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List of unsolved
problems in
Philosophy
By: Raquel D. Bernabe –Ed.D-IEM
Professor: Dr. Gabriel Sicam
Objectives
Discuss the ff:
• List of Un resolve Problems in Philosophy
A. Aesthetics
B. Epistemology
C. Ethics
D. Philosophy of Language
E. Philosophy of Mind
“What is the
meaning of life?
Where did we come
from?
What is reality?
Aesthetics
• Essentialism
• In art, essentialism is the idea that
each medium has its own particular
strengths and weaknesses, contingent on its
mode of communication. How expandable
is your database storage?
Epistemology
• Epistemological problems are
concerned with the nature, scope
and limitations of knowledge.
Epistemology may also be
described as the study of
knowledge.
Molyneux problem
• The Molyneux problem dates back to the
following question posed by William
Molyneux to John Locke in the 17th
century: if a man born blind, and able to
distinguish by touch between a cubeand
a globe, were made to see, could he now tell
by sight which was the cube and which the
globe, before he touched them?
Infinite regression

• Overlooking for a moment the
complications posed by Gettier
problems,
philosophy
has
essentially continued to operate
on the principle that knowledge is
justified true belief.
Münchhausen Trilemma

• purports that it is impossible to
prove any certain truth even in
fields such as logic and
mathematics. According to this
argument, the proof of any theory
rests either on circular reasoning,
infinite regress, or unproven
axioms.
Qualia
• The question hinges on whether color is a
product of the mind or an inherent property
of objects. While most philosophers will
agree that color assignment corresponds to
light frequency, it is not at all clear whether
the particular psychological phenomena of
color are imposed on these visual signals by
the mind, or whether such qualia are
somehow
naturally
associated
with
theirnoumena.
Ethics
• Moral luck
• The problem of moral luck is that some
people are born into, live within, and
experience circumstances that seem to
change their moral culpability when all
other factors remain the same.
Moore's disbelief
• Although this problem has received
relatively little attention, it intrigued
philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein when G.
E. Moore presented it to the Moral Science
Club at Cambridge.[citation needed] The statement
"Albany is the capital of New York, but I
don't believe it" is not necessarily false, but
it seems to be unassertable.
Mathematical objects
• What
are numbers, sets, groups, points, etc.? Are
they real objects or are they simply
relationships that necessarily exist in all
structures? Although many disparate views
exist regarding what a mathematical object
is, the discussion may be roughly
partitioned into two opposing schools of
thought: platonism, which asserts that
mathematical objects are
real, and formalism, which asserts that
mathematical objects are merely formal
constructions.
Sorites paradox
• Otherwise known as the "paradox of the
heap", the question regards how one defines a
"thing." Is a bale of hay still a bale of hay if
you remove one straw? If so, is it still a bale of
hay if you remove another straw? If you
continue this way, you will eventually deplete
the entire bale of hay, and the question is: at
what point is it no longer a bale of hay? While
this may initially seem like a superficial
problem, it penetrates to fundamental issues
regarding how we define objects. This is
similar to Theseus' paradox and
the Continuum fallacy.
Counterfactuals
• A counterfactual is a statement that follows
this form: "If Joseph Swan had not invented
the modern incandescent light bulb, then
someone else would have invented it
anyway." People use counterfactuals every
day; however, its analysis is not so clear.
Swan, after all, did invent the modern
incandescent light bulb, so how can the
statement be true, if it is impossible to
examine its correspondence to reality?
Material implication

• People have a pretty clear idea
what if-then means. However,
in formal logic, if-then is defined
by material implication, which is
not consistent with the common
understanding of conditionals.
Mind-body problem

• the problem of determining the
relationship between the human
body and the human mind.
Philosophical positions on this
question are generally predicated
on either a reduction of one to
the other, or a belief in the
discrete coexistence of both.
Cognition and AI
• This problem actually defines a field,
however its pursuits are specific and easily
stated. Firstly, what are the criteria
for intelligence? What are the necessary
components for definingconsciousness?
Secondly, how can an outside observer test
for these criteria? The "Turing Test" is
often cited as a prototypical test of
consciousness, although it is almost
universally regarded as insufficient.
Thank’s for Listening!

