Post No.: 0839 Furrywisepuppy says: The comparative method in political science involves picking an independent variable(s) (e.g. GDP) then comparing two or more groups (e.g. countries) against each other to see how they fare according to some dependent … Read More
Post No.: 0830 Furrywisepuppy says: Economics is mainly about maximising utility, which is a consequentialist, utilitarian philosophy. An action or choice is good or bad depending on its net outcome. Law also generally serves society as a whole. … Read More
Post No.: 0813 Furrywisepuppy says: We could take a step back and question a broader assumption in law – should the intention of committing a crime matter at all or just the fact of the act itself? Absolute … Read More
Post No.: 0789 Furrywisepuppy says: The so-called ‘butterfly effect’, which stems from ‘chaos theory’, means that small things can lead to big consequences down the line. An imperceptible difference at one point in time can potentially generate a … Read More
Post No.: 0778 Furrywisepuppy says: In Post No.: 0770, we asked whether neuroscientific data could help improve our ability to detect lies and assess the minds of those accused of committing crimes in order to determine responsibility and … Read More
Post No.: 0770 Furrywisepuppy says: Present lie detector systems are nowhere near 100% accurate, yet governments and employers use them quite regularly to screen for candour or malfeasance. But will advances in neuroscience ever be able to unequivocally … Read More
Post No.: 0760 Furrywisepuppy says: At it’s most simplistic, law is a system of rules and standards that has been designed to guide behaviour. It’s usually shaped by morals, and customs like norms and etiquette. Law helps social … Read More
Post No.: 0748 Furrywisepuppy says: Shame can arise as a result of something that one has done to oneself, whereas humiliation can arise as a result of something that someone else has done to oneself. And bullies are … Read More
Post No.: 0729 Furrywisepuppy says: Life is just a series of projects – to maybe get married, raise a family, write a blog(!), finish a videogame, run a marathon, or just make tonight’s din-dins… and it feels like … Read More
Post No.: 0704 Furrywisepuppy says: Is it sensible to worry about dying?.. When we’re alive, we’re logically not dead. And when we’re dead, we logically won’t be around to experience it because we won’t be able to … Read More
Post No.: 0696 Furrywisepuppy says: ‘Speciesism’ is like racism, sexism or genderism but about the discrimination in treatment between different individuals belonging to different organism species (e.g. treating a sheep differently to a ferret). Does this accusation go … Read More
Post No.: 0662 Furrywisepuppy says: I personally think it’s fur to ask – is it egotistical of humans, and against the freedoms of companion animals like dogs, cats, horses and birds, to make companion animals obey humans? Or … Read More
Post No.: 0646 Fluffystealthkitten says: Will we ever be able to objectively describe and convey what it’s like to feel love, depression or other emotions or feelings, or to objectively describe what it’s like to see the colour … Read More
Post No.: 0632 Furrywisepuppy says: Is justice ever absolute or is it bound within the relative and particular values that happen to prevail in a particular society at a particular time and place? One view is that … Read More
Post No.: 0614 Furrywisepuppy says: In ‘everyday’ life nowadays, many people take drugs in the hope of losing weight, fighting ageing, improving their sexual performance, and now increasingly to hopefully enhance their productivity or academic performance. ‘Nootropics’ … Read More
Post No.: 0601 Fluffystealthkitten says: Any technology that can be utilised for admirable objectives can probably be utilised for nefarious objectives too. And the more potentially powerful the benefits then the even more potentially powerful the harms that … Read More
Post No.: 0590 Furrywisepuppy says: Philosophies that believe that everybody gets what they deserve are strongly arguably untenable according to the conclusions that can be derived from scientific research and empirical evidence. This universe, which includes us and … Read More
Post No.: 0585 Furrywisepuppy says: Let’s get deep! What makes you ‘you’ from one moment to the next? Personal identity is a key question in philosophy. (Some other big questions in philosophy concern God, knowledge and justified … Read More
Post No.: 0568 Furrywisepuppy says: It isn’t unscientific to view organic brains as essentially physical, biological machines. Computer software is also ultimately material when you break it down. Programming – whether via computers or DNA – is a … Read More
Post No.: 0556 Furrywisepuppy says: What is art? Well Marcel Duchamp was arguably the first to blatantly demonstrate that it’s contextual – stick a urinal in an art gallery setting and suddenly it’s considered art(!) Some, though, will … Read More
