Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
On True And False Theories
What makes a theory true? Bad question, that. Conflates too easily why a theory is true with our knowledge whether a theory is true. Both are subjects of great interest,…
Posted inCulture Philosophy
A Flood Of Evidence: From God To Noah To Hume To Nobody
Here are remarks on "Enlightenment & Sacrifice -- Remarks on Joseph de Maistre" by Thomas Bertonneau, which I urge you to read in full. Bertonneau is reading de Maistre's Elucidation…
Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
A Failed Argument Against Free Will: Predicting Actions
It is always hilarious when people rail against free will, who are especially flummoxed that Common Man believes in free will, and say "If only people realized their choices weren't…
Posted inPhilosophy
Of Potentiality Per Se — Guest Post by The Cranky Professor
Because of my recent article on the problem of getting consciousness out of unconscious matter, I’ve been asked to write a brief essay on my views of Aristotle's notion of…
Posted inPhilosophy
Gödel And The Limits of Rationality
From the conclusion of "Cantor's Diagonalization Method" by Alexander Kharazishvili (and I'll assume the reader has some familiarity with Gödel's famous theorems): Tarski's theorem leads to Gödel's first incompleteness theorem.…
Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
Judea Pearl Is Wrong On AI Identifying Causality, But Right That AI Is Nothing But Curve Fitting
Yep I've disagreed with Judea Pearl before on causality, and I do so again below; but first some areas of agreement. Some deep agreement at that. Pearl has a new…
Posted inPhilosophy
Is Time Travel Metaphysically Possible? — Guest Post by The Cranky Professor
Before answering the question, I will define the different meanings of the word "possible". In philosophy, there are different senses of the word "possible". Besides, it's good to know the…
Posted inPhilosophy
Does Free Will Exist In The Universe? (That Would Be A Yes.)
Embedded in nearly every argument against free will is the Appeal to Effeminacy. Here it is in Alfredo Metere's new Cosmos article "Does free will exist in the universe? (That…
