If you know how to create its components and place them together exactly in the way a car is put together, without prior knowledge of the principles behind a car, then yeah. If a person manufactures the parts for you, then you don't even have to know many of those aspects.
There are many such building blocks that allow people to build things that are not entirely known to them, and the nature of what is created becomes more apparent once the creation is put together. This seems to be common in chemistry where people can have poor understanding of molecules, but still arrange and combine them in functional ways.
While I admit that you have an extremely good point I would like to point out the fact that a ethereal form is unlike anything that is known to man at the time. Even if you are given the parts and exact instructions, I doubt you cold figure out how to do a seamless lobotomy. It's just way to complicated. You have to learn how to do it first.
dunno if you have to learn how to first, but I otherwise agree. I consider it improbable to a high degree, just not impossible.
Quote from KingPorky »
If everything isn't real and is a dream, and you notice it, you would be able to control it. It therefore has to be real.
Yes, this thread is real to what we perceive over physical observation.
well, I had a dream 2 days ago where I told my friend "wait, this is a dream right?" "how do you know?" "because I just passed you and here you are again" and then I still couldn't control myself and went running around doing dream stuff.
So I don't think you'd necessarily be able to control it, especially if you don't know how or in which way it is a dream.
Just like when I'm angry, know I'm angry, don't want to be angry, don't want to have my angry reaction, but do it anyway.
Maybe you can control it, but every time you try, you "move the wrong muscle" so to speak.
Moreso, it being a dream doesn't make it any less real as far as I'm concerned. It's just real in so far as we understand it, or it seems to be real even if there is an underlying mechanism that is "more real" or more basic, which is where this reality comes from.
So to me it doesn't matter how real things seem to be, since I'm emotionally invested in this world and the things in it. To me that's all the real it takes.
Philosophers are like children. They ask the biggest and shortest question of them all: Why? Although I take it one step further: Why bother?
Philosophy is an interesting distraction. Pondering unanswerable questions helps keep the mind sharp but we shouldn't let philosophical pursuits detract from our day to day lives. Carpe diem and all that.
Philosophers are like children. They ask the biggest and shortest question of them all: Why? Although I take it one step further: Why bother?
Philosophy is an interesting distraction. Pondering unanswerable questions helps keep the mind sharp but we shouldn't let philosophical pursuits detract from our day to day lives. Carpe diem and all that.
"Why bother" is certainly a question a lot of philosophers ask. =)
Philosophers are like children. They ask the biggest and shortest question of them all: Why? Although I take it one step further: Why bother?
Philosophy is an interesting distraction. Pondering unanswerable questions helps keep the mind sharp but we shouldn't let philosophical pursuits detract from our day to day lives. Carpe diem and all that.
curiosity and wondering. Nothing is going to get resolved, nothing is going to happen through it necessarily, but curiosity just leads to the pursuit of answers or descriptions which seem to fit adequately.
Sometimes it's just a matter of trying to express oneself and experiences but not being able to find the words, and then searching vehemently for a way to say it
lots of reasons depending on the person
edit: also, when you word things certain way, even if you're describing the same thing, it can change how people think about that thing and how they behave in relation towards it
Philosophers are like children. They ask the biggest and shortest question of them all: Why? Although I take it one step further: Why bother?
Philosophy is an interesting distraction. Pondering unanswerable questions helps keep the mind sharp but we shouldn't let philosophical pursuits detract from our day to day lives. Carpe diem and all that.
All questions have an answer, though how you get to it is the point of the question.
Philosophers are like children. They ask the biggest and shortest question of them all: Why? Although I take it one step further: Why bother?
Philosophy is an interesting distraction. Pondering unanswerable questions helps keep the mind sharp but we shouldn't let philosophical pursuits detract from our day to day lives. Carpe diem and all that.
All questions have an answer, though how you get to it is the point of the question.
All questions have an answer? That's a pretty big statement there. Regardless of the truth of the statement my original point about "unanswerable questions" remains. There are some things that just can't possibly be proven or disproven, it's beyond science.
Philosophers are like children. They ask the biggest and shortest question of them all: Why? Although I take it one step further: Why bother?
Philosophy is an interesting distraction. Pondering unanswerable questions helps keep the mind sharp but we shouldn't let philosophical pursuits detract from our day to day lives. Carpe diem and all that.
