1 of 1- Due_Kindheartedness
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Eliminative materialism
Ancient Greeks believed magnets were caused by rocks having souls. We know that this is stupid. Therefore the entire concept of souls is like believing magnets have souls.
Why is this an apples-and-oranges comparison?
- ClassicalLiberal.Theist
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Re: Eliminative materialism
Due_Kindheartedness wrote:
Ancient Greeks believed magnets were caused by rocks having souls. We know that this is stupid. Therefore the entire concept of souls is like believing magnets have souls.
Why is this an apples-and-oranges comparison?
Fallacy of accident?
- Due_Kindheartedness
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Re: Eliminative materialism
Ancient Greeks believed magnets were caused by rocks having souls. We know that this is stupid. Therefore the entire concept of souls is like believing magnets have souls.
Why is this an apples-and-oranges comparison?Fallacy of accident?
I don't understand what you mean.
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Thread Starter- Due_Kindheartedness
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Re: Eliminative materialism
Descartes believe in an immaterial substance and believed that magnetism was something that was just a physical mechanism. So just because the ancient greeks (and was it even every ancient greek? I don't know if Aristotle thought this theory was true). The two are not necessarily conjoined by logical necessity and I'm not even sure if they had a common origin.
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Thread Starter- Due_Kindheartedness
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Re: Eliminative materialism
ADDENDUM: Not ever Ancient Greek believed in this theory. Source.
Why the Heraclean stone attracts iron. Empedocles says that the iron is borne towards
the stone by the effluvia emanating from both and because the pores of the stone are
fitted to receive the effluvium of the iron. The effluvium of the stone then expels the air
from the pores of the iron. Once the air is expelled, the iron itself is carried along by the
abundant flow of the effluvium. Again, when the effluvium of the iron moves towards the
pores of the stone, which are fitted to receive it, the iron begins to move with it
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Thread Starter- John West
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Re: Eliminative materialism
Ancient Greeks believed magnets were caused by rocks having souls. We know that this is stupid. Therefore the entire concept of souls is like believing magnets have souls.
Why is this an apples-and-oranges comparison?
Unlike the souls and magnets hypothesis, we don't know that the men and souls hypothesis is "stupid". (Indeed, since knowledge involves true belief, as an argument against souls this begs the question.)
There is a useful collection of links on eliminative materialism here.
- ClassicalLiberal.Theist
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Re: Eliminative materialism
Ancient Greeks believed magnets were caused by rocks having souls. We know that this is stupid. Therefore the entire concept of souls is like believing magnets have souls.
Why is this an apples-and-oranges comparison?Fallacy of accident?
I don't understand what you mean.
The comparison appears to me to commit the fallacy of accident.
- John West
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Re: Eliminative materialism
Looking back over this, I misunderstood the argument in my first paragraph. To be honest, I'm still not entirely sure what the argument is.