http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/-t1.htm Does free will exist? Can we know reality? What are concepts?Why were Rousseau and Hegel so influential? Are we ever gonna get rid of postmodernism? Should we? What is the nature and task of philosophy? Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:15:57 GMT 10 http://illiweb.com/itest/logo/default/default4.gif http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/-t1.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/some-very-funny-philosophy-quips-t2022.htm Conrad here

some of my favs:

ah, fuck it, they're all gold. just click on the link. if it wasn't rude to copy-paste the whole thing, I'd do it]]> Philosophy Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:15:57 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/some-very-funny-philosophy-quips-t2022.htm#28536 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/some-very-funny-philosophy-quips-t2022.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/a-christian-evaluation-of-david-hume-t2005.htm CartesianTheist

Find the rest of the lecture on you tube...]]> Philosophy Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:03:35 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/a-christian-evaluation-of-david-hume-t2005.htm#28366 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/a-christian-evaluation-of-david-hume-t2005.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/misunderstanding-satire-t1979.htm Anonymous People who employ satire (to make a point), often get accused of making the exact OPPOSITE point by people who don't understand satire. From wikipedia: "In satire, human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods, ideally with the intent to bring about improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be funny, the purpose of satire is not primarily humour in itself so much as an ... Philosophy Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:31:49 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/misunderstanding-satire-t1979.htm#28149 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/misunderstanding-satire-t1979.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/celia-green-t1983.htm Mitchell Porter Hello "Liberating Minds". I got here by stalking Danny and Vichy, and it seems not a bad place - for an Internet philosophy forum. I want to bring to your attention the existence of someone called Celia Green. She matters for a few reasons. First, she may be the most important unknown thinker of the 20th century. Second, she's still alive, though getting on in years (born 1935), and she's not shy about saying that she still wants help in getting started on the intellectual career ... Philosophy Sun, 27 Sep 2009 10:13:04 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/celia-green-t1983.htm#28208 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/celia-green-t1983.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/what-is-a-slave-and-what-is-a-prisoner-rough-notes-t1970.htm Vana What is a slave and what is a prisoner? (rough notes) I was born into slavery. And fought my way up to prisoner! The slave obeys. The slave subjugates his will to that of an other or others. The slave is never under duress -- that is the prisoner. The prisoner makes no pretension of submission. From the outside the two may be indistinguishable -- but they are totally different -- opposites. The slave is a slave in mind, the prisoner is always really free. There is no shame ... Philosophy Wed, 16 Sep 2009 02:27:24 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/what-is-a-slave-and-what-is-a-prisoner-rough-notes-t1970.htm#27992 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/what-is-a-slave-and-what-is-a-prisoner-rough-notes-t1970.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/philosophy-by-bruce-lee-t1924.htm CartesianTheist It's often forgot that Bruce Lee was as much a philosopher as he was a martial artist. Here are some wonderful quotes from him. They made me think a lot. I hope some of them do the same for you. [P.S. I didn't like the music so turned it down and put my own on!!] Philosophy Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:52:45 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/philosophy-by-bruce-lee-t1924.htm#27516 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/philosophy-by-bruce-lee-t1924.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/materialism-and-it-s-discontents-t1910.htm CartesianTheist Lecture by the British philosopher, Keith Ward Here's the second part. You can find the other parts from this link if you wish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvoMu17Ft8I&NR=1 More Gresham College videos: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/audio_video.asp?PageId=108 Philosophy Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:23:02 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/materialism-and-it-s-discontents-t1910.htm#27268 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/materialism-and-it-s-discontents-t1910.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/proof-god-did-not-create-the-universe-t1913.htm Anonymous
a) God consists entirely of Plasmodium 5.

b) Plasmodium 5 did not form until 28 years AFTER the universe was generated.