All questions have an answer, though how you get to it is the point of the question.
All questions have an answer? That's a pretty big statement there. Regardless of the truth of the statement my original point about "unanswerable questions" remains. There are some things that just can't possibly be proven or disproven, it's beyond science.
It's Beyond science, but is it beyond human ingenuity?
Seriously? Have you never bothered to consider the fact that some things are just scientifically impossible to answer? And please note I am talking about definitive answers and not just "Because God said so" or other religious responses.
Here are a few examples:
What caused the creation of the universe? That is impossible to know because we have no idea what lies outside our universe. All of our scientific understanding is based around the laws we have constructed while observing our universe. Whatever is "outside" the universe wouldn't necessarily have to obey those laws.
Is there life/existence after death? We can't have a non-religious answer to this question. It is impossible to find out for sure. Even the people who have had near death experiences and claim to have seen the afterlife have stories that are debatable. Completely unprovable.
I could probably go on but I must carpe noctem. I have beers to drink and can't stay up too late tonight. I have classes tomorrow.
Seriously? Have you never bothered to consider the fact that some things are just scientifically impossible to answer? And please note I am talking about definitive answers and not just "Because God said so" or other religious responses.
Here are a few examples:
What caused the creation of the universe? That is impossible to know because we have no idea what lies outside our universe. All of our scientific understanding is based around the laws we have constructed while observing our universe. Whatever is "outside" the universe wouldn't necessarily have to obey those laws.
Is there life/existence after death? We can't have a non-religious answer to this question. It is impossible to find out for sure. Even the people who have had near death experiences and claim to have seen the afterlife have stories that are debatable. Completely unprovable.
I could probably go on but I must carpe noctem. I have beers to drink and can't stay up too late tonight. I have classes tomorrow.
That isn't an answer that is another question. Also, you would do well to note that I didn't say there weren't actual facts or causes associated with those questions. My point is that they are unanswerable. If you're too dense to understand that you've proven my point. Our human minds can't comprehend everything. Our technology cannot compute everything. We will never know everything. It is impossible. There is always some small measure of doubt.
That isn't an answer that is another question. Also, you would do well to note that I didn't say there weren't actual facts or causes associated with those questions. My point is that they are unanswerable. If you're too dense to understand that you've proven my point. Our human minds can't comprehend everything. Our technology cannot compute everything. We will never know everything. It is impossible. There is always some small measure of doubt.
Alright, fair enough. I suck at psychology anyways, haha. I'll give it another go (and probably fail again).
Give a possible reason as to why this chair does not exist
Give a possible reason as to why this chair does not exist
Does the chair you dream about exist? There was once a science fiction story written by philosopher Johnathan Harrison (I love science fiction stories - full of possibilities an unexplored thoughts) about a brilliant doctor who came to encounter a baby. The poor child's body was incapable of sustaining life, but its brain was fully functional. The doctor decided to save the child by separating its brain from its body and placing the brain in a vat that was also equipped with virtual reality components. The child, named Ludwig, then experienced life as normal because the doctor fed Ludwig programed inputs that created a virtual world for him. Ludwig experienced a normal life and experienced a normal world. The doctor provided Ludwig with books so that he may learn and some of these books were on the subject of philosophy. Suddenly Ludwig found himself questioning his reality, and he was in great distress. Ludwig felt confused and began to question everything about his reality. The doctor was also worried that one day Ludwig would discover the truth of his reality. Ludwig eventually settled down because he held on to a chair and said to himself that he could touch the chair, he could feel it. It was hard, it had mass, a smell, a taste, and he could see it. Ludwig determined that his reality was indeed real because this chair of his passed his test of being real. Yet we know that the chair was nothing more than a program of the doctors machine. So is Ludwig's chair real? Can we know any better than Ludwig could that our chairs are real?
That isn't an answer that is another question. Also, you would do well to note that I didn't say there weren't actual facts or causes associated with those questions. My point is that they are unanswerable. If you're too dense to understand that you've proven my point. Our human minds can't comprehend everything. Our technology cannot compute everything. We will never know everything. It is impossible. There is always some small measure of doubt.
In philosophy, the best answers are the ones that pose even more difficult questions.
