Thinking About Stuff
Thinking About Stuff
  • 15
  • 461 698
The Sorites Paradox & Vagueness
How many grains of sand does it take to make a heap? How many hairs must one lose to be bald? This "line drawing" question is known as the Sorites Paradox and it is the result of a phenomenon known as "vagueness." Vagueness is everywhere and it is even a threat to the laws of logic. One solution to this puzzle is called Epistemicism, which suggests that there are no true borderline cases; there is always a line to be drawn and vagueness is merely a matter of our own ignorance about where to draw it. But can that be right?
Intro: (0:00)
The Sorites Paradox: (0:13)
Vagueness: (0:51)
Vagueness is All Around Us: (1:12)
Threat to Logic?: (2:04)
Epistemicism: (2:52)
Conclusion: (3:40)
Philosophical Sources:
- Keil, Geert, Lara Keuck, and Rico Hauswald. "Vagueness in psychiatry: An overview." Vagueness in Psychiatry (2016): 1.
- Kerckhove, Lee F., and Sara Waller. "Fetal personhood and the sorites paradox." J. Value Inquiry 32 (1998): 175.
- Waldron, Jeremy. "Vagueness in law and language: Some philosophical issues." Precedents, Statutes, and Analysis of Legal Concepts. Routledge, 2013. 357-388.
- Williamson, Timothy. Vagueness. Routledge, 2002.
Stock Media Sources: FreePik (www.freepik.com​) [including MacroVector], Pixabay (www.pexels.com​), Pexels (www.pixabay.com​), Purple Planet (www.purple-planet.com​), ZapSplat (www.zapsplat.com​).
มุมมอง: 2 145