c) Therefor, God could not possibly have created the universe. He wasn't even born yet.]]> Philosophy Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:36:42 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/proof-god-did-not-create-the-universe-t1913.htm#27302 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/proof-god-did-not-create-the-universe-t1913.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/why-is-theism-popular-among-philosophers-t1887.htm CartesianTheist Most philosophers have been theists!! Of course this has always been the case historically speaking and is completely uncontroversial and uncontended. It has, however, become more and more common to hear atheists suggesting that there are no intelligent people out there any more who believe in God. This ignores the empirical fact that theism is flourishing in the discipline of philosophy at the beginning of the 21st century. Why is this fact being ignored? Philosophy Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:57:26 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/why-is-theism-popular-among-philosophers-t1887.htm#26870 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/why-is-theism-popular-among-philosophers-t1887.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/ignorance-t1904.htm NonEntity Proportion. In the grand scheme of things it is apparent to me that relative to the amount of stuff there is that is potentially knowable, the level of my ignorance is so large as to be virtually indistinguishable from infintity. I manage to consider this idea as simutaneously both overwhelming and really exciting. It's overwhelming if I am in the mood to feel it necessary to feel particularly competent. It's exciting when I reflect upon the limitless frontier of really cool things that ... Philosophy Sat, 15 Aug 2009 21:06:01 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/ignorance-t1904.htm#27183 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/ignorance-t1904.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/what-is-metaphysical-t1890.htm Anonymous Some people (we won't mention any names) claim that "God" is "non-physical" or "metaphysical". As far as I can gather, both of those terms are euphemisms for "imaginary" or "mental". Thus, when someone says that "God exists" (and is "metaphysical"), we can safely assume (it would seem) that what they mean is that God exists IN OUR IMAGINATION (as a mental construct). The only other way we could interpret "metaphysical", ... Philosophy Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:52:26 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/what-is-metaphysical-t1890.htm#27000 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/what-is-metaphysical-t1890.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/descartes-what-to-read-t1647.htm vichy Philosophy Classics has gotten me interested in Descartes. What of Descartes books would you recommend? Any secondary literature especially good?

I was just thinking I could string together, "Rationalist Empiricist Existential Egoism" and I'd cover metaphysics, epistemology and ethics in one fell swoop. It'd also be a totally incomprehensible name.]]> Philosophy Wed, 22 Apr 2009 07:20:15 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/descartes-what-to-read-t1647.htm#24113 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/descartes-what-to-read-t1647.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/i-think-therefore-i-am-t1733.htm Anonymous Ok folks... help me out with this philosophy stuff: So... I guess the whole "I think therefore I am" thingy, is supposed to represent the ONLY thing we (or maybe just I) actually know. I'm aware that that contention is hotly debated, however... I'm not even sure I really grasp the fundamental argument in the first place. I know it has something to do with us not being able to trust our senses (we don't know if we're in The Matrix, if we're a brain in a tank, or if some super ... Philosophy Sat, 16 May 2009 05:52:19 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/i-think-therefore-i-am-t1733.htm#25140 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/i-think-therefore-i-am-t1733.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/funny-a-j-ayer-about-logical-positivism-t1787.htm Conrad So A. J. Ayer who sort of brought logical positivism to the Anglosaxan world and was famous for promoting it, was asked in an interview late in his life what the major shortcomings of logical positivism were. he replied: Quote:"I suppose most of the defects were that nearly all of it was false." Haha! hat tip Michael Stettler in his "The Rhetoric of McCloskey's Rhetoric of Economics" Philosophy Sun, 07 Jun 2009 20:45:47 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/funny-a-j-ayer-about-logical-positivism-t1787.htm#25695 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/funny-a-j-ayer-about-logical-positivism-t1787.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/living-in-the-moment-desire-without-attachment-etc-t1852.htm Bigus Dickus Valuable stuff? Or hippie shit? Discuss. The "living in the now" stuff seems interesting to me, although the way this idea is conveyed sometimes makes it seem as though it is simply having a high time preference, which I sometimes find stupid. But I'm open to other meanings of the idea. Desire without attachment sounds intuitively appealing, but I don't fully understand what exactly is meant by each word; what is the desire and what is the attachment? Where would this fall ... Philosophy Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:20:25 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/living-in-the-moment-desire-without-attachment-etc-t1852.htm#26366 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/living-in-the-moment-desire-without-attachment-etc-t1852.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/differences-in-sympathy-towards-animals-t1824.htm Bigus Dickus One thing that I find very interesting is, how we generally display different amounts of sympathy for different animals -for instance, the different treatments that are given to beetles and cockroaches, or between owls and vultures. For example, I find myself having a considerable heart-tug towards a dog in pain, but I view pain in a mosquito much more as simply a biological survival device. Furthermore, I find it harder to have sympathy or respect towards animals that I perceive as having ... Philosophy Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:00:04 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/differences-in-sympathy-towards-animals-t1824.htm#26043 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/differences-in-sympathy-towards-animals-t1824.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/who-s-that-spanking-danny-t1743.htm Stewart deconstructed Danny and Vichy's discussion of moral fictionalism

