Originally posted by JimL
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Cogito ergo sum
Here in the Philosophy forum we will talk about all the "why" questions. We'll have conversations about the way in which philosophy and theology and religion interact with each other. Metaphysics, ontology, origins, truth? They're all fair game so jump right in and have some fun! But remember...play nice!
Forum Rules: Here
Here in the Philosophy forum we will talk about all the "why" questions. We'll have conversations about the way in which philosophy and theology and religion interact with each other. Metaphysics, ontology, origins, truth? They're all fair game so jump right in and have some fun! But remember...play nice!
Forum Rules: Here
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Do the laws of the universe exist under materialism?
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-The universe begins to look more like a great thought than a great machine.
Sir James Jeans
-This most beautiful system (The Universe) could only proceed from the dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.All variety of created objects which represent order and Life in the Universe could happen only by the willful reasoning of its original Creator, whom I call the Lord God.
Sir Isaac Newton
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Originally posted by Quantum Weirdness View PostOk. So there is some inherent property of matter that makes it behave the way it does. Can we see this property like we see the behavior it causes? Is it like shape (which is observable)?
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Originally posted by Quantum Weirdness View PostYes, their behaviors are observed. What makes them behave like this? Is that property observable?
For example, certain behaviors are predicted by equations. Are these equations (or some equivalent) observable?
But at some point when you keep asking "Why?" questions, you will have to hit a brute fact, as it's unavoidable - even if you believe god exists.Blog: Atheism and the City
If your whole worldview rests on a particular claim being true, you damn well better have evidence for it. You should have tons of evidence.
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Originally posted by JimL View PostYes, the property is observable, because the property and the behavior are one and the same thing. There is nothing making matter behave the way it does, its determined to act according to its own nature.
Some definitions of nature I found.
Nature and the Essence of a Thing
The philosophical tradition that traces back to Aristotle employs the idea of nature to explain that which defines the essence of a thing.
One of the most fundamental metaphysical concepts, the essence indicates those properties that define what a thing is. The essence of water, for instance, will be its molecular structure, the essence of a species, its ancestral history; the essence of a human, its self-consciousness or its soul. Within the Aristotelian traditions, hence, to act in accordance with nature means to take into account the real definition of each thing when dealing with it. See here.
Nature, according to Aristotle, is an inner principle of change and being at resthere
The basic or inherent features, character, or qualities of something.
See here.
-essence (which is defined in terms of properties)
-an "inner principle of change and being at rest" and inner principles are properties
-characteristics, which are properties
Perhaps I am confused here. What distinguishes something's nature from its properties?-The universe begins to look more like a great thought than a great machine.
Sir James Jeans
-This most beautiful system (The Universe) could only proceed from the dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.All variety of created objects which represent order and Life in the Universe could happen only by the willful reasoning of its original Creator, whom I call the Lord God.
Sir Isaac Newton
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Originally posted by The Thinker View PostWe don't know exactly why a particular atom behaves the way it does. A scientific theory of everything may resolve that, or maybe not. Equations are not observable, they again, are just the descriptions of physical patterns in mathematical form.
But at some point when you keep asking "Why?" questions, you will have to hit a brute fact, as it's unavoidable - even if you believe god exists.-The universe begins to look more like a great thought than a great machine.
Sir James Jeans
-This most beautiful system (The Universe) could only proceed from the dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.All variety of created objects which represent order and Life in the Universe could happen only by the willful reasoning of its original Creator, whom I call the Lord God.
Sir Isaac Newton
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Ok.
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Well we were talking about the fundamental substance's behaviors, not the behaviors of the laws.-The universe begins to look more like a great thought than a great machine.
Sir James Jeans
-This most beautiful system (The Universe) could only proceed from the dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.All variety of created objects which represent order and Life in the Universe could happen only by the willful reasoning of its original Creator, whom I call the Lord God.
Sir Isaac Newton
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Originally posted by Tassman View PostWhat do you mean by "fundamental substances"? Are you referring to the Aristotelian/Thomistic notion of 'accidents and substance'?-The universe begins to look more like a great thought than a great machine.
Sir James Jeans
-This most beautiful system (The Universe) could only proceed from the dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.All variety of created objects which represent order and Life in the Universe could happen only by the willful reasoning of its original Creator, whom I call the Lord God.
Sir Isaac Newton
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Originally posted by Quantum Weirdness View PostYes. Its own nature. Now, certainly, its nature exists. What is its nature, then?
Some definitions of nature I found.
And
According to the Oxford dictionary, one definition of nature is:
These define nature in terms of :
-essence (which is defined in terms of properties)
-an "inner principle of change and being at rest" and inner principles are properties
-characteristics, which are properties
Perhaps I am confused here. What distinguishes something's nature from its properties?
Nothing distinguishes something's nature from its properties. They're simply different ways of talking about the same thing. Patterns and behaviors are more of the same, with the frequent addition of relationship to other things.
Originally posted by Quantum Weirdness View PostWell, I'm not just talking about atoms, but the fundamental substance. Why do the physical patterns emerge from the fundamental substance (i.e. one which cannot be reduced)? The physical patterns are behaviors of the substance and hence, come about because of the fundamental substance and its properties.Therefore, the behaviors are not brute facts. The pattern is regular and hence, the substance behaves regularly. Assuming materialism, the substance may have some properties that make it behave the way it does. If it doesn't have such properties, then we would have difficulty explaining the regularity of the patterns. That this substance exists with its properties may indeed be a brute fact, though behaviors cannot be brute facts.I'm not here anymore.
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Originally posted by JimL View PostAlthough elementary particles are naught but ripples in a field, which would make the field more fundemental. So what is a field?
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