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I have a mother with alzheimer dementia in a very advanced stage and she is unconscious about anything is happening around her. I think she is alive phisically but not a conscious being, she acts by instincts, grabbing a piece of bread or crying when she needs something, like a baby or an animal. Cant talk, dont know who she is or anything... I cant stop asking myself wether she is "alive", alive here meaning as a conscious human being. If I was religious I would ask where did her soul go?? Is it still there? Is it only her body what is left? Is all mad people also "alive"under this terms? What about very young children (who hasnt developed self awareness yet)? What about people who lives in auto pilot all their life and never question ther existence? Actually when do we start being "alive" under this concept? "I think therefore I am" Sorry for the long lines, I hope I explained myself. Thank you in advance. Juan C.
It is very sad to hear your
Jonathan Westphal
June 28, 2018
(changed June 28, 2018)
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It is very sad to hear your story. I can give a guess about the awfulness of what you are going through, but I am more certain that I cannot appreciate the full daily horror for you.
Your question is a most reasonable one. Is your mother "alive"? It is interesting t... Read more
Was MLK a philosopher? History doesn't really consider him one, but he did have a lot of views regarding fairness and justice, and his ideas were very influential upon the development of civil rights and equality.
It's an interesting question,
Allen Stairs
June 25, 2018
(changed June 25, 2018)
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It's an interesting question, but especially at the meta-level. I've been thinking about how it should be answered and here's my tentative theory.
One way someone can count as a philosopher is if people who count uncontroversially as philosophers by and large coun... Read more
I am interested in the slippery slope. Must I accept that the first instance or "slope event" that gives rise to the argument is in itself without much consequence? Or, can I argue slippery slope AND insist that the first instance (developing a parcel of public land, for example, that will result eventually in all the virgin land's demise) is a mistake?
A slippery slope argument in
Michael Cholbi
June 16, 2018
(changed June 16, 2018)
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A slippery slope argument in ethics typically has the following form:
If we were to deviate from the status quo in which X is disallowed and instead allow for X, allowing for X (which need not itself be morally objectionable or worrisome) will lead to Y, which is mora... Read more
Is there a clear-cut distinction between something that is "immoral" and something that is "impolite"? After all, aren't both categories about violating a society's norms?
Quick example: in this
Allen Stairs
June 14, 2018
(changed June 20, 2018)
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Quick example: in this country, it's impolite to slurp your soup; not so in some other countries. That's just a matter of differing social norms
Killing innocent people is immoral; it's immoral regardless of where you are, and not just because we happen to have a social norm... Read more
Is there any reason to think that happiness is of any importance?
There are different things
Allen Stairs
June 14, 2018
(changed June 16, 2018)
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There are different things you might mean, and the answer will depend on which ones you do mean. Since I'm particularly unsure what you mean by "importance," I'm going to look at a nearby question: is there any reason to think that happiness is a good thing? That raises... Read more
Hi there. I've recently become depressed over the fact, said by some philosophers, that everything we do and enjoy is merely a distraction. I really don't want to think this as I love my passions dearly. But my anxiety keeps making me believe what they said. Is it true? Or are what we enjoy in life more than just distractions? Thanks.
Distraction from what?
Allen Stairs
June 10, 2018
(changed June 10, 2018)
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Distraction from what?
Perhaps these people think there's something else we should be paying attention to, to the exclusion of all else. What? Even if what it is is a Very Good Thing, there are lots of good things, and if we ignore all the others, the world will be the poore... Read more
Can one have delusional knowledge?
Depends on what you mean.
Allen Stairs
May 31, 2018
(changed May 31, 2018)
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Depends on what you mean.
If "delusional knowledge" is supposed to mean that what the person "knows" isn't true, then the usual answer (with which I would agree) is no. We can't know what isn't so.
If "delusional knowledge" means beliefs produced by the person's delusion, bu... Read more
Why can’t I argue that God exists noncontingently and is an abstract object? Some say it is because abstract objects lack causal power, and thus to argue as such would deny God at least one essential characteristic which any interesting concept of God cannot lack—omnipotence. But why can’t abstract object possess causal power?
Interesting question. Some
Charles Taliaferro
May 31, 2018
(changed May 31, 2018)
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Interesting question. Some philosophers have attributed to abstract objects divine attributes like being eternal and timeless. Perhaps some abstract objects (like the properties of justice and beauty) might be worthy of worship. I have actually argued that abstract o... Read more
Music is considered an art so can we consider the sound of the wind an art?
Great question. It might be
Charles Taliaferro
May 31, 2018
(changed May 31, 2018)
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Great question. It might be made even more vexing if we compare the sound of wind with a musical piece in which musicians play instrumental music that resembles almost exactly the sound of wind. The chief reason why most of us would distinguish the two is because it... Read more
Most bathroom sprays don't destroy bad odours so much as overpower them with a more pleasant odour. In such cases, can people really be said to be smelling the bad odour if they have no conscious awareness of it?
Philosophers will divide over
Jonathan Westphal
May 31, 2018
(changed May 31, 2018)
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Philosophers will divide over the question whether tastes, colours, sounds, smells and so on are by nature physical or phenomenal. If these so-called "secondary qualities" are physical, then it makes sense to think of one smell covering up another, which is still th... Read more