วีดีโอ

Slippery Slope (Misunderstood Fallacies)
มุมมอง 2.2K2 ปีที่แล้ว
The Slippery Slope Fallacy is an informal fallacy that involves inappropriately arguing that A will lead to B, which will lead to C. And C is bad, so we shouldn't do A. But is it always a fallacy to use this kind of "chain of events" reasoning? This video offers 2 points to differentiate legitimate instances of this kind of reasoning from fallacious ones. Intro: (0:00) What Are Fallacies?: (0:1...
Appeal to Authority (Misunderstood Fallacies)
มุมมอง 8K2 ปีที่แล้ว
NOTE: The term "evidence" can be used in different ways. In this video, I use the term "evidence" in a probabilistic sense (often used in epistemology and Bayesian reasoning) where evidence for a claim is anything that increases the probability that the claim is true. In this sense, testimony can (but not always) be a defeasible form of evidence. In general, if someone is a reliable testifier a...
Necessary & Sufficient Conditions + Wittgenstein's Objection
มุมมอง 3K2 ปีที่แล้ว
Philosophers analyze concepts. One way to do that is to give the necessary and sufficient conditions for the concept. This video explains the difference between necessary conditions and sufficient conditions. It also describes how these get used in philosophical analysis, and Wittgenstien's objection to such methods. Intro: (0:00) Necessary Conditions: (0:33) Sufficient Conditions: (1:33) How T...
Is Death Bad? - Epicurus on Death
มุมมอง 5K2 ปีที่แล้ว
Most people fear death. But the ancient philosophers Epicurus and Lucretius argue that your death is not bad for you because once you're dead, you don't exist. And something can only be bad for you if you exist. However, Thomas Nagel argues that death can be bad for us because of what it deprives us of-even if we do not exist to experience it. Intro: (0:00) Epicurus on Death: (0:21) The Argumen...
Kant's Categorical Imperative (Deontology)
มุมมอง 35K3 ปีที่แล้ว
Kantian deontology is about rules and duties. Kant argued for an ultimate moral principle called The Categorical Imperative. It says that one must only act on principles (or "maxims") that could be universalized. This means they must still be rational even if everyone were to use them. Intro: (0:00) The Categorical Imperative: (0:43) What is a Maxim?: (1:22) A Maxim as a Universal Law: (2:06) T...
The Zombie Argument: Is Consciousness Physical?
มุมมอง 24K3 ปีที่แล้ว
According to philosopher David Chalmers, consciousness is not physical. Imagine a philosophical zombie. They are physically identical to normal humans, but there's one important difference: these zombies don't have any conscious experience. There's no "what it's like" to be a zombie. These beings aren't real, but they're not impossible. If they're made of all the same physical stuff that we are...
Free Will Incompatibilism: The Consequence Argument
มุมมอง 9K3 ปีที่แล้ว
Are deterministic laws of nature compatible with free will? According to Peter van Inwagen's "Consequence Argument," the answer is "No." The past and the laws of nature guarantee what the future will be. And the past and the laws of nature are not "up to me." And what results from them is also not "up do me." But my actions result from them. So my actions are not "up to me." Stock Media Sources...
Cultural Moral Relativism
มุมมอง 20K4 ปีที่แล้ว
"Is morality different for different cultures?" There are two different questions we might have in mind here. First, we might mean: "Do people's beliefs about morality differ across cultures?" This question is easy. Yes, different cultures have different moral beliefs. We can call this view "Descriptive Relativism." Second we might mean: "Does morality itself (i.e. the moral truth) differ acros...
Why Should We Punish? Theories of Punishment
มุมมอง 69K4 ปีที่แล้ว
When we punish people, we're harming them. So what makes it okay for us to do that? There are three main theories of punishment that answer this question in different ways. Retribution and Retributive theories say that wrongdoers simply deserve to suffer. Deterrence theories say that punishment is justified because it prevents future wrongdoing. And rehabilitation theories say that we're justif...
Do We Have Free Will? Compatibilism vs. Incompatibilism
มุมมอง 9K4 ปีที่แล้ว
*Clarification* In the video, my explanation of "causal determinism" is somewhat misleading. I explain it in terms of cause and effect. But you can have cause and effect without causal determinism. More accurately, causal determinism is this idea: the past the laws of nature = guarantees exactly one specific outcome. Video Description: Do we have free will? It seems like it. But doesn't everyth...
Kill 1 to Save 5? Consequentialism vs. Deontology
มุมมอง 136K4 ปีที่แล้ว
Correction The video inaccurately says that "according to deontology, there are some moral rules that should never be broken." But that only accurately describes "absolutist" versions of deontology (such as Immanuel Kant's). Other versions of deontology can allow for any rule to be broken. What makes a view deontological is primarily that regards morality as fundamentally involving duties and p...
David Hume and the Problem of Induction
มุมมอง 48K4 ปีที่แล้ว
We often use inductive reasoning-especially in science. But David Hume, an 18th century Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, identified a puzzle about such reasoning. It rests on an unjustified assumption. So induction might be a good form of reasoning, but we don't have good reason for believing it. This is the problem of induction. Media Sources: Illustrations: www.freepik.com Video Clips: www...
How to Make Fair Laws: John Rawls and the Veil of Ignorance
มุมมอง 54K4 ปีที่แล้ว
In his influential book "A Theory of Justice," Political philosopher John Rawls argues that justice is fairness. And in order to have justice and fairness, we must choose laws from behind a veil of ignorance. This means we must imagine that we didn't know anything about our own identity (wealth, race, gender, religion, etc.) and consider which laws we would choose given that we didn't know how ...
Good: Intrinsic vs. Instrumental
มุมมอง 37K4 ปีที่แล้ว
What does it mean to say that something is "good"? Philosophers distinguish between two kinds of "good" called "intrinsically good" and "instrumentally good." In this video, we explain the difference between the two. Media Sources: Music: www.purple-planet.com Sound Effects: www.zapsplat.com Video Clips: www.pexels.com

ความคิดเห็น

  • @hlaingminn
    @hlaingminn วันที่ผ่านมา

    Thank you

  • @SkegAudio
    @SkegAudio 9 วันที่ผ่านมา

    both are the same for me in the sense that in Consequentialism probabilities of consequence are already priced in the decision. Plus in the 2nd case, Consequentialism would still lead you to a no because the consequence is yes you "killed" a person to save five, but you're going to prison and the result of that is that even more people will die than the five you saved by society not having a doctor or one less doctor to attend the sick patients.

  • @rodneythundercock
    @rodneythundercock 10 วันที่ผ่านมา

    "even though dr smith is a medical expert, the vast majority of experts disagree with her." And this is an appeal to consensus, or appeal to popularity, another fallacy.

  • @lifeisfun1996
    @lifeisfun1996 24 วันที่ผ่านมา

    if its non consequentionalism theory and based on action then would stealing drugs in order to save my wife is correct according to kantian deontology

  • @SarahMarie-j2n
    @SarahMarie-j2n 25 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Regarding the railroad tracks, it depends on who the one is. If the one is a stranger then you save the five other strangers. If the one is someone you love you save the one. At least that's what I would do. But the conductor should probably just try to slow down & derail the train safely. If the conductor had been paying attention to the tracks, then he would have seen them and had sufficient time to slow down or even stop

  • @matthewkyle205
    @matthewkyle205 หลายเดือนก่อน

    #1 put the switch half way and the trolley will then derail … #2 as you can hear the trolley coming , run forward and free the single person , run back and switch to where the single person was

  • @Cuntypostaldude
    @Cuntypostaldude หลายเดือนก่อน

    All of these "All people don't have concious thought some people are just npcs" thought experiments sound like excuses to treat people badly and put yourself above everyone else

  • @stanimirvelinov2472
    @stanimirvelinov2472 หลายเดือนก่อน

    What many philosophers missing is PEAPLE DON'T WANNA DIE,the argument that "it's not bad because you don't exist to experience it"IS THE PROBLEM and it falls apart the moment someone remembers that killing is a thing,if death is not bad then why killing not good?

