From: Mark Steven Heyman (MarkHeyman@infoproconsulting.com)
Date: Wed Apr 13 2005 - 03:11:05 BST
Hi Ham,
On 11 Apr 2005 at 20:26, ham wrote:
But the conclusions that philosophy comes up with are
not "factual". They are metaphysical hypotheses based on logic and
reason. And while they can and do influence our beliefs, they can't
be proved.
On 12 April at 10:30, msh asked:
Is your last sentence a fact, using your own criteria? I only ask
because it strikes me as evidence that people often don't believe
what they say, and don't understand what they believe.
ham responds:
Your deceptively simple question would seem to call for a guarded answer,
but I fail to see the trap. Let me therefore answer yes, it's a fact, and
ask in turn why you find it questionable.
msh says:
I just don't see how your statement can be regarded as fact, that
is, as something "whose reliability has been universally established
by observation and repeated testing." Since you say that "any other
kind of belief may or may not be a fact, but we do not know," I'm
wondering on what basis you claim to know that your statement is
true.
ham:
As to the "evidentiary" part of your question, I can't deny that some people
don't believe what they say. However, I'm not one of them.
msh:
And let me hasten to add that I do not think you are being dishonest
when you make the claim in question.. I believe you believe every
word you say. I just think you don't understand what you're saying.
ham:
As a lay philosopher, I'll admit to lacking the background needed to postulate my
thesis as "professionally" as you or Matt or Anthony might have...
msh chuckles:
Oh, get your tongue outta your cheek. Although I have a degree in
Philosophy, I've forgotten way more than I remember, and I've nerver
made a nickle off my philosophical speculations, unless you count the
pittance I earned tutoring Logic and grading papers as an undergrad
TA.. So, I'm anything but a professional philosopher. Is there
such a thing? One of my attractions to the subject was that I knew
I'd never make a living at it. For a living I did Geology and then,
later, Computer Science. If you can find oil or write software
you'll never go hungry in a world full of hungry capitalists!
--
InfoPro Consulting - The Professional Information Processors
Custom Software Solutions for Windows, PDAs, and the Web Since 1983
Web Site: http://www.infoproconsulting.com
"Thought is only a flash between two long nights, but this flash is everything." --
Henri Poincare'
MOQ.ORG - http://www.moq.org
Mail Archives:
Aug '98 - Oct '02 - http://alt.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/
Nov '02 Onward - http://www.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/summary.html
MD Queries - horse@darkstar.uk.net
To unsubscribe from moq_discuss follow the instructions at:
http://www.moq.org/md/subscribe.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Wed Apr 13 2005 - 03:41:53 BST