Kind of an interesting read.]]> Philosophy Mon, 18 May 2009 03:40:04 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/who-s-that-spanking-danny-t1743.htm#25236 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/who-s-that-spanking-danny-t1743.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/self-determinism-t1732.htm Anonymous Does anybody have an opinion about whether or not the "self" is illusory given the premise (assumed for the sake of argument) that determinism is true? I kind of lean in this direction, but I'm not real sure I can even wrap my mind around what the "self" is. It may be a problematic concept. I guess we would need to define the self, and if we decided it was an illusion, we would need to determine what kind of illusion it is. Also... I could be asking the wrong ... Philosophy Sat, 16 May 2009 05:45:29 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/self-determinism-t1732.htm#25139 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/self-determinism-t1732.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/germans-have-the-best-crank-philosophy-and-politics-t1700.htm vichy Quote:With the Empire of China History has to begin, for it is the oldest, as far as history gives us any information ; and its principle has such substantiality, that for the empire in question it is at once the oldest and the newest. Early do we see China advancing to the condition in which it is found at this day ; for as the contrast between objective existence and subjective freedom of movement in it, is still wanting, every change is excluded, and the fixedness of a character ... Philosophy Thu, 07 May 2009 08:35:32 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/germans-have-the-best-crank-philosophy-and-politics-t1700.htm#24798 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/germans-have-the-best-crank-philosophy-and-politics-t1700.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/the-overman-t1687.htm vichy So, what do you people think of Nietzsche's concept of the Superman? I'll comment later, as I already have some fairly strong opinions on the subject - not devoid of the influence of Aristotle, Hegelianism and nihilism. From Thus Spoke Zarathustra Quote: I teach you the Overman! Mankind is something to be overcome. What have you done to overcome mankind? All beings so far have created something beyond themselves. Do you want to be the ebb of that great tide, and revert back to the ... Philosophy Mon, 04 May 2009 22:07:38 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/the-overman-t1687.htm#24669 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/the-overman-t1687.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/hegelians-t1686.htm vichy I just thought I'd give some basic conceptians of Hegelianism, since it's not too common a philosophy to encounter in the libertarianesque philosophies. Hegel basically conceives of reality as the working out and integration of logic in the world. Note that this is in the world - it's a teleological ontology. He apparently was influenced by an interpretation of Aristotle on this matter, and was certainly influenced by Kant. In essence, the world exists and eventually comes to be aware ... Philosophy Mon, 04 May 2009 15:21:03 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/hegelians-t1686.htm#24658 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/hegelians-t1686.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/upb-the-slayer-slain-t1632.htm Conrad here]]> Philosophy Thu, 16 Apr 2009 07:17:06 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/upb-the-slayer-slain-t1632.htm#23979 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/upb-the-slayer-slain-t1632.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/logic-and-such-t1646.htm vichy So, I basically hold that logic is a necessary precondition for ontological status - a 'metaphysical' claim, appropriate enough since you will largely find it in Aristotle's so-called Metaphysics. The primary arguments I would give for this are that the principle of non-contradiction (Aristotilian) NC-A is not identical to the formal logical non-contradiction p/-p. This principle argues that a thing (even a quasi-holistic quantum inference universe) can not have contradictory properties in ... Philosophy Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:53:11 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/logic-and-such-t1646.htm#24112 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/logic-and-such-t1646.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/my-stupid-causality-summaries-fwiw-t1512.htm Conrad David Lewis on Counterfactuals and Causality – summary Counterfactual analyses of the meaning of causal statements do justice to the intuition that a cause is something that makes a difference: 'If A had occurred, then B would have occurred.' David Lewis uses the notion of counterfactual dependence to define causal dependence which in turn he uses to define causality per se through the idea of chains of causal dependence. Lewis employs possible world semantics (so as to avoid the problem ... Philosophy Thu, 12 Mar 2009 10:32:13 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/my-stupid-causality-summaries-fwiw-t1512.htm#22488 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/my-stupid-causality-summaries-fwiw-t1512.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/heidegger-t1634.htm vichy I've been reading over some Heidegger lately, and I realise that I agree with him more than I remembered. Contrary to Sartre's sort of vulgar existentialism. Heidegger's sense of authentic being as 'being flexible', doing things without expecting or imagining them to possess or grant some 'great meaning' or 'reason' to your existence...the way he views individual existence as consisting of a world-context-experience and intentionality...all pretty good stuff. Philosophy Fri, 17 Apr 2009 06:30:45 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/heidegger-t1634.htm#24024 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/heidegger-t1634.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/wittgenstein-and-aristotilianism-t1628.htm vichy I've had some comments, from the Wittgensteinien perspective it seems, that metaphysics is nonsensical. Having read Witty, and being an Aristotilian I want to state how it seems to me that the perspectives are somewhat compatible, at least somewhat. From what I can work out Wittgenstein seems to think that the when we make philosophical statements about something being true and false we do it in reference to facts. Yet this relation we can not communicate explicitely, for it is a concept ... Philosophy Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:16:36 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/wittgenstein-and-aristotilianism-t1628.htm#23906 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/wittgenstein-and-aristotilianism-t1628.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/what-do-you-guys-think-of-ge-moore-t1623.htm vichy I realised I've seen a lot of references to George Edward Moore, but if I've read anything of his it was short and a long time ago. Has anyone here read him? If so, what's your evaluation? Philosophy Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:28:57 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/what-do-you-guys-think-of-ge-moore-t1623.htm#23865 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/what-do-you-guys-think-of-ge-moore-t1623.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/null-hypothesis-t1608.htm Conrad Memeverse started a thread on FDR about the null hypothesis. I was reading the the discussion and I didn't understand. I was thinking 'My minor was in philosophy of science but I've never heard of the null hypothesis being used in the way they are using it'. So I looked it up on Wikipedia which only further confirmed my doubts. What I think they are talking about is Popper's falsification criterion and then they ask the question 'If statements have to be in principle falsifiable to be science ... Philosophy Sun, 12 Apr 2009 05:36:45 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/null-hypothesis-t1608.htm#23668 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/null-hypothesis-t1608.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/everyone-should-find-hope-in-this-article-t1572.htm Static4367 http://blogs.wsj.com/management/2009/03/24/the-facebook-generation-vs-the-fortune-500/]]> Philosophy Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:41:47 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/everyone-should-find-hope-in-this-article-t1572.htm#23130 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/everyone-should-find-hope-in-this-article-t1572.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/bayesians-t1546.htm vichy Okay, I've been reading a lot about Bayesians lately. Can anyone tell me where to find some good summaries, articles and such explaining the Bayesian system/theory? Or provide one of your own! Philosophy Sat, 21 Mar 2009 08:37:12 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/bayesians-t1546.htm#22850 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/bayesians-t1546.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/how-the-internet-links-philosophy-with-its-roots-t1529.htm Conrad here

