Philosophical Question...

[Bbucko]

Hmmmmmmm...

This all strikes me as just so much magical thinking, or the kind of head-fux that eventually led me to stop smoking cannabis.

Years ago I read a book called The Holographic Universe. It gave me a headache.

 

[2322]

Plato's allegory of the cave says something similar.

Great truth in it.

Or Truth :tongue:. Don't forget that Plato and his followers believed that perfect ideals existed somewhere out there in the ether. To a Platonist, Truth is knowable and apprehendable. The ideals are objective, not subjective.

Is there something I'm missing here?

It's an undeniable truth that the Earth revolves around the sun, just to pick the most obvious, or that it is impossible to breathe fresh oxygen deep underwater without SCUBA apparatus.

Those were two that came immediately. Ten minute's reflection would result in a dozen more, at least.

Well yes, it seems that Earth does revolve around the sun and we bet lives on it, create physical laws about it, and can perform repeatable experiment after repeatable experiment to back the theory. But in the end, however, it's still remains a theory because science always leaves the door open for a better theory to come along however slight that possibility might be.

Metaphysics is a an entire field unto itself and it may seem arcane, however metaphysics has had an enormous impact on western culture including the scientific process itself. So many people believe philosophy to have no practical purpose in the world and they could not be more wrong. Philosophy impacts our entire world view from language to religion to culture to art and even perception.

 

[Gl3nn]

Good point Rex.

And that's the beauty of philosphy, Bbucko. It's so abstract. It's taking thinking to the next level and beyond. You're always right and always wrong.

 

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

You're always right and always wrong.

You're half right, Gl3nn.

 

[Gl3nn]

Or Truth :tongue:. Don't forget that Plato and his followers believed that perfect ideals existed somewhere out there in the ether. To a Platonist, Truth is knowable and apprehendable. The ideals are objective, not subjective.

Yes, but as Plato said... everything is already an ideal.

The ideal is something abstract and doesn't exist in reality, so it's an idea/something that exists only in your mind. But everyone looks at the world in a different perspective and it's often that things are not what they seem in first place. So because the world is something different for each and every one of us, it is something personal and thus: an idea.

And therefore...the world is an ideal.

 

[Gl3nn]

You're half right, Gl3nn.

Or am I half wrong?

 

[2322]

You're always right and always wrong.

No, you're not. I argue that philosophical arguments are either defensible or not. If you can defend your argument then your argument is likely valid. If you can't defend it, then it's invalid. There is no implication of right or wrong.

 

[Gl3nn]

No, you're not. I argue that philosophical arguments are either defensible or not. If you can defend your argument then your argument is likely valid. If you can't defend it, then it's invalid. There is no implication of right or wrong.

But there are so many philophical theories that contradict each other. And each of the philosphers that created it could defend their argument. So does that mean they were neither wrong or right since they could all defend it?

I guess it's quite impossible to say if someone is right or wrong since the different theories are also based on different assumptions and practices.
Empiricism contradicts rationalism sometimes, but does that mean neither are right?

 

[eddyabs]

Undeniable truth..... aaaaaaah, *belch* ....ahem.....Rubi's eyes doth shine like the stars above....a man amongst men.....

the flirtation trail continues.......this could become really embarrassing....

 

[Gl3nn]

Undeniable truth..... aaaaaaah, *belch* ....ahem.....Rubi's eyes doth shine like the stars above....a man amongst men.....

the flirtation trail continues.......this could become really embarrassing....

But has he always been a man?

 

[eddyabs]

But has he always been a man?

Hmmm, now there's a thought!!!

 

[Mem]

Is it not an undeniable truth that our planet Earth is round?

 

[Gl3nn]

Is it not an undeniable truth that our planet Earth is round?

If earth already exists... It's not completely round. It's a bit flatter where the poles are.

 

[Mem]

If earth already exists... It's not completely round. It's a bit flatter where the poles are.

Yes, one has to first assume that you or I are not the only people in the Universe and are imagining everything. Which there is no way to prove or disprove.

I mean round as opposed to flat, not a perfect sphere.

 

[Randll86]

Where ever you go, there you are.

 

[Mem]

Where ever you go, there you are.

There you go.

 

[Gl3nn]

Where ever you go, there you are.

If you're going nowhere (standing still) then you are there as well.

 

[Mem]

Where ever you go, there you are.

Too bad you are str8. I would dislocate my jaw for you. :biggrin1: And fight thru the pain on the other end too. :wink:

 

[Gl3nn]

Is it not an undeniable truth that our planet Earth is round?

Well, you are relying on something that was abstract when it was created and basically made-up. The guy who created the name 'round' was referring to something with the shape of a circle. But if what we know as 'square' would have been named 'round' and what we know as 'round' would have been named 'square' ... then the earth would be square.

 

[2322]

Is it not an undeniable truth that our planet Earth is round?

Well, you are relying on something that was abstract when it was created and basically made-up. The guy who created the name 'round' was referring to something with the shape of a circle. But if what we know as 'square' would have been named 'round' and what we know as 'round' would have been named 'square' ... then the earth would be square.

Or it's possible that the earth is really a 439,239,299,197-sided triangle and since humans cannot perceive a 439,239,299,197-sided triangle, we perceive Earth to be an oblong sphere.

Imagine trying to convince someone who is severely colorblind what blue or red looks like. You can show that person every shade of blue or red under the sun, hundreds of scientists can test the person, yet still the man cannot perceive blue or red no matter what you do.

Did you know that a culture has to have knowledge of linear perspective in painting in order for a child in that culture to see linear perspective painting as we do? If you take someone from a cultures without linear perspective painting, one will not interpret a linear perspective painting to be accurate. In order to see linear perspective, you have to have it around you. It's not something everyone interprets the same way.

Because of the near ubiquity of western-style art, most people in the world interpret this picture to be of long hallway. People isolated from the west would look at this picture and find it nonsensical.

Supposedly there are 11 dimensions to the universe yet, for whatever reason, we can only detect four of them (height, width, depth, and time). We seem to have evidence that these dimensions are there because mathematics and physics, in the latest theories, tell us these dimensions are there. We're essentially just like the colorblind person in the respect that we're limited in our perceptions. Even if we know those other dimensions are there, how do we conceive of them?

Think about this, if we're missing 7 of 11 dimensions, what else are we missing?