Philosophy
What is definition? This is a question hard to answer. This requires the definition of definitions. You must know what a definition is before defining definitions. To get out of this circulation, let's first follow the traditional definition and then examine the validity of it.
The predicates prefixed with the definite article that refer to one and only one individual are definite descriptions, while those prefixed with the indefinite article, some, all and so on that can refer to more than one individuals are indefinite descriptions. Can the definite descriptions identify the essence of individuals and take the place of proper names?
Existentialists often contrast existence and essence. When they assert existence precedes essence, they regard essence as an ideal nature of the real existence.
Do we have any reason to exist? If you ask me why I went to the university, I can answer the question with reason. But, if you ask me why I was born, I cannot answer. I was not born, selecting my favorite spatio-temporal point in the world of my own accord. The fact is that one day I found myself existing.
What is the difference between reason and cause? Have you thought these are similar terms to explain something? Philosophically these two should be distinguished.
We take it for granted we live in the three-dimensional space, but we do not perceive the three dimensions directly. Why do we consider the space to be 3D?
The question "What is time?" has been an eternal problem for philosophers. However, you can define a physical time by making the second law of thermodynamics analytic. How can we define the time in our mind, then?
Philosophers often use the adjective transcendental, for example, when they speak of the transcendental consciousness, the transcendental intersubjectivity and so on. I will explain this seemingly difficult technical term as plainly as possible.
Anxiety and fear are similar feelings that we have of danger, but they are not the same. It is when you come short of information on danger that you are anxious about it, and when you have enough information on it, you are not anxious but just cautious about the fearful danger.
The usage of the pronoun I is not innate but acquired. At first, Infants use their proper names to refer to themselves. It is so difficult to master the usage of I that it takes a long time for infants to know how to use the first-person pronoun. When, how and why did we get to use the first-person pronoun?
We come across two sorts of incompleteness if you regard language as means to represent the world faithfully and communicate it to others. This incompleteness is, however, necessary for us.
It is evident that I have consciousness. How can I prove that there are other minds besides mine, then? If I cannot prove the existence of alter ego, must I accept solipsism?
There are three main theories of truth: the correspondence theory, the coherence theory and the power theory. In this article, I will examine these theories and conclude that truth is power.
You would think you have consciousness, but robots do not. What criteria should we apply for judging whether a certain system has consciousness or not? I would like to suggest a criterion: whether it can waver in its selection or not.
Elements are defined as minimum parts that cannot be divided any more. Are elements of material systems atoms and those of information systems bits?
Mysterious monism criticizes the dualism of modern philosophers. We must, however, overcome the horizon of dualism and monism and aim at pluralism consisting of dualism.
