Told my philosophy of science students last week that modal realism means that in some possible world there are talking donkeys, and they didn’t bat an eyelid. Frankly, I’m concerned. #philosophy #metaphysics #modalRealism
@keithwilson
And well you should be concerned given the pseudocience that is philosophy in the first place.
@ClaraListensprechen4 Luckily we covered science versus pseudoscience in the first week, so we’ve got it sorted. 😉
@keithwilson Good because philosophy fits that category to a tee.
@ClaraListensprechen4 Do you have an argument for that or just sounding off?
@keithwilson
Far be it from me to argue the inarguable, but you seem to be up for it.
Philosophy is personal opinion--no more, no less. That's why scholarly philosophy studies are riddled with a pantheon of names which get pigeonholed as to type, rather than any discussion of principle.
It's inarguable because this is my personal opinion, which you could also call my philosophy, and you really have no say in the matter.
@ClaraListensprechen4 Naturally, I disagree. But as you point out your point has no persuasive force since it is a philosophical view and so, by your own lights, a personal opinion. That doesn’t make it unarguable to someone who is willing to consider both sides, but like most forms of scepticism it’s hard to climb out of the whole once you’re in there. The trick is not to fall into it in the first place. Have a good day! 😉
@keithwilson
Your position is inarguable because it's your personal opinion...as is mine. You seem to be unable to grasp that point.
Persuasion happens when a person is persuaded to change, and neither of us are persuaded by the other because it's personal belief, not personal reason. Should you find personal belief unreasonable, sir, you find yourself in the identical situation of being equally unreasonable.
@ClaraListensprechen4 I grasp your point. I just don’t agree with it. Is logic an opinion? Is ethics purely subjective? These are philosophical questions. You’re entitled to your beliefs, and I’m not trying to persuade you otherwise, but I wouldn’t say that ignoring rational arguments (which is what philosophy is) is reasonable. 🤷♂️
@keithwilson
No teacher of philosophy would agree with my philosophy, but I'd say further that teachers of philosophy are in the business of selling their own philosophies to students who are naive enough to buy such a bill of goods.
@ClaraListensprechen4 That’s very much not how I or my colleagues teach philosophy. Rather, we introduce students to a range of alternative approaches to a particular topic and encourage them to think and evaluate these for themselves. The aim is to foster independent thinking and critical argument, not unthinking acceptance of a ‘philosophy’.
@keithwilson
...except for your philosophy about philosophy, so there's that. Nice try, tho.
@keithwilson Thank you for confirming that it's just personal opinion after all. Much appreciated.
@ClaraListensprechen4 Fortunately I don’t teach metaphilosophy. 😊
It won’t surprise you to learn that the precise definition of philosophy is the subject of much disagreement among philosophers. Nevertheless, there is broad agreement that it involves, among other things, rational argument, thought, logic and conceptual analysis, none of which is purely subjective. 😉