I think the article understates though the necessity and inevitability of specialization and specialized vocabulary]]> Philosophy Wed, 18 Mar 2009 12:37:29 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/how-the-internet-links-philosophy-with-its-roots-t1529.htm#22680 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/how-the-internet-links-philosophy-with-its-roots-t1529.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/authority-t1485.htm NonEntity
Please, if you will, define for me from whence "authority" derives.

Note here that I am specifically recognizing (the part in bold) that I have no authority over you, that only you can choose for yourself, or speak for yourself, and I am appealing to that authority for a reply.

- NonE]]> Philosophy Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:06:38 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/authority-t1485.htm#21934 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/authority-t1485.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/would-you-kill-someone-t946.htm Xeonious I saw this same question asked on yahoo answers, but as usual, all the answers given are utter crap (no surprise). So here’s the big question: If there was no consequence to killing someone, no jail/death penalty, no one coming after you, he won’t kill you, or anything else, would you do it? Let's say you would gain a lot of wealth from the murder (millions of dollars). Also, this is outside of self-defense. Why or why wouldn’t you do it? I know this is an odd question, and my answer ... Philosophy Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:12:28 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/would-you-kill-someone-t946.htm#13122 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/would-you-kill-someone-t946.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/i-didn-t-realize-ayn-rand-hated-me-so-much-t1506.htm Paul http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=education_campus_libertarians