  • @sohu86x
    @sohu86x หลายเดือนก่อน

    Induction works until it doesnt, then we modify our beliefs.

  • @jennluca3741
    @jennluca3741 หลายเดือนก่อน

    It seems then that the Zombie is attempting to deceive the observer. if the zombie has no experience of awe at the painting, for what purpose does it exclaim "wow so beautiful" ? without the experience to instantiate the 'feeling' of awe it must be motivated in some ulterior way. for what other purpose does it maintain human-like behaviour than to camouflage and conceal itself? fundamentally there will be different patterns of neural activation involved in the zombie interacts with it's environment

  • @harvinkumar6149
    @harvinkumar6149 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Beautifully explained. Thank you.

  • @mrshaze6458
    @mrshaze6458 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Believe your account... but not your doctor. Believe the doctors paid for opinions. And don't ask paid for by whom. 😊

    • @TibiConstantine
      @TibiConstantine 17 วันที่ผ่านมา

      People in authority lie sometimes to suit their needs. These fallacies are so tricky.

  • @Kwadratura
    @Kwadratura 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    When I was kid I used to assume that all the other people are this kind of zombies and I blame autism for that

  • @americanliberal09
    @americanliberal09 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    A good example of the appeal to authority fallacy. There are certain types of political people who seriously wanna believe that "apoliticism" is a thing, because they have looked it up on wikipedia despite the fact that wikipedia is not an infallible website, and it can also put out wrong information, sometimes. Side note: I'm not trying to say that every bit of information that is on wikipedia is wrong. What i'm trying to say here is that people really need to be very analytical when something is posted on wikipidia, because it's not always gonna be 100% perfect. Me: "Sigh" Man. I just simply don't care about politics, because it just bores me to tears. 🥱 A random person: Oh. So you really don't care about politics, right? 😃 Me: Yeah. So what's up?😏 A random person: That's called "apoliticism". 😃 Me: Ummm...What? Really? So how do you even know that's even a thing?🤨 A random person: Because I've looked it up on the list of political ideologies that was on wikipedia.😃 Me: Ummmm...Dude. You do even realize that wikipedia is not an infallible information website, right?😏 A random person: Ummmm....Really? But why is that?🙂 Me: Because wikipedia can also put out wrong information, sometimes. 😏 A random person: So what makes you even think that wikipedia is wrong? 🙂 Me: 😁Because apolitical is not really an ideology. It's just a matter of a personal choice that you can make on your own. That'll be no different than saying that being apathetic towards subject matters such as "sports", and "movies" is an ideology. When in reality, it really isn't. So in order for something to be classified as an ideology. It really needs to meet these characteristics. 1. A coherent set of beliefs. 2. An organized set of principles 3. A clear vision, and a goal. 4. Explanatory(How the world works) 5. Evaluative(Deciding whether things are good or bad) 6. Orientation(Supplies the holder with a sense of identity) 7. Programmatic(What to do, and how to do it) So, therefore, you don't really need to have an ideology in order to be apolitical, because politics is just like any other subject matter that you can choose to be invested in or not. Plus, the authors who have created that article didn't even provide any empirical proof that apolitical is even an ideology, because they didn't even list any characteristics that even constitute as one. A random person: Oh. So you really don't even need to have an ideology in order to be apathetic towards politics, right?😳 Me: Yes.😁 A random person: 😳

  • @lastofthemohicans4665
    @lastofthemohicans4665 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Me changing the path of the train is interfering with something that was fate and actively get involved in the decision WHO will die. That's wrong in my opinion and not yours to decide. Harvesting organs from an innocent person in order to save others is even worse because you are betraying the trust of an innocent person and using him as a means to an end.

  • @DrJenYes
    @DrJenYes 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Awesome video! I understood everything clearly. This concept was a little tricky for me. Thanks!

  • @prschuster
    @prschuster 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Regarding evolution, although Richard Dawkins is not the sole source of expertise, the consensus among professional biologists is that evolution is a FACT. In this case, there is a huge burden of proof on creationists to debunk evolution. A scientific consensus among all the experts is pretty solid. Appealing to the authority of one expert is much more iffy. The problem with these science debates, is that non-scientists don't have access to all the evidence, and they usually overestimate the level of mastery they do have over the subject at hand.

