thanks for the questions. If you're the only sentient being to ever exist, I'd have to ask ...
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| perception and reality | 4/2/2009 | Steven R. Storch |
Q: I would like to ask you a question about a hypothetical situation. One person is inside a dark room ...
A: This is really a very involved question despite its simplicity. The answer, however, depends upon ...
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| how to be acknowleged. | 3/26/2009 | Michael J. Motta |
Q: Motta. How you doing. My name is Tittim. I just had a look at your description at the all experts ...
A: Shwan, Thanks for the question. There are a lot of different ways to get publicity, but in this ...
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| miracle of discovery. | 3/26/2009 | Hank Hokamp |
Q: How you doing. My name is Tittim. By looking at you description at the all experts you seem like you ...
A: WOW! What an epistle, Shawn. I read every word and here's what I came up with. I'm treating your ...
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| question | 3/25/2009 | Michael J. Motta |
Q: who is considered as the greatest philosopher of all time like bertrand russell?
A: Waqar, Thanks for the question. Obviously, this is highly subjective, but I will make two comments. ...
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| The Road less traveled: school is becoming a big business | 3/22/2009 | J.M.J. West |
Q: Can humans be born naturally smart? If so, why would it be beneficial to study and read other ...
A: You need to define "naturally smart" more clearly. It is quite conceivable that some people are ...
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| Philosophy vs Critical Thinking | 3/20/2009 | J.M.J. West |
Q: I read a forum with a member who claims prowess in philosophy, but he frequently makes assertions ...
A: Part of the problem is you may be using the word "philosophy" in various ways: -doctrine: a belief ...
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| Logical consistency | 3/15/2009 | Steven R. Storch |
Q: How important is it to be logically consistent?
A: Absolutely essential...one could write a treatise on the importance of being logically consistent. ...
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| Logical consistency | 3/15/2009 | Charles K. MacKay |
Q: How important is it to be logically consistent?
A: Outside of mathematics, physics, and a few other fields of science, logical consistency "counts" ...
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| Wondering about life | 3/9/2009 | J.M.J. West |
Q: I would like to ask you yet a weird but hopefully insightful question. What do you think are the ...
A: Virtue is the key to the good life. You might enjoy Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics, or for a more ...
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| clifford | 3/7/2009 | J.M.J. West |
Q: Clifford argues that we have a duty to investigate our beliefs. Why is this a duty? What are we ...
A: I'm assuming this is W.K. Clifford. Clifford was a man dedicated to the Truth, which is objective ...
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| Descartes | 3/7/2009 | J.M.J. West |
Q: When Descartes says, “I think, therefore I am”, what is the “I” that he refers to? What does it ...
A: What Descartes means, and what other philosophers think he's entitled to mean, are two separate ...
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| Set _theory_and_logic | 2/27/2009 | J.M.J. West |
Q: Is there any sense in defining the logical conditions such as "sufficient reason" and "necessary ...
A: Set theory was the logical fruit of analytic philosophy, which sought to do away with things like ...
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| nothingness and morality | 2/25/2009 | J.M.J. West |
Q: I would like to ask you a question about nothingness, in the sense of absolute nothingness. If ...
A: Joe, Great question. You said it yourself "nothingness [has] no qualities]", so it lacks any ...
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| Does world exist? | 2/25/2009 | J.M.J. West |
Q: Does the real world exist? And can we believe it is the same as it appears to be?
A: Yes, it exists, and it is as you see it to be under normal circumstances. Many people will confuse ...
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| Does world exist? | 2/25/2009 | Charles K. MacKay |
Q: Does the real world exist? And can we believe it is the same as it appears to be?
A: This question has bedeviled photospheres for centuries. We have now, in the past century, come to ...
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| Socrates | 2/25/2009 | Charles K. MacKay |
Q: I was wondering if you could tell me 3 ways in which Socrates has had an impact on todays society? ...
A: (1) Plato used him as his spokesman in the Dialogues, which frame the question that are still ...
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| Ethics: rule of rescue | 2/24/2009 | J.M.J. West |
Q: Would you go out of your way to bring about a 1/100% decrease in the likelihood of a premature ...
A: Anthony, Thanks for the questions, but such hypotheticals are unanswerable without more ...
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| Ethics: rule of rescue | 2/24/2009 | Charles K. MacKay |
Q: Would you go out of your way to bring about a 1/100% decrease in the likelihood of a premature ...
A: The hidden assumption behind the way the problem is posed is the hidden assumption is that more life ...
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| John F. Kennedy Quote | 2/19/2009 | Charles K. MacKay |
Q: I understand the quote, but I would like to have another person's more in depth view of it. "The ...
A: I strongly recommend two books that reveal a lot about education; Cultural Literacy by E. D. Hirsch ...
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| Infinite Matter | 2/18/2009 | J.M.J. West |
Q: I would like to ask you a hypothetical question. If empty space was filled up with an infinite ...
A: Joe, Great questions! Assuming that all of a given space X was completely filled, then it stands ...
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| prinz | 2/3/2009 | Hank Hokamp |
Q: If so, i just finished reading it and have to write an essay/paper on the book but on a specific ...
A: Steph: I'll try to make my answer as brief as possible: Jesse Prinz argues that recent ...
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| Fallacious reasoning | 1/30/2009 | Steven R. Storch |
Q: I'm trying to think of the technical phrases (or Latin term if applicable) for the type of hazy ...
A: In the first argument, the arguer, rather than providing the correct citation from the bible to ...
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| Fallacious reasoning | 1/30/2009 | Michael J. Motta |
Q: I'm trying to think of the technical phrases (or Latin term if applicable) for the type of hazy ...
A: Syllogist whore, First, let me direct you to this page, as it's filled with all sorts of fallacies ...
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| Fallacious reasoning | 1/30/2009 | Charles K. MacKay |
Q: I'm trying to think of the technical phrases (or Latin term if applicable) for the type of hazy ...
A: There are no formal or informal fallacies involved here, and hence, no Latin terms. What is going on ...
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| Fallacious reasoning | 1/30/2009 | J.M.J. West |
Q: I'm trying to think of the technical phrases (or Latin term if applicable) for the type of hazy ...
A: The concept of the first is rooted in scripture (the trial of Jesus in the desert), but the quote, ...
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