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Beware of Bad Philosophy!!! lol

Started by WhiteTigerForever, July 19, 2011, 01:13:25 PM

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WhiteTigerForever

#25
lol... also look into why 1 is > than 0

1 is not actually defined to be greater than zero, it can be proven. The real numbers are an ordered field (technically, a complete ordered field, but completeness is not needed in this proof). If you are unfamiliar with the field axioms and the definition of a total ordering, you should look those up first. In fact, since there are different ways of defining a total ordering, I'll just give you the definition I'll be using:

If S is a set, define a subset P (called the positive set) by the following three conditions:

1.) Elements of P are closed under addition
2.) Elements of P are closed under multiplication
3.) If x is an element of S, then one and only one of the following are true: a is in P, -a is in P, a = 0

The third condition is called the law of trichotomy. -a is defined to be the additive inverse of a and 0 is defined to be the additive identity. We define the order relation > by

a > b if and only if a - b is an element of P.

Now, before proving this, I have to start with a lemma. I need to prove that if a is a non-zero real number, then a^2 > 0 (meaning it's in the positive set).

Suppose a is a non-zero real number. By the law of trichotomy, either a > 0 or a < 0. If a > 0, then by closure of multiplication in the positive set, a^2 > 0. If a < 0, then -a > 0. So,

a^2 = aa = (-a)(-a) = (-a)^2, which is in the positive set, again by closure. Thus, a^2 > 0 in all cases where a is not equal to zero.

Note that I didn't justify the step aa = (-a)(-a). This can be proven as well, but this is taking long enough as it is, so I'll let you figure it out (it's not that hard if you use the distributivity axiom). Now, onto the proof.

We first want to show that 1 is not equal to zero (bear in mind that 1 is defined to be the multiplicative identity). We'll do this by assuming the opposite and arriving at a contradiction. Suppose that 1 = 0. If a is a non-zero real number, we have a = a*1 = a*0 = 0, which is a contradiction (because we assumed a was non-zero). Note that the step a*0 = 0 was also unjustified. Again, this isn't difficult to prove using the field axioms, but I'd rather not get any more off track.

So, since 1 is not equal to zero, then the law of trichotomy says that either 1 > 0 or 1 < 0. Now, by the definition of multiplicative identity, 1^2 = 1*1 = 1. However, our lemma says that given any non-zero real number a, a^2 > 0. Thus, 1 > 0.    hee hee hee ;D




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WhiteTigerForever

#27
Quote from: gaggedLouise on July 21, 2011, 06:09:11 PM
"A God who can be proved to exist is no god, but a thing of the world"

-Karl Jaspers. I completely agree; attempts at scientific or logical proof of the existence of God as some big beyond miss the point of any real belief in a deity.

Indeed, that is why belief is taken out of the equation.. faith and belief are a result of the ego's fear of annihilation, but all people do what they must as individuals to live, find happiness and blend with their cultures, as they are so prompted from within them selves.... :D

Buddhism has many wonderful works on such thoughts and is another vast gatherings of philosophy, along with Taoist philosophies to draw from. 
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adeleturner

I agree with the bare bones of Rand's philosophy, but she ends up taking things waaaaaaay too far.  I agree whole-heartedly that a certain amount of selfishness is a moral necessity, but I disagree when she says that it would be evil to risk your life to save a stranger.  I don't think you have a moral obligation to risk your life to save a stranger, but I do believe it is a moral virtue to do so and that it is far from "evil."

I also don't understand why she insists on every part of her philosophy, from aesthetics to metaphysics to ethics, is all-or-nothing.  If you believe that reality is real and knowable, government should exist to protect the rights of the people, and individuality is important . . . then you must love modern architecture . . . wait, what?

And jeezy woman, the first rule of good literature is "show don't tell."  Want to get the point across that collectivism is bad?  Then write a story that illustrates it.  If you are going to have a 50 page uninterrupted monologue then you should have just written an essay, not a novel.

WhiteTigerForever

Quote from: adeleturner on September 21, 2011, 06:36:14 PM
I agree with the bare bones of Rand's philosophy, but she ends up taking things waaaaaaay too far.  I agree whole-heartedly that a certain amount of selfishness is a moral necessity, but I disagree when she says that it would be evil to risk your life to save a stranger.  I don't think you have a moral obligation to risk your life to save a stranger, but I do believe it is a moral virtue to do so and that it is far from "evil."

I also don't understand why she insists on every part of her philosophy, from aesthetics to metaphysics to ethics, is all-or-nothing.  If you believe that reality is real and knowable, government should exist to protect the rights of the people, and individuality is important . . . then you must love modern architecture . . . wait, what?

And jeezy woman, the first rule of good literature is "show don't tell."  Want to get the point across that collectivism is bad?  Then write a story that illustrates it.  If you are going to have a 50 page uninterrupted monologue then you should have just written an essay, not a novel.


aaaaaaaaaha ha ha ha........ luvs you now tooooooooXD!!!! :D
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Plot Hooks

Quote from: Alsheriam on July 19, 2011, 02:08:58 PM
For one, I can barely bring myself to take anything by Ayn Rand seriously. It makes things worse when a ton of conservatives try to sound intellectual by quoting Ayn Rand, whose work itself I view as faulty.

On the other hand, neither can I take theists seriously. It takes a great leap of logic to be utterly convinced that there's an invisible man in the sky who loves me and has a great life plan for me that will take place only if I accept his mortal son as his savior. In my view, anyone who accepts such a thing has already set a precedent for faulty logic and therefore is unqualified to talk about philosophy.

You know, I have to fundamentally disagree with the assertion in the latter half of that statement.

1.) It implies that all theist are Christian, which is false.
2.) it implies that Chrisians are incapable of rational thought, which is false.   Take Kant, for existence.   He was Christian, but most of works were an effort to form and justify a code of ethics that didn't rely on God for moral authority.

Don't disqualify the theist outright.   Trying to prove -(x) cuts both ways. 

Also, <3 Bertrand Russle.   My Philosophy BS revolved around logic (mostly symbolic logic) and Theory of Learning and Scientific Method.   The man was profound.   He also totally boned T. S. Eliot's wife.  She went crazy after that and was committed.   It likely had nothing to do with Russel's semen, but I kinda like to think that it did.
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WhiteTigerForever

Quote from: Oniya on September 28, 2011, 07:19:38 PM
My inner math major realizes that BS most likely meant Bachelor of Science, but my inner 12-year-old just giggled.

I loooooooove Oniya again...


and roflmfao on Russsel nailing Elliot's wife!!! ha ha ha ha... 
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Plot Hooks

Quote from: Oniya on September 28, 2011, 07:19:38 PM
My inner math major realizes that BS most likely meant Bachelor of Science, but my inner 12-year-old just giggled.

You have no idea how often that happens to me.  :)
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