She had a lot of mean things to say about libertarians and anarchists. She seems to think they stole all her ideas. I find that quiet humorous. Your thoughts?]]> Philosophy Mon, 09 Mar 2009 04:55:32 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/i-didn-t-realize-ayn-rand-hated-me-so-much-t1506.htm#22267 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/i-didn-t-realize-ayn-rand-hated-me-so-much-t1506.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/critique-of-lysander-spooner-s-no-treason-t1490.htm vichy As much as I agree with Spooner's analysis of the state's basic nature, this quote does not really establish anything pertinent with respect to the question of 'authority'. The coercive nature of the State (and its contrast with private contract law) are not really in dispute. His entire argument rest on citing a 'natural' right or rights. Hume and Anthony de Jasay's work on law and custom influenced my critique of Spooner, as did many natural law critiques such as L.A. Rollins' The Myth ... Philosophy Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:14:14 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/critique-of-lysander-spooner-s-no-treason-t1490.htm#22052 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/critique-of-lysander-spooner-s-no-treason-t1490.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/short-evaluative-overview-of-philosophy-t1504.htm Conrad would be funny to give a very short and highly opinionated and idiosyncratic overview of all the schools of thought in philosophy Kant: at least had something to say counterfactual analysis of causation: sucks saggy Brussel sprouts Wittgenstein: da bomb evolutionary economics: just sad Aristotle: alright Thomas Kuhn: stole the main ideas from Polanyi, but very cool nevertheless natural language semantics: who the fuck cares Frankfurter Schule: die already you bunch of commie ... Philosophy Sun, 08 Mar 2009 23:19:47 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/short-evaluative-overview-of-philosophy-t1504.htm#22254 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/short-evaluative-overview-of-philosophy-t1504.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/possible-world-semantics-and-counterfactual-dependence-suck-t1503.htm Conrad They do. it is just so boring and contrived and difficult and pointless and what not, but I have to summarize the whole counterfactual approach to causation and causal dependence (and not even the cool kind that I use in my analysis of the nature of economic propositions) before Tuesday (and write summary of Rawls, Nozick and Dworkin before Friday, and write a first draft of my History of Economic Thought course paper before Sunday, and do all the regular reading and thinking work for the courses ... Philosophy Sun, 08 Mar 2009 22:06:09 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/possible-world-semantics-and-counterfactual-dependence-suck-t1503.htm#22251 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/possible-world-semantics-and-counterfactual-dependence-suck-t1503.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/proof-of-the-external-world-t983.htm Conrad relevant to this thread G. E. Moore's famous common sense refutation of the skeptical argument was: 1) Here is a hand 2) any hand is a material object existing in space 3) the external world exists So Moore can look at his hand and say 'I know that this is a hand[/i] But this answer obviously does not satisfy the skeptic, the doubter of the existence of the external world. Moreover, it is an odd way of using the word 'know'. Wittgenstein writes this about it: Quote: 18. ... Philosophy Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:04:03 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/proof-of-the-external-world-t983.htm#14190 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/proof-of-the-external-world-t983.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/question-t1502.htm NadineLeBean

