Category: Dialectics
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Would Schpenhauer Allow Comments . . .
. . . on his weblog, The Scowl of Minerva? Find out at Substack.
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Parallel Problems of God and Evil, Mind and Matter
For Bradley Schneider. ………………………………….. It is a simple point of logic that if propositions p and q are both true, then they are collectively logically consistent, though not conversely. So if God exists and Evil exists are both (objectively) true, then they are collectively logically consistent, whence it follows that it is possible that they be collectively logically consistent. This…
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On this Date in 1844
Friedrich Nietzsche was born on this date in 1844. He died on 25 August 1900. You must attend to him if you would understand our current spiritual/cultural situation. His great aphorism, "Some men are born posthumously" applies to him, and I am sure that when he penned it he was thinking of himself. What makes it…
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Ad Ignorantiam and the Law
The day before yesterday I wrote, In a criminal case the probative bar is set very high: the accused has to be shown guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Here too there seems to be a legitimate appeal to ignorance: if it has not been shown that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the…
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Burden of Proof, Appeal to Ignorance, Safety Considerations, and God
Presumption and Burden of Proof Firearms instructors sometimes say that every gun is loaded. That is plainly false as it stands, but a wise saying nonetheless if interpreted to mean: every gun is to be presumed loaded until proven unloaded. Presumptions are procedural rules. To presume every gun to be loaded is to adopt a…
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Disputation and Burden of Proof: A Round with Professor Novak
I proposed for consideration a bit of dialog: A: The law of noncontradiction (LNC) is a law of thought merely. B: I dispute your claim. LNC is not a law of thought merely; it is also a law of extramental reality. In this example, B disputes what A says by making a counter-claim, a counter-assertion.…