Table of Contents
What is meant by thought experiment?
Introduction. Thought experiments are performed in the imagination. We set up some situation, we observe what happens, then we try to draw appropriate conclusions. In this way, thought experiments resemble real experiments, except that they are experiments in the mind.
What is a thought experiment example?
If you imagined that thought experiments were mere mental gymnastics meant to bamboozle the uninitiated, think again. Take Schrödinger’s cat, perhaps the most famous example, which involves a cat that is simultaneously alive and dead. It seems bizarre – and that’s the point.
What is the point of thought experiments?
The purpose of a thought experiment is to encourage speculation, logical thinking and to change paradigms. Thought experiments push us outside our comfort zone by forcing us to confront questions we cannot answer with ease. They demonstrate gaps in our knowledge and help us recognize the limits of what can be known.
What is a thought experiment quizlet?
A thought experiment is an experiment carried out in our imagination. This is where we Imagine a certain situation, Follow through some of the consequences of that situation, and draw a general conclusion.
Who is known for his thought experiments?
The 17th century saw some of the most brilliant practitioners of thought experimentation in Galileo, Descartes, Newton, and Leibniz, all of whom pursued the project of “natural philosophy.” And in our own time, the creation of quantum mechanics and relativity are almost unthinkable without the crucial role played by …
What is most famous thought experiment?
The Trolley Problem.
What is Frankfurt’s decision inducer thought experiment?
Frankfurt’s Decision Inducer thought experiment is intended to show that you can be held responsible for an action even if you couldn’t do otherwise. Gardner’s Random Bombardier thought experiment shows that randomness at the micro level has no effect on the macro level.
Which element of ethos is about letting the audience know you share their values?
The first element of ethos is virtue. When your audience believes that you share the same values as they do, they see you as someone virtuous, or trustworthy and aligned with their cause.
What is Taylor’s unpredictable arm thought experiment?
Taylor’s Unpredictable Arm thought experiment is intended to show that random events cannot be a basis for moral responsibility. According to compatibilists, only uncaused actions are free. According to compatibilists, free will and causal determinism are compatible because they exclude one another.
What is PAP in philosophy?
Principle of Alternative Possibilities (PAP): a person is morally responsible for what she has done only if she could have done otherwise. Although its precise form and interpretation have varied, this principle has enjoyed broad support in the history of philosophy.
Which of the following tools of rhetoric is an argument by logic?
Logos. Logos or the appeal to reason relies on logic or reason. Logos often depends on the use of inductive or deductive reasoning.
Who invented thought experiments?
Ernst Mach is commonly credited with introducing the word “thought experiment” (Gadankenexperiment) and thereby coining a term for philosophical discussion (most recently Krauthausen 2015, p. 15).
Why Taylor’s ingenious physiologist is a counterexample to Stace’s view?
How is Taylor’s Ingenious Physiologist a counterexample to Stace’s view? Taylor argues that they are not acting freely. They are not acting freely according to Taylor because although the action they perform is not the influence of an external agent, they have an internal condition that he or she cannot control.
What do hard determinists believe?
Hard determinism (or metaphysical determinism) is a view on free will which holds that determinism is true, that it is incompatible with free will, and therefore that free will does not exist.
What is a Frankfurt-style case?
ABSTRACT. Frankfurt-Style Cases (FSCs) seem to elicit the intuitive judgment that an agent is morally responsible despite being unable to act otherwise, which is supposed to falsify the Principle of Alternative Possibility (PAP).
Why does Frankfurt think PAP is false?
Frankfurt Cases & the PAP Harry Frankfurt famously argued that alternate possibilities are not necessary for moral responsibility, and therefore that PAP is false. Consider a case in which one subject, Mr. Jones, wishes to vote Democratic in a forthcoming election.
What is a thought experiment in philosophy?
In philosophy, a thought experiment typically presents an imagined scenario with the intention of eliciting an intuitive or reasoned response about the way things are in the thought experiment. (Philosophers might also supplement their thought experiments with theoretical reasoning designed to support the desired intuitive response.)
Do all philosophical thought experiments satisfy the central epistemological challenge?
Surprisingly, none of the commonly accepted philosophical thought experiments satisfies his model. And the process of identifying successful thought experiments is only the first step in addressing the central epistemological challenge posed by thought experiments.
Are intuitions in epistemology useful for thought experiments?
The recent discussion of intuitions in epistemology has barely made an impact on philosophical reflections about thought experiments. As far as philosophical thought experiments are concerned, this is as it should be, according to Williamson.
Are thought experiments an invention of modern science?
The practice of thought experiments is not an invention of modern science, although there can be no doubt that the notion of a thought experiment didn’t come into existence before the 18th century.