Recent content by mrj

Hello. If they didn't have some kind of prior agreement (formal or informal) as to how they would divide the bounty, then there's no way of saying how they would do it. Hitler and arguably SunTzu maybe and even Arnie if he's in his 'strong man' mode, might not even want a 'moral' or 'fair'...

Hi Zophras: Having come through a very stressful month myself, could you please describe what you mean by depersonalisation and derealisation? I have an intuitive feel for what you 'might' mean but I would like to know more precisely what you're referring to. Which behaviours characterize...

Hi. I admire much of Buddhism's epistemology although I don't consider myself a Buddhist. Many aspects of its morality are appealing, although I do find it takes the adherent too far from the practical world if followed too closely and to its limit. I believe the principle of reducing...

Thanks for the clarification AKG. mrj

I was thinking about Godel's Incompleteness Theorem and was wondering if this is a fair conclusion: Godel seems to have demonstrated that within axiomatizations of arithmetic, that is of a sufficiently rich axiomatized system which could generate arithmetic, there are statements which can not...

Hi. You can also check out this book: "Everything that Linguists have Always Wanted to Know about Logic...But were Ashamed to Ask," by James D. McCawley, available on Amazon. mrj

Re: Form and Substance and 'sameness.' How about say, a corporation? After so many years, let's say not only has there been a complete turn-over of employees, but let's say all the original assests have been sold or traded for a completely different set of assests. It's still ''formally'...

"Die before you die..." refers to seeing the 'self' as empty, meaning empty of permanent features or predicates. Thus there is no essential, pesisting quality which defines the self and once one realizes that then one realizes that there is nothing to 'grasp' at and, theoretically anyway...

Well, such a place would be an extreme form of dictatorship and why would one want to give up one's freedom for such a society. The question remains, why should the leaders have the freedom to take your freedom away to such an extreme degree. I believe the core of freedom and moral...

Getting accepted >Hi hkhil: You could try reading "How the Mind Works" by Steven Pinker. He takes the position of evolutionary biology/psychology and relates how fitness, sexuality and reproductive success are linked. It's a hefty tome but not an overly difficult read. Richard Dawkins'...

jammieg said: "Do words really harm people though? I thing truly they do not..." Words certainly can harm people. Words have effects on other people's opinions regarding someone. Say in a small town, 'A' spreads harmful rumours about 'B' and as a result B's life is negatively affected even...

Freedom of Speech Hi jammieg: Keep in mind that there are limits to free speech even in so-called democratic societies. There are laws against libel and slander. But if you ask why should there even be free speech, i would ask, why not? If someone can deny you free speech, one should ask...

Hi You might be interested in the Buddhist forum www.e-sangha.com . Although I'm not a believer myself, they do have a wide range of topics including some on karma. mrj

Hume's Fork and responsibility Hi Q_Goest Thanks for your reply. My understanding of Hume's Fork is that if we as living beings are merely part of the causal chain and thus determined, then we are not responsible, which really means morally responsible, for our actions. If randomness...

Hi. I've heard this question posed before usually in the context of asking whether or not we can 'know' we have free will. I would say there's no proof in the strict sense, that we are either free or determined. If someone were controlling us, for the sake of argument, can we not also ask if...