Philosophy Definition and 340 Threads

Another question: A lot of people have discussed the idea of a year off between undergrad and grad. school. My question is, would it be looked upon negatively if during my 1-2 years off I did something not directly physics? I'm considering doing a Master's in the Philosophy of Physics, which...

Philosophy of basic set theory proofs involving "or". Hey! I'm working through an Introduction to Analysis text, and I'm currently on the first chapter, which covers set theory. In one of the end-of-chapter problems, I'm asked to prove a basic theorem which leads to the following statement...

The rise and fall of evidence-based natural philosophy. The way we think of the external physical world — natural philosophy -- has in the past often been coloured by anthro’centric prejudice and personal egotism. This perspective has gradually been eclipsed by the secular ideal of...

Philosophy before science?? http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mVW4p6NSrXw&feature=related

This is a video I posted on my channel just a couple of days ago. I wanted to hear everyones feedback on the content of the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6zyvlzbFoY" Thanks.

I've been studying undergraduate level quantum chemistry, and I have a quick question. (Feel free to make the answers as mathematical as you want) In the helium atom, does an individual wavefunction describe the state of a single electron, or the system in general (given an arbitrary but...

I've been thinking about a personal trait of mine for a long time now. I feel like I don't have anyone in my surroundings to talk to about this either, since it's both a personal problem and at the same time a scientific one. I have been studying engineering for two years now and my results...

I am currently in the process of choosing my classes for next semester. (EE major) I need to pick some general education classes, because unfortunately the two that I've taken didn't transfer correctly (or how I would have hoped). I can take 210 Philosophy Introduction to logic - which I...

I ask this question as a non-philosopher whose ignorance of this subject and its history is profound. In my ignorance I nevertheless suspect that change in philosophy has over the last few hundred years lagged behind the explosive increase in our knowledge of the natural world, its history...

There is a daffodil poking its fool head up through the snow in my back yard. I sure hope it doesn't freeze to death in the dark with no friends around. No one to keep it company as its fragile life ebbs hopelessly away in vain. A beautiful life extinguished in the dawning when patience would...

I have a problem in constructing a program. The principle is a monte carlo simulation tool using object-oriented (or, strictly I suppose, object-based) techniques written in Visual C#. So far my object hierarchy is constructed as follows: A Lattice class, which contains: A 3-dimensional array...

What is the nature of reality? How do you know what's real? How should we live?

Can someone summarize the arguments in this passage using premises and conclusions. I appreciate ANY feedback you can offer. "Voting Rights for Children" Passage There is a gaping inconsistency in th logic of our democracy in denying children this fundamental democratic right. Many argue...

Im not a philosopher, and I don't intend on knowing anything about the subject, but what is philosophy? People can say, well philosophy is logic, or ethics, or whatever you consider it. But what is PHILOSOPHY? Is philosophy only here because WE put it there? Just like everything else that we may...

Here I comment on a new trend in fundamental physics and ask philosophy folk whether they think that it represents an acceptable shift in the way physics is done (remembering the tautology that physics is that which is done by physicists!). Established and traditional aspects of the...

Why haven't cosmology and philosophy been formerly combined? They both deal with the beginning of the universe and what it happened, at least one certain field of philosophy. So why not?

hey To a lot of us it sounds evident that the future is predefined, that we know the future will only be one way, even through we cannot really predict how it would be (infinitely long equations, ect, an infinity of variables). Ok, its logic , but i need to find clear arguments to support that...

One question which I was meant to be doing has stumped me. It is "Can the basis of natural law be located other than in social convention?". I have written "Aquinas believed the basis of natural law to be located in God’s will and the fundamental nature of humans not being corrupted." so far but...

Humans create models for everything they know about in the universe, and then we create a 'theater' in our head which is animated, and we process what did what and who interacted with who / what right? It's in essence a very simple model of the entire universe, inside everyones heads, and its...

Somewhere along the path, I've realized that I have been going the wrong direction...instead of finding the truth...I was actually trying to say, "I am right and you are not" So the old questions have sprung against and I feel clueless, any sort of help will be highly appreciated. To begin...

I'm not sure I'm posting this in the right section but here goes... For anyone that has studied both philosophy and mathematics, at any level really, i would like to know whether you think maths is a rationalist or empiricist study? For anyone who is purely a mathematician (and i salute...

I have little background in philosophy in that I took a intro to philosophy course for about 2 weeks until I dropped it. I've always been interested in philosophy but I never got the chance to take a full class on it, and now I probably never will as I will start my upper-div math and physics...

I'm trying to explain something to someone, but I can't find the right words; I hope some of you can help me. Observations are limited by the instruments available to a scientist. For example, before invention of the microscope, observation of microscopic objects was impossible. In the...

I ask the above question, what are best colleges for learning to become a physicist, a philosopher, or even, both?

Making a basic vocabulary of the philosophy of science Hi, I just posted this on another board I'm at that often has debates where issues of science sometimes come up, along with the standard annoying arguments like "it's just a theory". This is an attempt by me to clear things up. So, this is...

