How does the concept of chance relate to knowledge and knowing? When did something happen to you unexpectedly or by chance? A good number of things in everyday life might seem like a coincidence‚ or a lucky chance‚ also known as serendipity. Chance affects our everyday thinking. How much safer is it to travel by car than by bike? Should I drink another beer? Should I take a risk? We might claim we know something if it is very likely or highly probable. For example‚ in your study of science you
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Alex Polnaszek Fertilizer Composition and Use Fertilizers have helped farmers and the production of food in this country immensely. They have allowed farmers to have a higher yield of food per acre despite some deteriorating soil conditions. There are three main elements in each bag of fertilizer. They are nitrogen‚ phosphorus and potassium and are represented on the outside of the bag in that order. Each of the three elements has a different benefit to the growth of a plant. Plants use
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they are‚ is wrong. I base my answer in the concept of free will‚ which I am going to explain once I have clearly established Strawson’s point of view. Strawson claims that we cannot be ultimately morally responsible for our actions whether or not determinism is true. Strawson’s claim is based in the Basic argument‚ which states the following: (1) nothing can be the cause of itself. (2) For one to be ultimately morally responsible for one’s actions one would have to be the cause of itself‚ at least in
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There has been a long standing philosophical debate on the notion of whether humans have free will‚ in which they are able to do as they please‚ or if everything is already predetermined‚ and humans have no control over the events in their lives. In Sophocles’ Athenian tragedy‚ Oedipus Rex‚ the plot revolves around the tension between one’s individual action and one’s fate‚ which one is unable to control. However in the play‚ Sophocles makes it evident that Oedipus‚ the protagonist‚ has no control
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theory‚ it would be characterized by my concept of humanity as one with free choice‚ optimism‚ driven by expectations of the future (Teleology)‚ conscious thought‚ social relationships & environment and the uniqueness of each human being. 1. Determinism vs. Free Choice My view on the nature of human nature would fall on free choice. There are indeed forces beyond our control but we how we behave‚ react or respond to these forces are purely out of our own choice. We have total control over ourselves
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free will and determinism in explaining human behaviour. Assess reductionism as a way of explaining human behaviour. Throughout the years there has been a long debate with nature vs. nurture on human behaviour‚ why do we behave the way we do? What reason does one person choose to commit crimes whilst others abide by the law? In my essay I will be discussing the concepts of free will and determinism‚ and explaining human behaviour through reductionism. The freewill versus determinism debate refers
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BENEDICT SPINOZA If one were to make a list of iconoclastic and radical thinkers‚ Benedict Spinoza would rank high. His great and enduring work‚ Ethics‚ continues to have renewed impact‚ currently among environmentalists and ecologically minded thinkers. Spinoza wrote numerous philosophical‚ political‚ and religious criticism works. His efforts consistently express a mind set in favor of religious tolerance and in opposition to traditional religious orthodoxy. In his two major works‚ Tractatus
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Benjamin Libet’s free will experiment was an attempt to determine if humans have free will by measuring brain impulses compared to a subject’s determination of when he or she first wanted to act and the time it took the subject to act. The subject acted by bending his or her wrist. Libet wanted subjects to feel like they were in control and therefore did not attempt to force an action to occur. Brain impulses‚ initiated unconsciously‚ were recorded before the subject was initially aware of any intention
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Humans have long considered the nature of free will. While many insist that their decisions give them control over the courses of their lives‚ external factors often render one’s tenacity inconsequential. In his Moby-Dick (1851)‚ Herman Melville explores the tension between fate and man’s thirst for free will. The novel’s central narrative of the revenge-crazed Captain Ahab forcing his crew to hunt the sperm whale that took his leg‚ ultimately losing his own life and killing all but one of his crew
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reason can never oppose or prevent actions motivated by passions or emotions. Reasons are of two kinds: demonstrative and probabilistic. Demonstrative reasoning is deductive; it allows us to draw specific claims from general ideas. Probabilistic (or causal) reasoning is inductive; it allows us to make general claims from specific ones. Neither kind capable of motivating. Hume draws a distinction between the world of ideas and the world of realities. Our motivation to act is concerned with realities
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