• Semi-Kantian Argument to Personhood
    The problem is that it fails to define exactly what makes something "able to stand as a universal law" without relying on either a subjective standard of morality or ungrounded standard of reason. I have heard the imperative being used when defined in a consequentialist way, in terms of the sustainability of a society, and in terms of the selfish value of an action, but in any case, it does not seem to make meaningful distinction.

    If its application is an intuitive art, I can understand that. That's treading the line between Kantianism and moral intuitionism, though
  • What is the meaning of life?
    Well, in metaphysical naturalism, purpose/meaning is subjective, and that seems the most viable view. But here are some more answers given by other philosophers;
    • To serve some deity or deities (Brown)
    • To retain one's soul (Tolstoy)
    • Emotion (Wolf)
    • For the benefit of others (Singer)
    • Creativity (Taylor)
    • To promote virtues (Aristotle, Kant)
    Source: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/life-meaning
  • What are you listening to right now?
    Andrew Huang - Good Run
  • The world needs more teachers
    We need more education but not for that reason. Educational apathy is growing, and many fallaciously conflate "the education system is boring" with "learning is boring."
    We need more education, but we also need to allow more for differences between people and create a new system capable of teaching everyone from those with severe learning disabilities to those with the highest IQ.
  • Is 'information' physical?
    Information is the idea, within the conveyor's mind, of the information conveyed in a medium. Therefore, a phrase in Catalan and that same phrase in French are the same information.
  • Sometimes, girls, work banter really is just harmless fun — and it’s all about common sense
    Some workplace banter treats the subject of the banter as a sexual tool and is thus wrong. This is not always the case, but sexual harassment, even in a verbal form, is not necessarily harmless, irrespective of the target's views on the matter
  • Demonstration of God's Existence I: an Aristotelian proof
    A potential cannot be actualized except by something already actual.
    But there are several concrete ways around this:
    • The universe could itself exist by logical necessity.
    • Physical laws (modern, not Aristotelian physics) could be the sole cause an occurrence, such as the appearance of virtual particle pairs in a vacuum, or near the edge of a black hole, especially in combination with a logically necessary universe.
    • A potential could be actualized by the object of the change itself.
  • Time and such
    Time is a dimension of the universe which we perceive as change. Motion is not illusory any more than taste - humans simply have a sense of time.
  • Truth - defining true and false
    Truth and falsity are the fundamental units of epistemology.
    True statements are accurate in relation to some universe, and completely logical.
    False statements are statements that are inaccurate and/or illogical.
    There are also statements (most) which are true in relation to some possible universes, but false in relation to others - ambiguously true or false statements.
  • The actual worth of an "intellectual"
    Astrology has several logical issues:
    -The position of a nearby observer in relation to celestial bodies does not have a known affect on mental development or genetics.
    -Double-blind studies show no correlation between the position of a hypothetical nearby observer in relation to celestial bodies and certain developmental factors which cannot be attributed to statistical artifacts.
  • Thankfulness
    Thankfulness is fundamentally a respect for another person's treatment of oneself, and thus it does not make sense to say "I am thankful for this meal" as there is nobody to thank. Still, thankfulness is a virtue, because it stems from one's acceptance and identification of virtuous actions.
    How do we act with true gratefulness?
    Well, simply put, we recognize moral virtues when we percieve them, and recognize the unique, morally positive conditions we are in.
  • The Facts Illustrate Why It's Wrong For 1% To Own As Much As 99%
    Examples do not imply general statements. But I do agree with the conclusion - at a certain level, unregulated capitalism objectifies the worker and creates wealth inequality.
  • What's Wrong With 1% Owning As Much As 99%?
    Marx would say it is false that the wealthiest have created the wealth, since in fact they have created the wealth with the assistance of several workers.
    Another problem with this argument is that though what entrepreneurs create must be somewhat useful, or at least seemingly somewhat useful, entrepreneurs ultimately put their own profitability above the lives and personhoods of individual citizens - capitalism, in other words, may objectify the worker.
    This is not to say that capitalism should be abolished - indeed, it is good for keeping check on governments - but wealth inequality at a certain level is definitely an issue.