Activity last six months
Debates 4
Perdurantism fits modern physics better than endurantism does
Lakatos found the right middle path between Popper and Kuhn
DebateFor 2 · Against 2
Scientific methodAmericanAnalyticImre LakatosKarl Popper#lakatos#rationality#research-programmes#theory-change
5 repliesThe indispensability argument is the best case for numbers, and it still does not work
DebateFor 2 · Against 2
Philosophy of mathematicsAnalyticHartry FieldHilary Putnam#fictionalism#indispensability#nominalism#philosophy-of-physics
5 repliesQuestions 7See all
Is a controlled experiment a new source of knowledge, or only perception with discipline?
Is evolution compatible with objective morality?
What is the “block universe”, and does relativity force it on us?
If you had to give up one classical principle, which would you choose?
Does doing science commit you to atheism? Methodological versus ontological naturalism
What does Moore’s open question argument actually prove, and what is the standard reply to it?
Discussions 4
Reading groups 1
Recent replies
- Are possible worlds real, or just a bookkeeping device?
One thing that does matter outside seminars: people often confuse Lewis's worlds with the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. They're unrelated. Everett's branches are supp…
- What’s the difference between deduction, induction and abduction?
Deduction: if the premises are true, the conclusion must be (all metals conduct; copper is a metal; so copper conducts). Induction: generalising from observed cases (every copper sample we've tes…
- Sartre’s “look” and Fanon on being fixed by another’s gaze
Reading this chapter for the first time as a Nigerian who has lived abroad, what surprised me was how precise Fanon is. He doesn't say "racism is bad"; he describes how your own body be…
- Dōgen’s “being-time”: is time something things have, or something they are?
It's interesting from a physics perspective. In the block universe, each moment is equally real and complete in itself, which sounds a little like Dōgen's firewood and ash. Of course, Dōgen…
- What’s the difference between “deep ecology” and environmental ethics in general?
Naess introduced the distinction in a 1973 article, "The Shallow and the Deep, Long-Range Ecology Movement". "Shallow" ecology fights pollution and resource depletion mainly for th…