Comment by TKoL on Does Popper's falsifiability criterion hold any utility?
Not all good ideas have to be scientific. There are scientifically minded people who also entertain strange and at least currently unfalsifiable ideas. They're usually not zealous about the ideas, they...
View ArticleComment by TKoL on Is Karl Popper's falsificationism self-refuting?
"A statement is only meaningful if it can be falsified" .. is this an accurate portrayal of the idea of falsificationism? I'm not convinced
View ArticleComment by TKoL on Can the absense of something be a cause?
Even at a fundamental layer, if future states are caused by past states, and "nothing is here" is a possible past state, then absence can be a cause. If you want a tiny universe to use at an example,...
View ArticleComment by TKoL on In traditional philosophy, what is the opposite to...
"My concern is that almost no intelligent and logical person would argue for a pure naturalism of this world." - it looks to me like many intelligent people argue that that's the case
View ArticleAnswer by TKoL for Negation of "I think therefore I am"?
Haxor is right that in classical logic, to negate the implication of "I think implies I am" would be "I think and I am not."However in natural language, negating an implication means something...
View ArticleComment by TKoL on Can we still be a realist even though we recognize that...
Yes, there's no "absolute basis" for just about anything.
View ArticleComment by TKoL on Why so many scientifically sane people are so ignorant in...
What does "ignorant" mean here? Does it mean something more substantial than "why don't more people agree with me?" - What set of beliefs constitute non-ignorance here?
View ArticleComment by TKoL on Are there non-scientific ways to have a justified belief...
"an evangelizer of scientism like myself" - this is the first time I've ever heard anybody describe themselves like this. What is scientism to you, and why do you evangelize for it? I'm sure that's...
View ArticleComment by TKoL on What sorts of beliefs can be justified non-scientifically?
@Mark none of the examples given defy physics. Trusting your spouse when they tell you "they are out of bread at the grocery store" is an epistemically very different thing from trusting a kid who...
View ArticleComment by TKoL on The Evolution of Free Will: Is Kevin Mitchell's argument...
"None of this could happen as a causal reaction to prior events." - that seems at best entirely speculative, and at worst clearly factually incorrect.
View ArticleComment by TKoL on What sorts of beliefs can be justified non-scientifically?
"everybody would probably agree that it is justified to believe whatever is consistent with our personal perception of the world." - how does this statement interact with hallucinations and mental...
View ArticleAnswer by TKoL for The Evolution of Free Will: Is Kevin Mitchell's argument...
"If the 'ability to make decisions' is a valid definition, then Mitchell simply stating that we make choices routinely is assuming that which he is trying to prove."I think it's worse than that - I...
View ArticleComment by TKoL on Can anyone provide an argument against astralphysical...
Before we get to arguments against it, what's the argument for it? Evidence? Is there something this satisfactorily explains that isn't explained otherwise?
View ArticleAnswer by TKoL for Does complexity imply statistical improbability?
On the one hand, talk of probability here seems meaningless and inscrutable.Does it? I don't think so. There's a reason hydrogen is the most abundant chemical substance in the universe.Most people, I...
View ArticleComment by TKoL on Is belief in god considered a matter of faith or reason in...
Why would that be the criteria for if we're a "failed species"? Doesn't that criteria assume there's a god to begin with?
View ArticleComment by TKoL on Is belief in god considered a matter of faith or reason in...
"Reason would lead to an answer, not a collection of candidate answers." - I don't think this is generally true. Consider quantum mechanics, with all of the interpretations which are basically...
View ArticleComment by TKoL on Can "Chance" be considered a metaphysic answer to the...
But if chance is metaphysical, as op suggests, then it's clearly not true that "they stubbornly refuse to mix metaphysical with materialistic explanations". Right?
View ArticleAnswer by TKoL for How is it determined which explanation is simpler?
Kolmogrov complexity is one objective-ish measure of simplicity. The downside is, many hypotheses aren't well formulated enough to even have a vague range of their kolmogrov complexity.Basically, any...
View ArticleComment by TKoL on Is simplicity the most important criterion when choosing...
If any theory can be adjusted to explain anything, then is that ADJUSTED theory still more simple than the other competing theories? Simplicity on its own isn't important, it needs to also explain. The...
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