golge011/philosophy

From the page: "MARVIN MINSKY: I was listening to this group talking about universes, and it seems to me there's one possibility that's so simple that people don't discuss it. Certainly a question that occurs in all religions is, "Who created the universe, and why? And what's it for?" But something is wrong with such questions because they make extra hypotheses that don't make sense. When you say that X exists, you're saying that X is in the Universe. It's all right to say, "this glass of water exists" because that's the same as "This glass is in the Universe." But to say that the universe exists is silly, because it says that the universe is one of the things in the universe. So there's something wrong with questions like, "What caused the Universe to exist?""

From the page: "Another rationale is attributed to Melbourne philosopher Douglas Gasking (1911%u20131994),[9] one component of his proof of the nonexistence of God:

1. The creation of the world is the most marvelous achievement imaginable.
2. The merit of an achievement is the product of (a) its intrinsic quality, and (b) the ability of its creator.
3. The greater the disability (or handicap) of the creator, the more impressive the achievement.
4. The most formidable handicap for a creator would be non-existence.
5. Therefore if we suppose that the universe is the product of an existent creator we can conceive a greater being %u2014 namely, one who created everything while not existing.
6. Therefore God does not exist.

The third premise might seem odd, the intuition is that we are generally more impressed by, for example, a four year old child composing a marvelous symphony than the same composition of a professional. In fact, Graham Oppy, an expert on the ontological argument, who isn't particularly impressed with this parody, does not object to (3).Writing in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy he is mainly concerned with the first premise, asking "what reason is there to believe that the creation of the world is 'the most marvellous achievement imaginable'".[1] Gasking was apparently thinking of the "world" or "universe" as the same as "everything." The proof is strengthened if "everything" is substituted, but still one may ask why Creation at all is assumed to be the greatest action imaginable.

If one is willing to accept the first premise and put aside the fact that the notion of a non-existent creator is quite hard to conceive of (as Oppy points out), one has no choice but to deny the fourth premise. Thus, the philosophical point of this parody is to highlight problems when existence is taken as property: "whereas Anselm illicitly supposed that existence is a perfection, [Gasking] is illicitly invoking the inverse principle that non-existence is a perfection.""

Course notes on Gettier Problem. It's easy to read, if you're interested philosophy of knowledge.

From the page:"The Gettier problem is a fundamental problem in modern epistemology (the philosophy of knowledge), issuing from counterexamples to the definition of knowledge as justified true belief."
An interesting entry about what constitues as knowledge. If you're interested in philosophy check this.

From the page: ""He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice." - Einstein
"I cannot agree with those who rank modesty among the virtues. To the logician all things should be seen exactly as they are, and to underestimate one's self is as much a departure from truth as to exaggerate one's own powers." - Sherlock Holmes, "The Greek Interpreter"
"Madness is rare in individuals, but in groups, parties, nations, and ages it is the rule." - Friedrich Nietzsche
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher regard those who think alike than those who think differently." - Friedrich Nietzsche
"Pulling together is the aim of despotism and tyrants. Free men pull in all kinds of directions. It's the only way to make progress." - Terry Pratchett
"I am done with the monster of 'We,' the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame." - Ayn Rand, Anthem
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