Truth and Belief

[kennethamy]

Originally Posted by Isa

Perhaps that is why philosophy is ethically limited to thought experiments.

What does that mean? How can there be ethical limits to philosophy? Suppose the philosophical question is whether knowledge and belief are different, and if they are, how are they different. How do thought experiments come into this, and in case they do (which I doubt) how does ethics come into it. Do you think you can just say anything you please without caring whether it is true or not, or even whether it makes sense?

[Isa]

Originally Posted by kennethamy

What does that mean? How can there be ethical limits to philosophy? Suppose the philosophical question is whether knowledge and belief are different, and if they are, how are they different. How do thought experiments come into this, and in case they do (which I doubt) how does ethics come into it. Do you think you can just say anything you please without caring whether it is true or not, or even whether it makes sense?

Kennethamy,

A thought experiment is when one makes up a hypothetical scenario to help understand the way things are, or to test a hypothesis or to make a point.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_experiment

For example: If you replace a person's legs and arms with mechanical legs and arms; is he still a human? If you then replace his heart with a mechanical heart, is he still a human? If you then replace his brain with a CPU, is he still a human? This is a Thought Experiment to help illustrate where one might find the “seat” of what is considered to make a person human.

The ethical limitation I am talking about is that though one can use the above Thought Experiment, one is ethically prohibited from actually doing such an experiment (it would be morally wrong).

[perplexity]

Another ethically dubious thought experiment:

Replace the human being with a 3 month old fetus.

[kennethamy]

Originally Posted by Isa

Hennethamy,

A thought experiment is when one makes up a hypothetical scenario to help understand the way things are, or to test a hypothesis or to make a point.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_experiment

For example: If you replace a person's legs and arms with mechanical legs and arms; is he still a human? If you then replace his heart with a mechanical heart, is he still a human? If you then replace his brain with a CPU, is he still a human? This is a Thought Experiment to help illustrate where one might find the “seat” of what is considered to make a person human.

The ethical limitation I am talking about is that though one can use the above Thought Experiment, one is ethically prohibited from actually doing such an experiment (it would be morally wrong).

Some philosophy has to do with thought experiments. So what? Most of philosophy has nothing to do with thought experiments, ethical or otherwise. What have thought experiments to do with philosophy, then? And in any case, no one is saying that one should actually perform any thought experiment. That is why it is called a thought experiment. How is the notion of thought experiment relevant to this thread? Or doesn't that matter?

[Isa]

Originally Posted by perplexity

Another ethically dubious thought experiment:

Replace the human being with a 3 month old fetus.

How is replacing one human with another human an experiment?

[kennethamy]

Originally Posted by Isa

How is replacing one human with another human an experiment?

And how does it matter to a thread on truth and belief?

[perplexity]

Originally Posted by Isa

How is replacing one human with another human an experiment?

Creatures reproduce to see who is best fit to survive.

They call it evolution.

Originally Posted by kennethamy

And how does it matter to a thread on truth and belief?

This is what tends to determine truth and belief.

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[Isa]

Originally Posted by kennethamy

Some philosophy has to do with thought experiments. So what? Most of philosophy has nothing to do with thought experiments, ethical or otherwise. What have thought experiments to do with philosophy, then?

Kennethamy,

Sorry for the confusion.

I am not saying that everything to do with Philosophy is limited to Thought Experiments. I am saying that in instances where it would actually be unethical to do the real experiment (ie removing legs, hearts & brains) that Philosophy is limited to the hypothetical Thought Experiment.

One does not HAVE to use Thought Experiments in Philosophy; but they are very prevalent.

[Isa]

Originally Posted by perplexity

Creatures reproduce to see who is best fit to survive.

They call it evolution.

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Actually, they call that Natural Selection.

Again, off topic of a Truth and Belief thread.

[perplexity]

There could hardly be a more poignant test of truth and belief.

Is the status of a three month old fetus a question of truth or belief, and if so why so?

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