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What Is Philosophical Suicide?

January 26, 2020

Philosophy

absurd, ignorance, philosophy, religion, society, suicide, thought

As a notion, suicide is riddled with ideological baggage. Forbidden by most religions and snubbed by societal norms, the concept of self-annihilation often stirs emotions. On a more subtle level, this ought to be the case for philosophical suicide.

Alas, it isn’t. Ironically enough, as we’ll see, the reasons are related (at least indirectly) to the very dogmatism informing physical suicide.

But what is philosophical suicide?

Very briefly, philosophical suicide is an essentially ad-hoc attempt to explain away the inconsistency between the human desire for existential purpose and the apparent lack of such a purpose.

The term is heavily related to the concept of the absurd as described by Albert Camus. Therefore, in order to define philosophical suicide (also described by Camus), we must first take a quick look at the absurd.

philosophical suicide
To face the absurd, Camus sees three options, one of which is philosophical suicide
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What Is the Burden of Proof in Philosophy

January 1, 2020

Philosophy

burden of proof, logic, philosophy

In philosophy, the burden of proof refers to the obligation of someone to provide evidence for an argument. In simple terms, when you and I have a philosophical disagreement, the burden of proof dictates whether it’s me or you who has to prove their position.

Now, this might sound a bit odd. “Surely”, you might say, “we both need to prove our point, isn’t that how philosophy works?”

Not quite.

Recall the post on the only game in town fallacy. If our philosophical argument is whether there are invisible, undetectable pink unicorns flying over the house (as, let’s assume, you might argue), it makes a heck of a difference whether it’s you who has to prove there are or me who has to prove there aren’t.

The burden of proof is basically the philosophical rules of engagement. The burden of proof decides who has to prove what in such arguments. Of course, as it becomes apparent, things get complex (and ugly) quickly, because there is often disagreement as to who has the burden of proof.

burden of proof
The burden of proof in philosophy is, in simple terms, the rules of engagement in a philosophical argument
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What the Ship of Theseus Tells Us about Qualia

September 4, 2019

Philosophy

consciousness, identity, philosophy, subjectivity

If you feel helpless reading the title, bear with me. I’ll explain it all in a moment. If you do know what the “Ship of Theseus” refers to, you might still be wondering what’s the connection between the Ship of Theseus and qualia. That’s what this post attempts to ponder on.

First things first, especially for those who are not familiar with either the Ship of Theseus or qualia. That is, first let’s see some brief definitions – at this point I only offer the definitions; analysis will follow right after.

The Ship of Theseus is the name given to a thought experiment known since the 5th century BCE. It’s related to the metaphysics of identity.

Qualia is the name given to individual instances of subjective experience. When you see a red flower, the “redness of red”, the way you, specifically perceive it, is qualia.

ship of theseus qualia
This specific ship is not the Ship of Theseus, and qualia does not refer to you seeing the picture. But whether the act of “seeing the picture” can be objective, the experience of “seeing the pictureness of the picture” is subjective.
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