Introduction and Overview This article describes a problem in Evolutionary Theory that arises when we consider why all living beings eventually die. I will compare the death of a living being to a computer program that halts after completing execution. The issue of program halting is problematic in computing theory […]
Biology / Mathematics / Philosophy / Physics
Posted on:
Do Life and Living Forms Present a Problem for Materialism?
Abstract An assumption implicit in this question is that non-living objects probably don’t present a problem for materialism, because if that weren’t the case, we would be asking if materialism is a sound approach for all of science and not just the study of living forms. In this essay, I […]
Philosophy / Physics
Posted on:
Properties, Values, and Measurements
Introduction and Overview One problem that has repeatedly bothered me for the last decade is the distinction between physical properties, their measurements, and the values of properties that are discovered during measurement. I have flip-flopped in my understanding of the problem and what might be a solution. I will use […]
Philosophy / Psychology
Posted on:
The Mind-Body Problem in Indian Philosophy
Two Mind-Body Problems The Mind-Body problem in Western philosophy concerns the difficulty in conceiving the nature of the interaction between mind and body, considering that these two are supposed to be different substances—one physical and material while the other spiritual or mystical. In Indian philosophy, matter itself transforms into the […]
Overview / Psychology / Religion
Posted on:
Three Responses to the Question of Reality
Introduction and Overview Every area of knowledge begins with the question: What is reality? If I see an apple, is it real? If I see some work of art and think it is beautiful, is it really beautiful? Is money real? Is power real? Is objectivity real? Does she really […]
Overview / Philosophy / Psychology / Religion
Posted on:
Perception in Indian Philosophy
Problem of Perception in Materialism How we perceive taste, smell, touch, sound, and sight is a fact about our perception, but it has never been properly understood in biology, psychology, or philosophy. The problem is that we suppose material objects to be the length, mass, charge, momentum, energy, temperature, etc. […]
Overview / Philosophy / Psychology / Religion
Posted on:
The Difference Between Matter and Spirit
Dualism in Western and Vedic Philosophies Descartes created the mind-body divide and claimed these to be two different substances—the extended substance (res extensa) and the thinking substance (res cogitans). However, with the progress in science (and attempts to subsume thinking under matter), the distinction between mind and body gets hazier […]