Quote from Ciduri »
Quote from Moviecritic6 »
Give a possible reason as to why this chair does not exist
Does the chair you dream about exist? There was once a science fiction story written by philosopher Johnathan Harrison (I love science fiction stories - full of possibilities an unexplored thoughts) about a brilliant doctor who came to encounter a baby. The poor child's body was incapable of sustaining life, but its brain was fully functional. The doctor decided to save the child by separating its brain from its body and placing the brain in a vat that was also equipped with virtual reality components. The child, named Ludwig, then experienced life as normal because the doctor fed Ludwig programed inputs that created a virtual world for him. Ludwig experienced a normal life and experienced a normal world. The doctor provided Ludwig with books so that he may learn and some of these books were on the subject of philosophy. Suddenly Ludwig found himself questioning his reality, and he was in great distress. Ludwig felt confused and began to question everything about his reality. The doctor was also worried that one day Ludwig would discover the truth of his reality. Ludwig eventually settled down because he held on to a chair and said to himself that he could touch the chair, he could feel it. It was hard, it had mass, a smell, a taste, and he could see it. Ludwig determined that his reality was indeed real because this chair of his passed his test of being real. Yet we know that the chair was nothing more than a program of the doctors machine. So is Ludwig's chair real? Can we know any better than Ludwig could that our chairs are real?
Does it really matter if the chair exists or not? If it exists to us, then why does it matter if it exists to someone else?
Give a possible reason as to why this chair does not exist
Does the chair you dream about exist? There was once a science fiction story written by philosopher Johnathan Harrison (I love science fiction stories - full of possibilities an unexplored thoughts) about a brilliant doctor who came to encounter a baby. The poor child's body was incapable of sustaining life, but its brain was fully functional. The doctor decided to save the child by separating its brain from its body and placing the brain in a vat that was also equipped with virtual reality components. The child, named Ludwig, then experienced life as normal because the doctor fed Ludwig programed inputs that created a virtual world for him. Ludwig experienced a normal life and experienced a normal world. The doctor provided Ludwig with books so that he may learn and some of these books were on the subject of philosophy. Suddenly Ludwig found himself questioning his reality, and he was in great distress. Ludwig felt confused and began to question everything about his reality. The doctor was also worried that one day Ludwig would discover the truth of his reality. Ludwig eventually settled down because he held on to a chair and said to himself that he could touch the chair, he could feel it. It was hard, it had mass, a smell, a taste, and he could see it. Ludwig determined that his reality was indeed real because this chair of his passed his test of being real. Yet we know that the chair was nothing more than a program of the doctors machine. So is Ludwig's chair real? Can we know any better than Ludwig could that our chairs are real?
That isn't an answer that is another question. Also, you would do well to note that I didn't say there weren't actual facts or causes associated with those questions. My point is that they are unanswerable. If you're too dense to understand that you've proven my point. Our human minds can't comprehend everything. Our technology cannot compute everything. We will never know everything. It is impossible. There is always some small measure of doubt.
In philosophy, the best answers are the ones that pose even more difficult questions.
What does this have to do with my post? I'm talking about things that are unanswerable. It's true that every answer leads us to ask more questions (the proverbial "why?" can be applied to all answers until we finally get to the point where we can no longer answer) but that doesn't have anything to do with my point.
This actually goes all the way back to my original statement that philosophers are like children. Children love asking why and they'll keep asking why until you finally say "It just is" or "God did it" and then they'll ask why again. That final why is so frustrating to parents because we don't have an answer. There will always be certain fundamental questions that we cannot answer.
American Dad is slightly less funny than Family Guy, but I do respect it more for it's originality.
This is a philosophy thread, not a language thread. :tongue.gif:
Are you saying that your going to be immortal?
dunno if you have to learn how to first, but I otherwise agree. I consider it improbable to a high degree, just not impossible.
well, I had a dream 2 days ago where I told my friend "wait, this is a dream right?" "how do you know?" "because I just passed you and here you are again" and then I still couldn't control myself and went running around doing dream stuff.
So I don't think you'd necessarily be able to control it, especially if you don't know how or in which way it is a dream.
Just like when I'm angry, know I'm angry, don't want to be angry, don't want to have my angry reaction, but do it anyway.
Maybe you can control it, but every time you try, you "move the wrong muscle" so to speak.
Moreso, it being a dream doesn't make it any less real as far as I'm concerned. It's just real in so far as we understand it, or it seems to be real even if there is an underlying mechanism that is "more real" or more basic, which is where this reality comes from.
