I don't think that consciousness is explicable on physical terms yet I don't think that that means that consciousness is necessarily any more explicable on the idea of a purely mental reality. (ie. Descartes idea of a thing that thinks and who's essence is thinking) What philosophers think along the same lines as I do?

I read in one of my dad's linguistic books that some languages have exactly three basic color words: black, white, and red. I wondered if this meant that for the people who speak these languages, everything that is not black and white is called red (the sky is red, grass is red, etc.) -- or if they just don't have a word to describe anything that is not black, white, or red. If it is the latter, then how would they describe the color of the sky and grass? Noah L. Age 11

I hope this makes sense... I've always been curious about attempts to understand the way our minds work. To me, it seems paradoxical and in some ways even hopeless. I suspect that in order for the mind to understand or learn something new, the mind itself (or at least the way it works) needs to be more complex than what it it processing. In other words, the "size" of the new information cannot exceed the "capacity" of the mind itself in order to store it. An example of this would be the way computers work: Let's say I have a PC with an old operating system (Windows 2000) and I wish to run a software CD designed for a more advanced operating system (Windows 8). My old computer will most likely not recognize any of the information on that new CD, either because my old computer requires more free space (capacity of mind) or because the information stored on that CD requires a different kind of technology to decrypt (complexity of idea). Thus, you can use a computer to fully process programs (according to its...

Is it wrong to desire sex with a woman when your primary interests are only physical and hence you might not even know or have spoken to the woman you desire sexually? Or does that only become problematic when a man expresses interest to that woman in a manner which is unsolicited and hence it becomes an unwanted and creepy sexual advance?

Do infinite sets exist? Most mathematicians say yes, but to me it seems like infinite sets can only exist if we use inductive reasoning but not deductive reasoning. For example, in the set {1,2,3,4,...} we can't prove that the ... really means what we want it to. No one has shown that the universe doesn't implode before certain large enough "numbers" are ever glimpsed, so how can we say they exist as part of an "object" like a set. We can only do this by assuming the existence of the rest of the set since that seems logical base on our experience. But that seems like a rather weak argument.

If a man/woman kills someone and gets in an accident then gets amnesia is the person still accountable for their past actions on the grounds that they're a "new person," because they have no traits of old self?

When someone asked: "Do you think jealousy is morally wrong or is it a natural thing to be jealous?" I'm surprised the answerer didn't address the implied false dichotomy in the question: Some things are both natural AND morally wrong. In fact, morality in general serves as a restraint from our doing what comes naturally.

I am looking for resources on a seemingly simple issue. I believe the seeming simplicity of this issue is quite deceptive: What is a "surface?" What allows anything to "touch?" Where does philosophy stand on this issue? Thank you for your time.

Can we know for sure that the external world exists? I was wondering about it for a while, and yesterday I thought that it must. You see, when I drink alcohol, it is an empirically experienced factor that affects my mind. That would mean that my mind is connected to my body. And because I can observe, smell and taste alcohol, that would be a proof that my senses can be trusted, at least to a degree on which they operate. Is that a valid argument?

Suppose that Google censored radical ideas without anyone knowing it because they believed that part of their role as a member of the corporate establishment was to protect capitalism. Would that be ethical of them? Is it their right?