Philosophy-lite

[Diamond]

Welcome to the philosophy-lite thread, where all the great questions of life are reduced to easy-to-follow argument-lets:

1. Does this thread exist or is it simply a construction of a higher being (the moderator)?

2. Can I transcend this thread or will it always constrain me?

3. Nietzsche's sister - woof!

Any more slimmed down easy-to-digest insights? Remember, we ain't heavy, just big-boned!

[Yahweh]

Originally posted by Diamond
Welcome to the philosophy-lite thread, where all the great questions of life are reduced to easy-to-follow argument-lets:

1. Does this thread exist or is it simply a construction of a higher being (the moderator)?

2. Can I transcend this thread or will it always constrain me?

3. Nietzsche's sister - woof!

Any more slimmed down easy-to-digest insights? Remember, we ain't heavy, just big-boned!


Coming from a Philosophy Teacher, these are my answers:

1. The thread exists. I know this because I can prove it exists.

2. You cannot transcend this thread. Because your a human living in a materialistic world.

3. I agree, Nietzsche's sister is certainly not a looker.

Heres a common philosophy question: If a tree falls in the forest does it make a sound?
Yes, it will always make a sound given realistic Earthly surroudings.

Another: Are you sure you are you?
Yes, I am very sure. I make decisions about what I want to do, that makes me who I am. No one else is me.

Another: A computer isnt alive, are you alive?
Yes I am. I answer that by answering 3 questions: Who am I? I am Phil. Where are you? I'm sitting in front of my computer monitor. What are you doing? I'm responding to a thread on Randi.org message boards. If you cant answer all 3 of those questions you are not conscious. The ability to make rational decisions based on logic makes us different from a computer who makes decisions based on criteria met or completely blindly and randomly.

Another: How do you know that your not asleep right now?
This is a harder one to answer. Theres a whole list of logical things that you can ask yourself to prove that arent sleeping... right the moment I cant remember it. But I'm pretty sure that I'm not sleeping right now. I think that one of the items on the list includes reading facts that are entirely plausible that you didnt know before, because unless you have a headset on your head telling you things, you cannot learn new complex facts by if you are asleep... or something to that degree.

Another: Do you have a soul?
Logically a soul cannot exist. But in the world of western medicine the soul would be defined to be the 7 chakras or something like that. The soul has no physical form, cannot be measured, cannot be tested, etc. so logically you can conclude that there is no soul.

Another: What happens to you when you die?
You rot in earth. To expect anything more would be outrageous, but probably healthy for the self esteem of an optimist.

[SquishyDave]

Nice work on the philosophy stuff Yahweh

I'm gonna bam it up a notch.
Let's assume we have a forest in the matrix, but no one is in or near it, and a virtual tree falls in the virtual forest, does it make a sound?

[evildave]

If a cat meows when he wants attention, and he meows when he doesn't want attention, and he meows when he wants food, and meows when he doesn't want food, and meows when he wants to play, and meows when he does not want to play, is it safe to conclude that the cat's meow is qualitatively noise?

If so, is human conversation necessarily any more meaningful?

[Trollbane]

Originally posted by evildave
If a cat meows when he wants attention, and he meows when he doesn't want attention, and he meows when he wants food, and meows when he doesn't want food, and meows when he wants to play, and meows when he does not want to play, is it safe to conclude that the cat's meow is qualitatively noise?


This is easy.. In reality the cat meows just to toy around with us stupid humans and it thoroughly enjoys the confusion each meow causes when the poor human runs around wildly trying to figure out what the cat wants in order to unwillingly serve the true masters of this planet.

It actually brings a more intresting question to mind:

Does a cat meow if there is no-one around to hear it?

[evildave]

For a while. Then they stop.

But at least this could be proven by experimental means.

Mine primarily meow when I'm in the kitchen, whether or not they want anything. I can see them meowing through the window when I'm ourside. But it's hard to say for sure whether they actually are making sound. They could be simply opening their mouths AS IF they were meowing.

[Diamond]

Originally posted by Yahweh

Coming from a Philosophy Teacher, these are my answers:

Another: How do you know that your not asleep right now?
This is a harder one to answer. Theres a whole list of logical things that you can ask yourself to prove that arent sleeping... right the moment I cant remember it. But I'm pretty sure that I'm not sleeping right now. I think that one of the items on the list includes reading facts that are entirely plausible that you didnt know before, because unless you have a headset on your head telling you things, you cannot learn new complex facts by if you are asleep... or something to that degree.


Is failing memory a part of being asleep or being awake?;)

[Yahweh]

Originally posted by SquishyDave
Nice work on the philosophy stuff Yahweh

I'm gonna bam it up a notch.
Let's assume we have a forest in the matrix, but no one is in or near it, and a virtual tree falls in the virtual forest, does it make a sound?
This is no way related but I couldnt help but notice that your avatar is of the demon Balthazar... Drusilla is waaaaay hotter.