Combining Philosophers

All the ideas for New Scientist writers, Michael Martin and K Marx / F Engels

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102 ideas

1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 3. Philosophy Defined
Philosophy is no more than abstractions concerning observations of human historical development [Marx/Engels]
1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 5. Aims of Philosophy / e. Philosophy as reason
Interesting philosophers hardly every give you explicitly valid arguments [Martin,M]
2. Reason / E. Argument / 1. Argument
Valid arguments can be rejected by challenging the premises or presuppositions [Martin,M]
7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 5. Reason for Existence
Current physics says matter and antimatter should have reduced to light at the big bang [New Sci.]
CP violation shows a decay imbalance in matter and antimatter, leading to matter's dominance [New Sci.]
7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 6. Physicalism
Philosophical problems are resolved into empirical facts [Marx/Engels]
12. Knowledge Sources / B. Perception / 1. Perception
An error theory of perception says our experience is not as it seems to be [Martin,M]
13. Knowledge Criteria / E. Relativism / 4. Cultural relativism
For the proletariate, law, morality and religion are just expressions of bourgeois interests [Marx/Engels]
14. Science / A. Basis of Science / 4. Prediction
A system can infer the structure of the world by making predictions about it [New Sci.]
15. Nature of Minds / B. Features of Minds / 1. Consciousness / a. Consciousness
'Society determines consciousness' is contradictory; society only exists in minds [Weil on Marx/Engels]
Life is not determined by consciousness, but consciousness by life [Marx/Engels]
15. Nature of Minds / C. Capacities of Minds / 3. Abstraction by mind
Neural networks can extract the car-ness of a car, or the chair-ness of a chair [New Sci.]
18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 5. Rationality / a. Rationality
No one has yet devised a rationality test [New Sci.]
18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 7. Intelligence
People can be highly intelligent, yet very stupid [New Sci.]
About a third of variation in human intelligence is environmental [New Sci.]
18. Thought / B. Mechanics of Thought / 1. Psychology
Psychologists measure personality along five dimensions [New Sci.]
19. Language / A. Nature of Meaning / 3. Meaning as Speaker's Intention
Language co-exists with consciousness, and makes it social [Marx/Engels]
22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 2. Source of Ethics / e. Human nature
Consciousness is a social product [Marx/Engels]
The nature of an individual coincides with what they produce and how they produce it [Marx/Engels]
22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 2. Source of Ethics / j. Ethics by convention
Bourgeois interests create our morality, law and religion [Marx/Engels]
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 1. Virtue Theory / d. Virtue theory critique
When aristocracy or the bourgeoisie dominate, certain values dominate with them [Marx/Engels]
23. Ethics / F. Existentialism / 6. Authentic Self
Young Hegelians proposed changing our present consciousness for liberating critical consciousness [Marx/Engels]
24. Political Theory / A. Basis of a State / 1. A People / a. Human distinctiveness
Producing their own subsistence distinguishes men from animals [Marx/Engels]
Men distinguish themselves from animals when they begin to produce their means of subsistence [Marx/Engels]
Individuals are mutually hostile unless they group together in competition with other groups [Marx/Engels]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 7. Communitarianism / a. Communitarianism
Only in community are people able to cultivate their gifts, and therefore be free [Marx/Engels]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 9. Communism
Young Hegelians think consciousness is chains for men, where old Hegelians think it the bond of society [Marx/Engels]
If the common interest imposes on the individual, his actions become alienated and enslaving [Marx/Engels]
In communist society we are not trapped in one activity, but can act freely [Marx/Engels]
The class controlling material production also controls mental production [Marx/Engels]
The revolutionary class is opposed to 'class', and represents all of society [Marx/Engels]
To assert themselves as individuals, the proletarians must overthrow the State [Marx/Engels]
Modern governments are just bourgeois management committees [Marx/Engels]
Communism aims to abolish not all property, but bourgeois property [Marx/Engels]
Many of the bourgeois rights grievances are a form of self-defence [Marx/Engels]
25. Social Practice / A. Freedoms / 1. Slavery
Slavery cannot be abolished without the steam-engine [Marx/Engels]
25. Social Practice / A. Freedoms / 4. Free market
Communism abolishes private property and dissolves the powerful world market [Marx/Engels]
25. Social Practice / A. Freedoms / 5. Freedom of lifestyle
The free development of each should be the condition for the free development of all [Marx/Engels]
25. Social Practice / C. Rights / 4. Property rights
The law says private property is the result of the general will [Marx/Engels]
25. Social Practice / E. Policies / 5. Education / b. Education principles
Communists want to rescue education from the ruling class [Marx/Engels]
25. Social Practice / E. Policies / 5. Education / d. Study of history
Human history must always be studied in relation to industry and exchange [Marx/Engels]
Most historians are trapped in the illusions of their own epoch [Marx/Engels]
The history of all existing society is the history of class struggles [Marx/Engels]
27. Natural Reality / A. Classical Physics / 1. Mechanics / d. Gravity
Gravity is unusual, in that it always attracts and never repels [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / A. Classical Physics / 2. Thermodynamics / d. Entropy
Entropy is the only time-asymmetric law, so time may be linked to entropy [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 1. Relativity / b. General relativity
In the Big Bang general relativity fails, because gravity is too powerful [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 2. Electrodynamics / a. Electrodynamics
Quantum electrodynamics incorporates special relativity and quantum mechanics [New Sci.]