  • @animeaddict8427
    @animeaddict8427 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I have a case if terrorists are using human shields and keeps on attacking you human shields are 100 in number , but terrorists killed 400 people in 5 different airstikes and you can't fire back cause of human shields 😮😮😮😮

  • @animeaddict8427
    @animeaddict8427 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Morality = protection of all lives Utilitarian = one war in history where no innocent died Morality = well... Me = Utilitarianism is realistic and recognize harsh realities

  • @saige2975
    @saige2975 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    this helped me understand that 44 page 1st chapter in less than a minute😭 I dont know why I was so confused about how this worked

  • @cold485
    @cold485 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    You should kill the one guy to save 5 patients. We kill people all the time. What if you convinced him? Say donated. Im gonna need more information though. How likely are the people die after the surgery. A darker reason could be the peoples contribution to society, even financially so. You dont kill the person cos yoi dont want to jump to conclusions and emd up just killing 6 people and waste resources in the process logical speaking and cos it feels wrong emotionally speaking. Deontology links this to that eveyone should live by. If i suspect that this would be turned into law the answer os no as there are so many unintended consequences but if this is an isolated incidents then my amswer might change slightly. Is this one guy on deathrow and will be killed anyway. Remember kiliing can be pain free eg assisted suicide.

  • @cold485
    @cold485 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Depends on how much time and info i have to make the decision.

  • @johnhoward6201
    @johnhoward6201 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I am not sure the P-Zombie debate is valid. I can imagine lot of things that are physically impossible. Just because we can conceive of a P-Zombie does not imply we can conclude anything significant.

  • @jamestown8398
    @jamestown8398 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    High-Stakes Gambler: “Concentrate all resources and power in as few hands as possible!”

  • @smoldragon339
    @smoldragon339 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    The difference, to me, is that the original Trolley Problem would likely be a one-time emergency that would never be repeated and would pose no danger to society as a whole. Meanwhile, the medical version is different, as it could lead us into a society where the bodily autonomy of the patient is no longer respected. So you're not simply sacrificing one person, you're sacrificing one person AND endangering one of the core foundations of a humane society.

  • @johnnydrydenjr
    @johnnydrydenjr 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Excellent videos.

  • @davidjones-vx9ju
    @davidjones-vx9ju 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    what the heck , throw in..... the 5 on the track are ...children or ,illegal immigrants,white or black and the one on the other track is .... a child or .....

  • @Robert-p7t2k
    @Robert-p7t2k 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    We don't really know about subjective death; we can only speculate as to it's nature. But pain is a thing we know all too well. The pain of dying is what we fear along with proceeding into the unknown. That's (at least partially) why death has a bad reputation.

  • @Note7-mi8yw
    @Note7-mi8yw 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    general aung san familys and be this is myanmar year 1915.

  • @Note7-mi8yw
    @Note7-mi8yw 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    my tun lin aung am myanmar states to myanmar nation. welcome next years 2053 time ok.

  • @joe-y4o5y
    @joe-y4o5y 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I cut; you choose predates John Rawls. As Anatole France wrote: The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread. Laws are written by legislators that are not affected by those laws and do not know the consequences of those laws. That is the actual Veil of Ignorance.

    • @joe-y4o5y
      @joe-y4o5y 29 วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@MURTAZAY The problem is one of unintended consequences due to not thinking through the consequences of laws. As an example, the millionaire's tax has caused those with high incomes to leave the states which impose the tax and to disinvest in those locations. A flat tax could hardly be thought to impose an undue or unfair burden of those with a higher income.

    • @roberthempker3931
      @roberthempker3931 13 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Legislators want re-elected. Their votes and choices do affect them.

  • @CoachingLiam
    @CoachingLiam 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    So, if these are 5 random people, why should I care in the first place? Regardless if I'm next to the switch or not

  • @Scoopz1
    @Scoopz1 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Question is why the heck are they just chilling on the track

  • @nathanm5705
    @nathanm5705 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I've recently self-published a novel that may be of interest to people who are intrigued by the consequentialism v deontology debate in the context of a "life and death" ethical dilemma. It's called "The Decision" by Nathan McGregor, and it's available in both Kindle and paperback format through Amazon.

  • @hellyahhh7590
    @hellyahhh7590 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I am a deontologist Because I don't wanna interfere anything

  • @renegutierrez7184
    @renegutierrez7184 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    You are probably extremely busy, but hoping to see some more videos from your channel and from Let's Get Logical.

