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How popular is Bayes' theorem among philosophers? As a physicist, it has had a profound effect on my thinking, and seems to reflect the way we intuitively deal with new evidence presented to us. As a reminder, Bayes' theorem states: Probability(A given B) = Probability(B given A)*Probability(A)/Probability(B) For example, if A is "A revolutionary new theory" and B is "Data from my experiment", then Bayes' theorem tells us that we have to take into account our initial (prior) belief in the theory P(A), given our background knowledge, before even looking at our data.
Peter Lipton
November 29, 2005
(changed November 29, 2005)
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Bayes' Theorem is very popular among philosophers of science who work on the bearing of evidence on theory. As you say, it has some attractive features. In your formulation, "A" stands for the theory and "E" for the evidence. To keep this straight, I'm going to use "T" and "E" respectiv... Read more
Is there a logical reason why most people prefer their own opinions rather than someone else's?
Peter Lipton
November 29, 2005
(changed November 29, 2005)
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This is a tantalizing question. On some subjects I do have a good reason to prefer my own opinions, say because I was there at the time and saw it with my own eyes. But consider philosophical opinions. Why do I bother to form my own opinions? Why don't I just agree with everything Hila... Read more
Where can I read something about the difference between explanation and justification? How would you put this difference in a few words?
Peter Lipton
November 29, 2005
(changed November 29, 2005)
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When you ask for an explanation, you usually already have a justification. You want something more -- understanding -- which is what an explanation provides. Thus when you ask why the same side of the moon always faces the earth, you already know that it does, but you do not understand w... Read more
Why isn't Christianity considered evil? After reading the Bible, I noticed that homosexuality is 'abominable', that if anyone chooses to work on a sunday then they should be 'put to death', that slavery is fine, animal sacrifice is fine and that the mentally-ill are possessed by the devil. Why then, do we not actively supress Christianity? How can a Christian legitimately believe that homosexuality, for example, is fine and still call themselves a Christian, despite what it says in the Bible? It seems to me that it is an evil moral theory to subscribe to.
Richard Heck
November 29, 2005
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A few comments.
First, the Bible nowhere says that oneshouldn't work on Sunday. It says that one shouldn't work on theSabbath, and the relevant prohibition is contained in the Law given toMoses, which means that it referred originally to the Jewish Sabbath,Saturday.
Second,as Peter Fosl s... Read more
Given that there is no proof for either statement, is it any more valid to say 'there is a God' than it is to say 'there is no God'? Or is the only valid answer 'I don't know if there is a God'?
Louise Antony
November 29, 2005
(changed November 29, 2005)
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There's a common misconception about "proof" -- that if a statement cannot be "proven," then it's equally rational to believe either it or its contradictory. If "prove" means "establish with logical certainty from self-evident first principles", then nothing outside mathematics, logic,... Read more
How can I be sure that I got the right meaning of what some TV reporter just said? Do I just go and check the dictionary? But what if some word isn't in the dictionary? What if the reporter used it in some different sense? And it sure looks possible that the dictionary is wrong. What if it just doesn't make sense to take it as it is in the dictionary? It seems a pretty difficult question... Are there any philosophical theories about this?
Richard Heck
November 29, 2005
(changed November 29, 2005)
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Yes, philosophers have worried about this kind of question. One place it surfaces is in a debate over whether the notion of a "communal language" needs to play some important theoretical role. Michael Dummett, for example, has argued that unless we all regarded ourselves as speaking a sing... Read more
When I am thinking, some of my thoughts and ideas are in words. Some are in feelings and emotions. Others are in concepts or pictures. When I am having thoughts that are not in words it is sometimes very difficult to express these thoughts. Is there a way, using science or philosophy or some other means, to get these thoughts and ideas out to others? D.D.
Richard Heck
November 29, 2005
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I think many people have this kind of experience. Perhaps art, at least in certain of its forms, is a response to it. Which is to say: Maybe you should try writing a poem, composing a symphony, or creating a sculpture.
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Can we have a POSITIVE understanding of such concepts as infinity? What I mean is that, whilst I am sure that we can well grasp the concept of finiteness, can we do more than negate it (which would yield not-finiteness), can we understand infinity from the inside instead of by negating everything that lies outside of it? Thanks, Andrea Jasson
Richard Heck
November 29, 2005
(changed November 29, 2005)
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There are two kinds of definitions of infinity, one which is"negative" in your sense and one which is "positive". The former is,historically, the older.
There are many equivalent definitions offinitude. My own favorite is due to Gottlob Frege: A set is finite ifits members can be ordered... Read more
I think that religion is just one's way to answer their own questioning of the meaning of life. Those without religion (like atheists and even agnostics) I believe do not have that internal need to find a meaning, so they do not turn to religion. Believing in God or a god gives a shorthand answer to life: that we were created to live. What are your thoughts?
Richard Heck
November 29, 2005
(changed November 29, 2005)
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My main thoughts would be these:
Trying to find somesimple, single sentence explanation for something as complex andancient as religious faith is not very sensible.
Beforeattempting to answer the question what role religion plays in people'slives, it would probably be a good idea to do som... Read more
Why do philosophers think they know everything?
Richard Heck
November 29, 2005
(changed November 29, 2005)
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Socrates famously said (roughly) that philosophy begins with knowledge of one's own ignorance. And I think any careful reading of this site would find most of us being extremely careful to add all kinds of qualifications and expressions of uncertainty to much of what we have to say. Of co... Read more