so that when confronted with a question of the form, "at what age do angels learn to fly," he can supply the answer "I don't know" and that satisfies his conditions. — Kaarlo Tuomi
My general philosophy could be most succinctly summed up as the rejection of both unquestionable answers (answers that are not to be questioned), and unanswerable questions (questions that cannot — Kaarlo Tuomi
In other words, I hold that there is such a thing as a correct opinion, in a sense beyond mere subjective agreement. — Kaarlo Tuomi
"I don't know" would have to be rejected as unanswerable. whereas to me, admitting that there are limits to what we can know is a large part of what philosophy is for, and questions that cannot be answered distinctly are often the most interesting. — Kaarlo Tuomi
he doesn't reject individual questions if they prove to be unanswerable, he rejects the notion that a question can be unanswerable. — Kaarlo Tuomi
so that when confronted with a question of the form, "at what age do angels learn to fly," he can supply the answer "I don't know" and that satisifies his conditions. — Kaarlo Tuomi
that whatever state of affairs you’re inquiring about, some response will correctly convey what it is. If you ask something about angels and there are no angels, saying so is the answer to the question; if there are any angels, then something else is the answer. “I don’t know” is always an acceptable response, but “we can never know” never is. — Pfhorrest
You can just refer to me by name if you like — Pfhorrest
My general philosophy could be most succinctly summed up as the rejection of both unquestionable answers (answers that are not to be questioned), and unanswerable questions (questions that cannot be answered). — Kaarlo Tuomi
they then go into a stage of calm and tranquility, a sense of freedom from the anxiety that they had from not being able to answer the question. — Have some tea
Let me know what you think! — Have some tea
but he has at least got a degree in this, which means he has read a lot more philosophy than I have so I persevere in the hope that I might learn something. — Kaarlo Tuomi
I couldn't even tell you where I fit much less anyone else. — Kaarlo Tuomi
I tend to the view that we are each entitled to our own opinion but that opinions are not either right or wrong, they are just opinions — Kaarlo Tuomi
I think Bill is what is known as a skeptic, philosophically. — Have some tea
but having read considerably more of Bill's philosophy than the excerpt given in this thread I think that he has probably not thought very long or hard about why anyone might disagree with him. — Kaarlo Tuomi
I tend to the view that we are each entitled to our own opinion but that opinions are not either right or wrong, they are just opinions — Kaarlo Tuomi
so I persevere in the hope that I might learn something. — Kaarlo Tuomi
it was Aristotle who said the greatest gift that we can give to ourselves (and each other) is to 'know thyself'. — 3017amen
I wonder if perhaps you mean something different by “opinion” than I do. — Pfhorrest
I believe that I do know myself, or at least that I am getting better at it, I just don't know how philosophy would categorize that. — Kaarlo Tuomi
I disagree with this. why does either one of them necessarily have to be "right" ?But it nevertheless can’t be the case that they are both right, if they disagree. — Pfhorrest
I also disagree with this. you are not wrong just because I disagree with you.And of course each of them thinks themes right and those who disagree consequently wrong: — Pfhorrest
and I also disagree with this.To be of some opinion just is to think that something or other is right (and the negation of it thus wrong). — Pfhorrest
I disagree with this. why does either one of them necessarily have to be "right" ? — Kaarlo Tuomi
believe that it should be entirely possible to notice that there is a difference between two things without having to make a judgement about that difference. and I apply this in all aspects of my life, not just philosophy. there is, for example, a difference between the novels of Stephen King and Charles Dickens, but I don't feel compelled to say that one is "better" than the other, they are just different, that's all.
but you seem to think that any difference needs to be resolved in some way. which means that every single person who does not subscribe to your philosophy is wrong in your eyes, and I'm afraid I just could not go through life thinking that everybody else was wrong just because they are different from me.
is a man wrong if he has a different job from you, or drives a different car from you, or goes on holiday to France instead of Mexico? what about the people who choose to live in a house that's not yours, are they wrong because their opinion is different to yours? is a man wrong if you don't think his wife is attractive, where exactly does this all end? — Kaarlo Tuomi
Most if not all of those are examples of opinions that are not contradictory. Many of them are mere preferences... — Pfhorrest
...in saying that no question is unanswerable, I just mean that there's always some possible answer that would be the right one... — Pfhorrest
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