Sublime

Thus, in searching for and judging explanations, we need more than just a refutation of solipsism. We need to develop reasons for accepting or rejecting the existence of entities that may appear in contending theories; in other words, we need a criterion for reality.

It may be that, subconsciously, we all settle for explanations we are predisposed to accept, and reject those we are predisposed against.

In short, my philosophical starting points are: “Right” and “wrong” are very real concepts which should possess great force. We should be skeptical about the powers of the individual human mind. Human life is complex and offers many different goods, not just one value that trumps all others.

obtuse.

No-holds-barred public debate is the most reliable process for attaining such knowledge, since other processes—accepting another’s authority, following emotions, agreeing with the most attractive advertising, acting on gut-instincts—are not directed toward knowledge and reach it only by accident. The higher the level of public debate—that is, the c

Philosophy introduced a new element to the relationship with external opinion, what one might visualize as a box into which all public perceptions, whether positive or negative, would first have to be directed in order to be assessed, and then sent on to the self with renewed force if they were true, or ejected harmlessly into the atmosphere to be

Derek Parfit,

University of Indiana anatomy professor Paul Pietsch was skeptical when he heard Lashley’s and Pribram’s claims. Pietsch referred to himself as a “materialist,” saying