  • @GaryBetterton
    @GaryBetterton 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I thought LOVE was supposed to be THE ANSWER. War and punishment retribution. Love creates only LOVE.

  • @vedantsridhar8378
    @vedantsridhar8378 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I remember once asking my grandpa if my friends are conscious or not whilst he was fixing something important. It feels amazing getting this video recommended now after so many years and realizing that I asked this deep philosophical question as a kid out of curiosity.

  • @christopherhamilton3621
    @christopherhamilton3621 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    It’s not the ‘future’ that’s behaving like the past though. It’s a physical phenomenon that is occurring.

  • @variableization
    @variableization 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Essentially, P zombies are only possible in the case that consciousness isn't physical. They are exact physical duplicates, so in the case where physicalism is true all resultant properties should also be the same. We are carrying out an experiment without carrying it out, then assuming an outcome. First, you'd need to be able to replicate someone's physiology down to the quantum level, then you'd have to be able to tell the difference between a P zombie and a person with a consciousness. Then with your conclusion you could make a determination. This argument skips all that rubbish and asserts in the first premise that the p zombie is possible, which is only true if the experiment would be carried out and shown in their favor. Sure, I can "imagine" the experiment going in the non-physicalist's favor but that doesn't mean it is literally possible, it means It is possible that physicalism is wrong but to know, we'd actually have to carry out the experiment to see what the ACTUAL truth would be. But no, physicalism isn't true or false based on my ability to imagine it is true or false. Possible in the sense that I can imagine an outcome, or another is not the same as possible showing there are no literal contradictions in reality preventing my ideas from being true.

  • @DrEnginerd1
    @DrEnginerd1 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    The analogy doesn’t hold though. The analogy needed to be “Amy in the past paid you back once, she says she will pay you back again”.

  • @philwhitfield6234
    @philwhitfield6234 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    thanks -- explains it well for me

  • @arriuscalpurniuspiso
    @arriuscalpurniuspiso 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I used this as a term recently, calling somebody a philosophical zombie as a throwaway insult, totally unconscious of the fact that it's a concept in philosophy until someone asked if it was a known term and someone else explained that it is. So I'm probably a philosophical zombie myself, without knowing it. But I do believe many people are zombies, and this, based primarily on a particularly vivid nightmare I had in 2019

  • @MissBlackMetal
    @MissBlackMetal 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I think the biggest issue with this argument / thought experiment is Claim 1: "zombies are possible". This is the sketchiest, flimsiest part of the whole thing, IMO. It seems silly to say "ok, but are zombies POSSIBLE -- in ANY universe?" when the entire point of the argument is to ground consciousness IN OUR universe. It's comparing apples to oranges, it doesn't work. And this is coming from someone who believes that consciousness is NOT just a code in our brains, and is "something more".

  • @happyhour4670
    @happyhour4670 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    King 👑👑

  • @keifer7813
    @keifer7813 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    2:25 Bout to be the biggest check-up of his life boiiiii. Doctor's probably doing the Birdman hand rub 😂

  • @ultrad27
    @ultrad27 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    All appeals to an authority are fallacious.

    • @Ana_crusis
      @Ana_crusis 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      No they aren't

    • @C3l3bi1
      @C3l3bi1 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@Ana_crusis yes they are

    • @j3131Jscoop
      @j3131Jscoop หลายเดือนก่อน

      Fallacy of Generalization

    • @rodneythundercock
      @rodneythundercock 10 วันที่ผ่านมา

      ​@@Ana_crusis yes, they are. That doesn't mean the claim being argued is wrong, it just means that the argument itself is fallacious/invalid. For example: if I say scorpions are arachnids, and all entomologists agree with me, then I have made a fallacious argument for a true claim.

  • @guillermoelnino
    @guillermoelnino 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    People who use the "slippery slope fallacy" argument likely support the projected result at the end of the slope, but don't currently want to admit it because doing so would not be politically expedient.

  • @Learning-Account-Yee
    @Learning-Account-Yee 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    What a Phenomenal analogy Rawls uses.

  • @phantom_drone
    @phantom_drone 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I liked the video, I hate it when people make an appeal to a possible slippery slope but there isn't an actual precedent for the slippery slope to happen.

    • @phantom_drone
      @phantom_drone 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      also I subscribed :)

    • @guillermoelnino
      @guillermoelnino 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      when y ou ignore literally every prediction we make in the past that came true shortly after every step of the way of course y ou're going to be able to tell y ou rself that the slippery slope is a fallacy. Ex: "we just want visitation rights"