The all knowing of all everything can be irritating and probably false. Who knows everything? Someone who knows nothing. Oh, how very Socrates of me. ]]> Philosophy Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:02:19 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/question-t1502.htm#22215 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/question-t1502.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/is-this-website-anti-fdr-t1486.htm NadineLeBean I think most people would agree that much of the content and ideas on FDR are great and right on the money.
So, what I am wondering is, if those of us who seek true personal and political freedom can not get along, how can there ever be hope for freedom?]]> Philosophy Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:41:26 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/is-this-website-anti-fdr-t1486.htm#21967 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/is-this-website-anti-fdr-t1486.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/mises-about-ayn-rand-she-s-not-a-philosopher-t1423.htm Conrad from this Mises.org audio where somebody who knew Mises, Hayek, Rand, Hazlitt, Rothbard personally talks about his memories of them. I tend to very much enjoy these kinds of talks, even though they can be a bit slow at times etc. But it's nice to hear people's personal stories. the Mises quote about Rand is somewhere near the end and it's not more than just that quote Philosophy Sat, 07 Feb 2009 14:52:44 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/mises-about-ayn-rand-she-s-not-a-philosopher-t1423.htm#21102 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/mises-about-ayn-rand-she-s-not-a-philosopher-t1423.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/i-think-i-know-how-democracy-can-be-fixed-t322.htm galets I was thinking lately about the flaws in democracy principles, and I think I found a way how those principles can actually be patched for compatibility with concepts of libertarian freedom The base principle of democracy is that any project or decision is approved or disapproved by majority of votes, where each person holds one vote. The major flaws in that principle is: 1. Not everybody have the same say in decision to be made. If decision in question involves usage of my property, ... Philosophy Thu, 29 Nov 2007 07:45:06 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/i-think-i-know-how-democracy-can-be-fixed-t322.htm#3133 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/i-think-i-know-how-democracy-can-be-fixed-t322.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/hoppe-vs-mccloskey-t1464.htm Conrad So I've been reading Hoppe's "In Defense of Extreme Rationalism: Thoughts on Donald McCloskey's The Rhetoric of Economics" after having read some McCloskey. And I know a couple of weeks ago I was all excited about Hoppe's critique of keynes only to realize that things are a bit more complicated than Hoppe made them out to be and what not, but fucking hell, what a great brilliant mind-opening article his critique of McCloskey and empiricism and hermeneutics is. I don't know if everything ... Philosophy Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:06:16 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/hoppe-vs-mccloskey-t1464.htm#21580 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/hoppe-vs-mccloskey-t1464.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/robert-anton-wilson-t1420.htm T.E.M. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Anton_Wilson Is anyone else here a fan? I have only recently become one. RAW seems to be a libertarian in the Tuckerite classical individualist anarchist style, neither Austro-Rothbardian nor quite a contemporary left-mutualist. Some topics of his I'm particularly interested in: He took issue with Natural Rights in his "Natural Law: Or Don't put a Rubber on your Willy" (http://www.stephankinsella.com/texts/wilson_natural.pdf). This ... Philosophy Fri, 06 Feb 2009 19:05:30 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/robert-anton-wilson-t1420.htm#21071 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/robert-anton-wilson-t1420.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/the-wittgensteins-and-suicide-t1469.htm Conrad interesting NYT article]]> Philosophy Mon, 02 Mar 2009 19:55:50 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/the-wittgensteins-and-suicide-t1469.htm#21642 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/the-wittgensteins-and-suicide-t1469.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/prove-it-that-i-am-creepy-show-me-your-evidence-t1361.htm Bigus Dickus There's something I've been thinking about, I had originally noticed it through certain behaviors displayed in FDR; but I think it applies to umm, epistemology in general. Let's say I'm talking about a certain person, let's call him Bob. Let's say, I say that Bob is tall. And then someone asks me to prove that Bob is tall. I will then say, that according to a certain definition of the adjective tall (such as, above a height X), if you measure Bob you will find out that he fits (or not) the ... Philosophy Sat, 10 Jan 2009 02:23:59 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/prove-it-that-i-am-creepy-show-me-your-evidence-t1361.htm#20520 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/prove-it-that-i-am-creepy-show-me-your-evidence-t1361.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/ethics-as-reactionary-policy-speak-no-evil-t1309.htm RJMII Feel free to place this in 'Ethics', I forgot to do so. I have just found out that Carl Schmitt was influenced by Stirner, which explains why his views on the nature of politics are so accurate. Though a 'fascist', Schmitt while in prison admitted that Stirner had always held a firm attraction to him. This reinforces my idea that the main reason there are so few Stirnerites despite any coherent refutation of his positions is because most men are afraid of their own ghosts of morality and ... Philosophy Sun, 28 Dec 2008 02:40:00 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/ethics-as-reactionary-policy-speak-no-evil-t1309.htm#20154 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/ethics-as-reactionary-policy-speak-no-evil-t1309.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/times-are-hardfor-philosophers-t1345.htm Heh http://althouse.blogspot.com/2009/01/times-are-hard-for-philosophers.html

Summary, links to article in Philly Inquirer

Discuss ]]> Philosophy Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:48:11 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/times-are-hardfor-philosophers-t1345.htm#20397 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/times-are-hardfor-philosophers-t1345.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/max-stirner-a-durable-dissident-bernd-a-laska-t1307.htm RJMII http://www.lsr-projekt.de/poly/eninnuce.html <- Original Max Stirner, a durable dissident -- in a nutshell -- How Marx and Nietzsche suppressed their colleague Max Stirner and why he has intellectually survived them by Bernd A. Laska Max Stirner? The philosophizing petit bourgeois to whom Karl Marx had given the brush-off? The anarchist, egoist, nihilist, the crude precursor of Nietzsche? Yes, he. Having a very bad reputation in the world of philosophy, he is mentioned at most ... Philosophy Sat, 27 Dec 2008 14:55:07 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/max-stirner-a-durable-dissident-bernd-a-laska-t1307.htm#20126 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/max-stirner-a-durable-dissident-bernd-a-laska-t1307.htm http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/property-rights-t237.htm galets There's one interested item in philosophy which I don't think I can fully understand, which is: property. From FDR podcasts I understood that property rights appear when an individual takes the item which is in the state of nature and adds value to it. While this could be an easy explanation, it doesn't cover the question how much of the value does the person have to add to an item to become a proprietor. Simplest (and flawed, of course) example: if I wipe a windshield of someone's car do I become ... Philosophy Fri, 26 Oct 2007 18:18:48 GMT http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/property-rights-t237.htm#2104 http://liberatingminds.forumotion.com/philosophy-f4/property-rights-t237.htm