Comments

  • Things That We Accept Without Proof
    I've always thought you were a goat. What I didn't know was you're a male also.
  • Things That We Accept Without Proof
    Is milking a male goat possible?EugeneW
    Yes, but you have to spend a really long time to milk cause they produce a very minute amount.
  • Why You're Screwed If You're Low Income
    If income varies even a bit, there will be low and high income.ssu
    Okay, I meant poverty income -- those just above or below poverty level set forth by the government, depending on inflation and per capita income of a country. If there's basic income for everybody, no one has to do stupid jobs.
  • Things That We Accept Without Proof
    I edited it. The dollar sign was a mistake.
  • Things That We Accept Without Proof
    Once upon a time, in the land of 1000 solipsists, one of them died. But the 999 left, didn't care.EugeneW
    Jesus you're wrong! If in the land of 1,000 solipsists, one of them died, 1,000 didn't care.

    You can't even do math.
  • Why You're Screwed If You're Low Income
    It's called optimization of meeting the needs of everybody. Yes, a few individuals might have to forgo buying the $100,000,000 yachts. But it's okay. You can't bring your yacht to your grave.
  • Why You're Screwed If You're Low Income
    It doesn't have to be this way, though. There's enough wealth on earth to sustain all people without poverty and starvation.
  • Things That We Accept Without Proof
    I'll say no more.Agent Smith

    :yikes: Like, it's you who brought it up. Okay.
  • Things That We Accept Without Proof
    I think I broke someone's :sad:Agent Smith
    You broke someone's heart? Were you in a position to do that?
  • Things That We Accept Without Proof
    :broken:Agent Smith
    What's this broken heart? Did someone break your heart?
  • Why You're Screwed If You're Low Income
    It's naturally permanent, because naturally there always will be those low income.ssu
    No it isn't natural that there are low income (and we agree that low income are those who couldn't afford a lot of things that moderate and above average earners enjoy).
    You should read Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber. This Graeber was advocating basic income for all, so that even low income people don't have to work the stupid jobs.
  • Typical reading speeds?
    Time yourself using different philosophers. I used Schopenhauer for this purpose. But try JS Mill, god damn! Archaic language. Descartes -- you should meditate on his meditation to get his point. Aristotle -- he's good to read -- like an ocean wave.
  • Mad Fool Turing Test
    I've noticed that people who talk about "an AI" in this kind of context overestimate the capabilities of computer programs. Calling it "an AI" makes it sound like it's an entity, like a person, a mind. It isn't any of those things.Daemon
    This is correct. Remember Sophia? It was presented in public as an AI that could "think" and interact with you. It can't. The handlers feed it information -- like a song, or answers to questions before the actual encounter. It's very limited. But people think it's the closest we get to an android. But it's really isn't. It's a cringe worthy creation of people.
  • Things That We Accept Without Proof
    Yes. I just don't see the point you're making.EugeneW
    Neither do I see your point. So, are we good?

    I don't know if it helps your case but belief isn't knowledge, it's just one of three conditions for knowledge (JTB theory) and that being so, proof isn't necessary. You can believe anything you want; fairies, Tinker Bell, Rocs, anything's game when it comes to just belief.Agent Smith
    Yes, one could argue like this as well. That's why I've been saying all along, why require proof of existence of god from believers? Why is there a special standard for this kind of belief that we don't see in others. And again, I've already mentioned the big bang, which no one here has countered. There's no proof of the big bang. Just some "testable evidence".
  • Things That We Accept Without Proof
    We agree! Proving god or proving dreams are two different things though.EugeneW
    Okay, so now we're back to the pesky question of difference. In a logical argument, do you agree that god exists and claims that dreams exist are two different logical argument. One does not need it.
  • Things That We Accept Without Proof
    And they can't proof that they're alive either?EugeneW
    To me this is a stupid question, no offense. Why would you ask someone a proof if he's alive?
  • Things That We Accept Without Proof
    Are you even asking these questions in good faith or you're just bored? I'm responding to your questions in good faith. But it looks like we're going in circles.
  • Things That We Accept Without Proof
    Why it requires proof?EugeneW
    The belief in god. Those who say god does not exist because there's no proof of god's existence.
  • Things That We Accept Without Proof
    So we can't proof to others we dream, perceive and are alive. So what?EugeneW
    lol. So what? So, why does belief in god require proof of god then?
  • Things That We Accept Without Proof
    Exactly! Get my point?EugeneW
    WTF is this? What are you responding to? To my claim that we accept certain things without proof? Then we're in agreement. Thank you very much.
  • Things That We Accept Without Proof
    We could keep talking to each other and accuse each other of illusion or delusion.
  • Things That We Accept Without Proof
    That's no proof your perception exists. For all I know you don't have a perception of reality. How can you proof to me you see the world?EugeneW
    Then I could say the same thing with you -- all the things you post here are just your illusion and I'm under no obligation to respond to an illusion or delusion.
  • Things That We Accept Without Proof
    I have already explained somewhere in this thread what evidence are and what a proof is. For example, just because I see a person with sweaty palms, rapid heart beat, and deep breathing -- do I conclude that this person is at the moment fearful? No. That's not proof of fear even though those qualities may be present in someone fearful. Those aren't proof of the fear the person is experiencing. The only true reason why we know a person is fearful is because he says so.

