Philosophy Weekly Newsletter - Thursday, April 28, 2016

Philosophy newsletter

Top new questions this week: What are computable numbers and what is their philosophical significance? What are Computable Numbers? Is computability (or non-computability) some sort of technology-dependent characteristic of numbers (via e.g. Turing Machines)? What is the philosophical implication or ... philosophy-of-mathematics computation formal-theory   asked by L.M. Student 12 votes answered by Conifold 12 votes Are Wittgenstein and Quine criticizing the same semantic system? If they aren't generally doing so, are there instances where they are specifically? What is the connection between the criticisms offered by Wittgenstein and Quine of meaning and language? Are both philosophers generally criticizing the same semantic theories, and if not, are there ... wittgenstein semantics quine   asked by Esse 6 votes answered by Conifold 9 votes Can utilitiarianism require informed consent? Background In 2014, it was revealed that Facebook had manipulated news feeds to study emotions. Facebook did not go through any sort of ethical review at the time and has been criticized for this and ... ethics utilitarianism   asked by Christian 5 votes answered by virmaior 1 vote Did Easterlin paradox and Scitovsky joyless economy disprove utilitarianism? Utilitarianism is defined as follows: Utilitarianism is a theory in normative ethics holding that the best moral action is the one that maximizes utility. Utility is defined in various ways, but ... utilitarianism happiness john-stuart-mill   asked by Vitalij Zadneprovskij 3 votes How does "Plotinian discussion of unity and multiplicity" contribute to Al-Kindi's cosmological argument? I'm reading a discussion of Al-Kindi's cosmological argument. Al-Kindi is widely considered "father of Islamic philosophy" and this argument is a version of what is now known as the "kalam ... theology philosophy-of-religion islamic-philosophy plotinus   asked by user69715 3 votes answered by Mauro ALLEGRANZA 2 votes Entanglement and the computability of nature In the 1935 EPR paper, Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen write that given two entangled particles, one particle can be used to predict with certainty the value of a quantity of the second particle, or in ... quantum-physics computation   asked by nir 3 votes answered by alanf 1 vote What makes a relation 'satisfactory' under William James's pragmatist account of truth? William James wrote that "Ideas ... become true just in so far as they help us to get into satisfactory relations with other parts of experience" (James 1907). What makes any given relation more ... truth pragmatism william-james   asked by Esse 3 votes answered by Eliran H 3 votes Greatest hits from previous weeks: In which way does quantum mechanics disprove determinism? I've heard this pop up in a discussion with my physicist/engineer roommates, but didn't care to ask at the time. Now I'm mighty curious about it. Wikipedia doesn't really seem to say much on this ... philosophy-of-science free-will quantum-physics   asked by glifchits 26 votes answered by Artem Kaznatcheev 21 votes Is it a fallacy to say that a sane person cannot apply rational thought to the motivations of the insane? A common argument in today's news is that: Someone commits a heinous crime by shooting a bunch of people. Anyone who commits a heinous crime must be insane. Sane people cannot apply rational thought ... logic fallacies psychology rationality   asked by YPCrumble 21 votes answered by Conifold 21 votes Can you answer these? Why should we consider Wittgenstein a Schopenhauerian idealist? About the Tractatus, while explaining the similarities and differences between Wittgenstein and Kant with regard to the metaphysics, on the one hand (both track limits, according to which we cannot ... kant history-of-philosophy wittgenstein idealism schopenhauer   asked by robertalrp 2 votes Assistance in interpreting this excerpt concerning political philosophy The article comes from "The Rhetorical Functions of Slogans: Classifications and Characteristics" by Robert E. Denton. The title should give away what the entire article is about. I've come to the ... political-philosophy argumentation sociology justice   asked by Danny Rodriguez 1 vote

Subscribe to more Stack Exchange newsletters Unsubscribe from this newsletter or change your email preferences by visiting your subscriptions page on stackexchange.com. Questions? Comments? Let us know on our feedback site. If you no longer want to receive mail from Stack Exchange, unsubscribe from all stackexchange.com emails. Stack Exchange, Inc. 110 William St, 28th Floor, NY NY 10038 <3