So to me it doesn't matter how real things seem to be, since I'm emotionally invested in this world and the things in it. To me that's all the real it takes.
Philosophy is an interesting distraction. Pondering unanswerable questions helps keep the mind sharp but we shouldn't let philosophical pursuits detract from our day to day lives. Carpe diem and all that.
"Why bother" is certainly a question a lot of philosophers ask. =)
curiosity and wondering. Nothing is going to get resolved, nothing is going to happen through it necessarily, but curiosity just leads to the pursuit of answers or descriptions which seem to fit adequately.
Sometimes it's just a matter of trying to express oneself and experiences but not being able to find the words, and then searching vehemently for a way to say it
lots of reasons depending on the person
edit: also, when you word things certain way, even if you're describing the same thing, it can change how people think about that thing and how they behave in relation towards it
All questions have an answer, though how you get to it is the point of the question.
All questions have an answer? That's a pretty big statement there. Regardless of the truth of the statement my original point about "unanswerable questions" remains. There are some things that just can't possibly be proven or disproven, it's beyond science.
It's Beyond science, but is it beyond human ingenuity?
Seriously? Have you never bothered to consider the fact that some things are just scientifically impossible to answer? And please note I am talking about definitive answers and not just "Because God said so" or other religious responses.
Here are a few examples:
What caused the creation of the universe? That is impossible to know because we have no idea what lies outside our universe. All of our scientific understanding is based around the laws we have constructed while observing our universe. Whatever is "outside" the universe wouldn't necessarily have to obey those laws.
Is there life/existence after death? We can't have a non-religious answer to this question. It is impossible to find out for sure. Even the people who have had near death experiences and claim to have seen the afterlife have stories that are debatable. Completely unprovable.
I could probably go on but I must carpe noctem. I have beers to drink and can't stay up too late tonight. I have classes tomorrow.
The answer was "Why not?".
That isn't an answer that is another question. Also, you would do well to note that I didn't say there weren't actual facts or causes associated with those questions. My point is that they are unanswerable. If you're too dense to understand that you've proven my point. Our human minds can't comprehend everything. Our technology cannot compute everything. We will never know everything. It is impossible. There is always some small measure of doubt.
Alright, fair enough. I suck at psychology anyways, haha. I'll give it another go (and probably fail again).
Give a possible reason as to why this chair does not exist
Does the chair you dream about exist? There was once a science fiction story written by philosopher Johnathan Harrison (I love science fiction stories - full of possibilities an unexplored thoughts) about a brilliant doctor who came to encounter a baby. The poor child's body was incapable of sustaining life, but its brain was fully functional. The doctor decided to save the child by separating its brain from its body and placing the brain in a vat that was also equipped with virtual reality components. The child, named Ludwig, then experienced life as normal because the doctor fed Ludwig programed inputs that created a virtual world for him. Ludwig experienced a normal life and experienced a normal world. The doctor provided Ludwig with books so that he may learn and some of these books were on the subject of philosophy. Suddenly Ludwig found himself questioning his reality, and he was in great distress. Ludwig felt confused and began to question everything about his reality. The doctor was also worried that one day Ludwig would discover the truth of his reality. Ludwig eventually settled down because he held on to a chair and said to himself that he could touch the chair, he could feel it. It was hard, it had mass, a smell, a taste, and he could see it. Ludwig determined that his reality was indeed real because this chair of his passed his test of being real. Yet we know that the chair was nothing more than a program of the doctors machine. So is Ludwig's chair real? Can we know any better than Ludwig could that our chairs are real?
In philosophy, the best answers are the ones that pose even more difficult questions.
Does it really matter if the chair exists or not? If it exists to us, then why does it matter if it exists to someone else?
Mind=Blown
Would people please stop saying this? It's not a valid answer.
You heard that, green and red.
What does this have to do with my post? I'm talking about things that are unanswerable. It's true that every answer leads us to ask more questions (the proverbial "why?" can be applied to all answers until we finally get to the point where we can no longer answer) but that doesn't have anything to do with my point.
This actually goes all the way back to my original statement that philosophers are like children. Children love asking why and they'll keep asking why until you finally say "It just is" or "God did it" and then they'll ask why again. That final why is so frustrating to parents because we don't have an answer. There will always be certain fundamental questions that we cannot answer.
This signature exists in forums beyond your comprehension.