    Same with dreams -- the qualities you mentioned aren't proof. They are, maybe, evidence suggesting one is dreaming, but they're not proof. We only believe that person dreaming because he says so.

    And let's go back to the big bang. There is no proof that the big bang happened. They could only point to evidential qualities present in the universe that the big bang is a very plausible theory, but no one in Physics community had claimed it is proof.
  • The meaning of life
    Snow is white to humans. It is a fact about human perception and language use. I have no issue with modest claims like cats being on mats, etc. But for me this does not tell us much about an objective world, just how a fragment of that world seems to us, based on the constructions of language and perception.Tom Storm
    Okay, then that tells me you don't subscribe to an objective reality. Fair enough.
  • Things That We Accept Without Proof
    A 1 hour dream lasts 5 minutes. REM. Seems good enough proof. A dog barking. Ýou talking in your sleep. Proof!EugeneW
    That's not proof.

    Is this an empirical statement or a statement about grammar ? Or is it hard to say?lll
    Empirical statement.
  • Free Will
    Mind over matter.
  • Free Will
    Yeah, I also have reservation as to his argument.

    But wow! Virtual choice sounds great! Especially about quitting smoking or other undesirable habits.
  • The meaning of life
    The thing is, I am not sure.Tom Storm
    You can search for explanation of objective reality. Then decide for yourself if your understanding leans towards the subjective. I just gave you what is an objective reality is. For example, if you think that snow is white and blood is red, then there's your objective reality. Facts come in statements. So, think about that. "Snow is white" is a fact -- is it in the outside world? If you agree, then you agree there's meaning out there --that snow is white. And it is intelligible to us. We picked it out from the external world.

    But if you think that "snow is white" is not a fact, but our subjective interpretation of the world, then you don't believe in the objective world.
  • The meaning of life
    Reality? Not sure what is in scope here. In general, it seems to me that communities determine what is true through a collaborative exercise in creating agreement. You could say that truth is created not found. Examples of such truths might include - 'democracy as the best government'; 'the value of education'; 'god/s care about humans', 'the imperative of progress'...Tom Storm
    Okay then, that means you don't subscribe to objective reality. Which is fine. I was merely saying that you clearly express it.
  • The meaning of life
    I am not certain what the term objective reality refers to.Tom Storm
    Let's agree that objective reality is one that has facts and truths. So, facts, as we know, are actual/correct statements about the world.
  • The meaning of life
    I disagree that the 'outside world' is intelligible to us, but we may do better with our inside world - our thoughts.Tom Storm
    Good. We're getting somewhere.

    So, would you agree if I conclude from it that you don't believe in objective reality?
  • The meaning of life
    We're desperately trying to find something that doesn't exist, because we simply cannot comprehend the confrontation with the fact, that the universe doesn't care whether or not we exist.Carlikoff
    This is the objective reality implication we often neglect when claiming we believe in objective reality. The corollary to claiming we believe in objective reality is, that the meaning lies in that reality, not in us, and we just found it out there. Because it is intelligible to us, it must be that the outside world has some form of meaning already prepared for us to discover.

    Do you agree with this? Because this is what we're really saying when we say there is meaning in that external reality. We discovered the meaning, we didn't create it.
  • Things That We Accept Without Proof
    That's it! There is no scientific evidence of what goes on inside of matter. Science can describe the outside but not the inside.EugeneW
    Science/Medicine has limits, it's fair to say. Dreams could run as long as an hour. If one could make a film of the dream while the subject is sleeping, then that's the proof of dreams. And we can't do that.

    It might seem odd to ask but how do we know perception exists?Carlikoff
    Good to bring this up. As with any definition of perception, which you've already handled well, how do we know perception exists? Because to argue against it, or to even doubt it, is perception itself. In other words, we can't talk our way out of our own mind and say it doesn't exist. That's the logical double bind for ya. Cartesian.
  • Free Will
    Note that Schulkin does not say determined (or no free will). Instead, he argues that there are constraints.
  • Free Will
    That we can test every choice, simulate their effects for analysis, even the ones you don't like, must mean something, oui? If we come with preinstalled preference packages (no free will), your choice will be determined by them, obviously, but the point is virtual choices seem not to be affected by one's preference package.Agent Smith

    According to Jay Schulkin, in his Possibilities and Constraints,
    To be is to be a mind. To be a mind is to be a decision-maker.

    Another passage from his essay:
    The world matters in the formation of such minds. Nature has limited, or constrained, the kinds of ideas that we can generate. Here one looks to the ecological conditions that minds adapt to for guidance. Nature has also insured that we can hit on the right ideas very often. Ideas are then not arbitrary. They are adaptive; they guide behavior. If the ideas are bad, they are rejected. The constraints on our hypotheses are tied to our creative potential....
  • Things That We Accept Without Proof
    Your kindness is appreciated.lll
    :smile: