Philosophy

[pintsofguinness]

You are an inmate in a concentration camp. A sadistic guard is about to hang your son who tried to escape and wants you to pull the chair from underneath him. He says that if you don't he will not only kill your son but some other innocent inmate as well. You don't have any doubt that he means what he says. What should you do?

Refuse to pull the chair, realising that the guard is solely responsible for the consequences of this situation, no matter what action you take.

agree

[Mentalman]

Scenario outlined reminds me of the film "Seven Beauties" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Beauties

[theskull1]

The God Delusion is a tough enough oul read, my main problem with it is the absolute arrogance with which Dawkins presents his work with little consideration for an opposing point of view, fair play to him I suppose for his steadfastness but can be quite annoying to read when you may have an opposing opinion in the first place (as I would hope most Christians like myself have). Its either his way or no way rather than trying to present a balanced debate for the reader and let them make up their own mind at the end. I guess he isnt very good at presenting two sides to an argument and rather than simulate a debate on the matter he fills the book with correspondence and anecdotes which do little in terms of debate. A friend has told me that there is an antithesis to this book which I havent spotted on the bookshelves, anyone got directions?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wyfSviTfs8


Dawkins/Dennett/Harris & Hitchens discuss

[Niall Quinn]

I find Eric Idle's composition very useful when trying to sound smart in philosophy discussions:

Immanuel Kant was a real piss-ant
who was very rarely stable
Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar
who could think you under the table
David Hume could out-consume
Schopenhauer and Hegel
And Wittgenstein was a beery swine
who was just as sloshed as Schlegel

There's nothing Nietzsche couldn't teach ya
'bout the raising of the wrist
Socrates himself was permanently pissed

John Stewart Mill of his own free will
on half a pint of shandy was particularly ill
Plato they say could stick it away
'alf a crate of whisky every day
Aristotle Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle
Hobbes was fond of his dram
And Rene Descartes was a drunken fart:
"I drink, therefore I am"

Yes, Socrates himself is particularly missed
A lovely little thinker but a bugger when he's pissed

[passedit]

Did philosophy first year at college, or rather came to the conclusion after two lectures that it was all bollox. Conducted my own philosophical experiment for the rest of the year by not attending any lectures or seminars and just submitting a dissertation and doing the end of year exams based on the bollox in my own head.

I passed.

[Hardy]

But if you weren't there to observe him not winning it, did it really not happen?

[AZOffaly]

Did a tree fall on him?

[Billys Boots]

Did anyone hear it falling?

[Homer]

What if it fell on a squirrel? Does the sound that the squirrel made count?

[Puckoon]

I think I was there to whitness that, but then again I cant be sure it wasnt a dream.

[ONeill]

What is a dream?

[Puckoon]

Simply put, Kerry 3 in a row is a dream.

[Hardy]

Since we were on the subject, here's a current, real life moral dilemma on a small scale.

Outside my window I can see the neighbours' cat apparently standing guard at a cavity under a step. I presume it has a small animal trapped in there. There's only one way out. It's been there for about two hours now without moving.

What should I do, if anything?

Should I chase the cat away and give the trapped animal its freedom?
Should I let nature take its course?
Is this nature, though? This is a well-fed domestic cat.
I don't know what the trapped animal is. It could be a mouse, a rat, a bird or something else (a Schroedinger's mouse type situation?). Should this make a difference to what I decide?
I hate cats. Should that influence my decision?

[AZOffaly]

I hate cats too. Chase the cat away. They're b*stards.

Alternatively, shoot the cat with your 'celebrity' rifle, and let the small creature eat the carcass.

[ONeill]

You wouldn't be looking him neutered by any chance?

It's like the Wager.

A. You do nothing and the cat gives up and goes away.
B. You do nothing and the cats eats the prey
C. You chase the cat and the prey escapes
D. You chase the cat and the prey is a rat who'll piss on your outside carpet in a minute and eat your blue shirts hanging on the line.