Philosophy Now Forum

Hobbes' Choice wrote: Nothing is atemporal, except concepts that do no work and have no extension.

Does reality have a beginning? Do either randomness or necessity have a beginning?

What determines randomness? And HOW does the mind manage to mediate this WITHOUT being determined? How can a thing be random when it has been chosen? "Freewill" implies limitation and coordination. Randomness (freedom) and necessity do not exist independently nor is their coexistence temp...

“The final solution was approached in… turning around the question. Instead of asking: How can one in the known mathematical scheme express a given experimental situation? the other question was put: Is it true, perhaps, that only such experimental situations can arise in nature as can be expressed ...

Hobbes' Choice wrote:

The Inglorious One wrote: Yes: determinism and randomness mediated by mind.

And what determines randomness, and how does the mind mediate without being determined?

You answered your own question.

i'm inclined to believe in determinism because logic dictates it. no one can deny the existence of order in the universe, which necessitates the existence of causation. only strict cause and effect can produce order. the existence of -any- randomness is not only impossible, but would only lead to i...

Real thought requires struggle. Culture's laborious emergence from the immediacy of “substantial life” always begins by getting acquainted with general principles and points of view, work up to a general conception of real issues, and then learning to apprehend the rich abundance of life by differen...

It is in man's nature to transcend nature—at least in part. This makes us a god-like species, giving us the ability to have a huge impact on our environment. It also makes us vulnerable. Every time we strike a match, we are in a sense “playing God.” Yet, the vast majority of human beings would peris...

A human being is the only creature that has to learn how to identify with universe realities and conform to nature. To negate the self by “unlearning” is to do just the opposite: it is to oppose nature and set oneself apart from the fullness of life's gifts. Simply put, it is a way of escaping from ...

Again, I am a fan of Watts. I recommend youtubing "Alan Watts is God for 10 minutes" and somewhat ironically, "The wisdom of the ridiculous." Done it. I don't like Watts on YouTube. As a showman I think he sucks. He's a much better writer than a speaker. Also, the world would be...

henry quirk wrote: Er, Crom is fiction...never said I 'believe' in Crom.

No kidding? Gee, I thought you believed Conan the Barbarian was holy script.

"You have lots of content, but no depth."

Yeah, I know.

Then we both do.

You didn't answer my question. If you understand as much as you say, then you must admit that much of what passes for philosophy of religion in this forum, especially amongst atheists, is utterly absurd. Questions like how many gods there are and whether it's moral for God to punish us is just meani...

"Isn't that what you were getting at with the Meister quote?" My point: don't look around the room for the elephant, just look in the mirror. Good point, very good. I accept that. But how do you convey what Eckhart means to an outsider if they do not first acknowledging the validity of th...

Question begging means using circular logic. I haven't done that. This is not the first time someone called Watts' argument flawed and then proceed as though the assertion did not need elaboration (the conclusion is among its premises: Watts argument is flawed because it's flawed). It is the first ...

Jaded Sage wrote:Question begging means using circular logic. I haven't done that.

Your credibility is gone.

Clearly, Paul's statement is mystical as we've defined here. The other is interesting, in the original form. It sounds panentheistic or pantheistic. That analogy isn't very helpful. I've never read anything mystical that sounds like that. This is pointless. You're begging the question. You've made ...