Has anyone read "On Physics and Philosophy" by Bernard d'Espagnat? If so are there any suggestions for books to be read prior to it? I started it last night, and so far (5 pages) it seems within my grasp. I have a feeling because I haven't taken quantum yet though that lack of knowledge is...

I am guessing - that there is some sort of lunar philosophy? I was hoping on creating a research project similar or finding out about this idea. I was thinking, for the rest of my life I could document each full moon I experience in as much detail as possible.. Besides recording my...

has someone taken a look to this book? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0199269696/?tag=pfamazon01-20 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0199269696/?tag=pfamazon01-20 Quantum Gravity Meets Structuralism: Interweaving Relations in the Fundation of Physics by Dean Rickles and Steven French...

Hello there I've been wondering about the philosophy of discoveries and I've came to the conclusion that discoveres can come from three ways 1- an idea leads to an idea by deriving or deduction. 2- Intended experiments 3- Chance The painful thing is that many valueable discoveries...

Provide a personal maxim by which the rest of us may rule our lives.

I found that someday I would really like to major in Philosophy, but it seems as though there are few careers for it. What can I do with a Philosophy degree?

Can the concept of freewill ever be compatible with a natural philosophy?

I was wondering, what kinds of question does one asks in philosophy of mathematics (by mathematics, I mean like algebra, calculus, arithmetic, geometry, not logic though). These are the only one I can think of: 1) "Why does math describe the physical world so elegently? Is there an...

partial derivate "philosophy" I'm having problems with fundementals of partial derivatives. I've looked around for something like "partial derivative FAQ", but couldn't find. Can any of the following be true in general? \frac{\partial f}{\partial x} = \frac{\partial f}{\partial...

http://golem.ph.utexas.edu/category/ with Urs Schreiber and David Corfield described as "focused on the interface" of physics, mathematics, and philosophy they are naming it THE N-CATEGORY CAFE :biggrin: has to be good

what is the Philosophy of Physics? Is it different from the philosophy of science?

The issue of man is an extremely important one. Today's civilizaion has based its religion upon humanism; that is, the originality and worship of man. It is assumed that various religions in the past shattered man's personality, and forced him to sacrifice himself for his gods, admit his...

Is philosophy the "black sheep?" In our quest to understand this reality, both subjective and objective, is philosophy generally considered as "lesser" than physics and other sciences? Maybe it's just me, but was the decision to include a philosoph section on a physics forum of this quality...

Well, I've been predicting this for years. What's really at issue is the basic question of whether or not we should, as a deterrent, tax people for making poor choices in their lifestyle. We have done this with smoking and alcohol, and in the case of seat belts and motorcycle helmets, we have...

How we think is a question for science, but it's also relevant for philosophy of mind. In this thread I want to see how science reflects certain ideas of the philosophy of Kant. That's why I put it in the science forum, I think this is the most appropriate place; if it is not, I apologize...

Some people compare us to Diogenes, carrying his lantern in the dark, searching for the truth. Indeed, we sometimes feel that way, looking in the dark. But I think a more accurate metaphor is that of Sisyphus. Sisyphus was a character in Greek mythology. If one believes Homer, Sisyphus was the...

All ideas have a cause. The cause must either be inside me (mankind), or something else. Infinity and perfection are not within me(mankind), so the idea of an infinite and perfect God must have come from something outside me(mankind), so God must exist. I don't want to make another post about...

I find it hard to stomach sometimes when I realize that numerous others have done everything I seem to think, say, or do. In short, I believe I think in clichés. I’ll write something about ethics or how everything’s relative or whatever and then a couple of weeks later I’ll go and read someone’s...

I really think in this way: Life is short, whether I am rich or poor, I will also die one day. Therefore, it is better for me to try my best to acquire WEALTH, so that I can live a life with material satisfaction. I can buy almost whatever I want, I can go to any place I desire. In this way...

I'm not sure where to post this. I'm taking a university level philosophy class for the first time (ethics), and I'm about to write an essay. Now, as an advice, the prof. told me that "the more boring the essay is, the better." I'm not sure what he means, and I'm not sure what a philosophy paper...

Which Philosophy do you think is best to run a society on?

If the universe is expanding/stretching, what is it expanding/stretching into? Is it nothingness? Or rather is it is 'nothingness' only in the sense that we cannot give it a word or a definition? Where did all the mass-energy in the universe came from? Did it came from nothing? Of course...

What is the philosophy behind "being accepted"? Anyone know any books written about this topic? That most people devote their lives into trying to make themselves likeable. Or even worse, just try to "make" people like them. Personally, everytime a partner gives consent to start a...

I have these ideas about these things and I would like your opinion. You may not agree, but it is what I think. First, I would like to say that Fate/Destiny and Causality are linked. To me, fate predestines things and people, which is why people or outside infulences of a person control...

From the Copenhagen Interpretation we learned that the measurement disturbs the syste m in a "fuzzy" way : System=X..Measurement op.=A...End state=Y Y=Eig(A), prob(Y)=|Proj(X,Y)|^2. Hence after the measurement, the system is Y... But in my mind, the opposite way is even clearer : The system...