Light moves at a constant space-time speed, but its direction is in neither space nor time [New Sci.]
Photons have zero rest mass, so virtual photons have infinite range [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 2. Electrodynamics / b. Fields
In the standard model all the fundamental force fields merge at extremely high energies [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 2. Electrodynamics / c. Electrons
Electrons move fast, so are subject to special relativity [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 2. Electrodynamics / d. Quantum mechanics
Quantum states are measured by external time, of unknown origin [New Sci.]
The Schrödinger equation describes the evolution of an object's wave function in Hilbert space [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 3. Chromodynamics / a. Chromodynamics
The strong force is repulsive at short distances, strong at medium, and fades at long [New Sci.]
The strong force binds quarks tight, and the nucleus more weakly [New Sci.]
Gluons, the particles carrying the strong force, interact because of their colour charge [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 3. Chromodynamics / b. Quarks
Quarks in threes can build hadrons with spin ½ or with spin 3/2 [New Sci.]
Three different colours of quark (as in the proton) can cancel out to give no colour [New Sci.]
Classifying hadrons revealed two symmetry patterns, produced by three basic elements [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 4. Standard Model / b. Standard model
Three particles enable the weak force: W+ and W- are charged, and Z° is not [New Sci.]
The four fundamental forces (gravity, electromagnetism, weak and strong) are the effects of particles [New Sci.]
The weak force explains beta decay, and the change of type by quarks and leptons [New Sci.]
The weak force particles are heavy, so the force has a short range [New Sci.]
Why do the charges of the very different proton and electron perfectly match up? [New Sci.]
The Standard Model cannot explain dark energy, survival of matter, gravity, or force strength [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 4. Standard Model / c. Particle properties
Fermions, with spin ½, are antisocial, and cannot share quantum states [New Sci.]
Spin is akin to rotation, and is easily measured in a magnetic field [New Sci.]
Spin is a built-in ration of angular momentum [New Sci.]
Particles are spread out, with wave-like properties, and higher energy shortens the wavelength [New Sci.]
Quarks have red, green or blue colour charge (akin to electric charge) [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 4. Standard Model / d. Mass
The mass of protons and neutrinos is mostly binding energy, not the quarks [New Sci.]
Gravitional mass turns out to be the same as inertial mass [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 4. Standard Model / e. Protons
Top, bottom, charm and strange quarks quickly decay into up and down [New Sci.]
Neutrons are slightly heavier than protons, and decay into them by emitting an electron [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 4. Standard Model / f. Neutrinos
Neutrinos were proposed as the missing energy in neutron beta decay [New Sci.]
Only neutrinos spin anticlockwise [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 4. Standard Model / g. Anti-matter
Standard antineutrinos have opposite spin and opposite lepton number [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 5. Unified Models / a. Electro-weak unity
The symmetry of unified electromagnetic and weak forces was broken by the Higgs field [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 5. Unified Models / b. String theory
In string theory space-time has a grainy indivisible substructure [New Sci.]
It is impossible for find a model of actuality among the innumerable models in string theory [New Sci.]
String theory needs at least 10 space-time dimensions [New Sci.]
String theory might be tested by colliding strings to make bigger 'stringballs' [New Sci.]
String theory offers a quantum theory of gravity, by describing the graviton [New Sci.]
String theory is now part of 11-dimensional M-Theory, involving p-branes [New Sci.]
Supersymmetric string theory can be expressed using loop quantum gravity [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 5. Unified Models / c. Supersymmetry
Supersymmetry has extra heavy bosons and heavy fermions [New Sci.]
Only supersymmetry offers to incorporate gravity into the scheme [New Sci.]
The evidence for supersymmetry keeps failing to appear [New Sci.]
Supersymmetry says particles and superpartners were unities, but then split [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / C. Space / 2. Space
Hilbert Space is an abstraction representing all possible states of a quantum system [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / C. Space / 4. Substantival Space
The Higgs field means even low energy space is not empty [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / C. Space / 6. Space-Time
Space-time may be a geometrical manifestation of quantum entanglement [New Sci.]
Einstein's merging of time with space has left us confused about the nature of time [New Sci.]
Relativity makes time and space jointly basic; quantum theory splits them, and prioritises time [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / D. Time / 1. Nature of Time / d. Time as measure
Quantum theory relies on a clock outside the system - but where is it located? [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / D. Time / 2. Passage of Time / g. Time's arrow
Entropy is puzzling, so we may need to build new laws which include time directionality [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / E. Cosmology / 7. Black Holes
Black holes have entropy, but general relativity says they are unstructured, and lack entropy [New Sci.]
General relativity predicts black holes, as former massive stars, and as galaxy centres [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / E. Cosmology / 8. Dark Matter
Dark matter must have mass, to produce gravity, and no electric charge, to not reflect light [New Sci.]
84.5 percent of the universe is made of dark matter [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / F. Chemistry / 1. Chemistry
We are halfway to synthesising any molecule we want [New Sci.]
27. Natural Reality / F. Chemistry / 3. Periodic Table
Chemistry just needs the periodic table, and protons, electrons and neutrinos [New Sci.]