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List of unsolved problems in philosophy by: Raquel dela Cruz, EdD-IEM

  • 1. List of unsolved problems in Philosophy By: Raquel D. Bernabe –Ed.D-IEM Professor: Dr. Gabriel Sicam
  • 2. Objectives Discuss the ff: • List of Un resolve Problems in Philosophy A. Aesthetics B. Epistemology C. Ethics D. Philosophy of Language E. Philosophy of Mind
  • 4. Where did we come from?
  • 6. Aesthetics • Essentialism • In art, essentialism is the idea that each medium has its own particular strengths and weaknesses, contingent on its mode of communication. How expandable is your database storage?
  • 7. Epistemology • Epistemological problems are concerned with the nature, scope and limitations of knowledge. Epistemology may also be described as the study of knowledge.
  • 8. Molyneux problem • The Molyneux problem dates back to the following question posed by William Molyneux to John Locke in the 17th century: if a man born blind, and able to distinguish by touch between a cubeand a globe, were made to see, could he now tell by sight which was the cube and which the globe, before he touched them?
  • 9. Infinite regression • Overlooking for a moment the complications posed by Gettier problems, philosophy has essentially continued to operate on the principle that knowledge is justified true belief.
  • 10. Münchhausen Trilemma • purports that it is impossible to prove any certain truth even in fields such as logic and mathematics. According to this argument, the proof of any theory rests either on circular reasoning, infinite regress, or unproven axioms.
  • 11. Qualia • The question hinges on whether color is a product of the mind or an inherent property of objects. While most philosophers will agree that color assignment corresponds to light frequency, it is not at all clear whether the particular psychological phenomena of color are imposed on these visual signals by the mind, or whether such qualia are somehow naturally associated with theirnoumena.
  • 12. Ethics • Moral luck • The problem of moral luck is that some people are born into, live within, and experience circumstances that seem to change their moral culpability when all other factors remain the same.
  • 13. Moore's disbelief • Although this problem has received relatively little attention, it intrigued philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein when G. E. Moore presented it to the Moral Science Club at Cambridge.[citation needed] The statement "Albany is the capital of New York, but I don't believe it" is not necessarily false, but it seems to be unassertable.
  • 14. Mathematical objects • What are numbers, sets, groups, points, etc.? Are they real objects or are they simply relationships that necessarily exist in all structures? Although many disparate views exist regarding what a mathematical object is, the discussion may be roughly partitioned into two opposing schools of thought: platonism, which asserts that mathematical objects are real, and formalism, which asserts that mathematical objects are merely formal constructions.
  • 15. Sorites paradox • Otherwise known as the "paradox of the heap", the question regards how one defines a "thing." Is a bale of hay still a bale of hay if you remove one straw? If so, is it still a bale of hay if you remove another straw? If you continue this way, you will eventually deplete the entire bale of hay, and the question is: at what point is it no longer a bale of hay? While this may initially seem like a superficial problem, it penetrates to fundamental issues regarding how we define objects. This is similar to Theseus' paradox and the Continuum fallacy.
  • 16. Counterfactuals • A counterfactual is a statement that follows this form: "If Joseph Swan had not invented the modern incandescent light bulb, then someone else would have invented it anyway." People use counterfactuals every day; however, its analysis is not so clear. Swan, after all, did invent the modern incandescent light bulb, so how can the statement be true, if it is impossible to examine its correspondence to reality?
  • 17. Material implication • People have a pretty clear idea what if-then means. However, in formal logic, if-then is defined by material implication, which is not consistent with the common understanding of conditionals.
  • 18. Mind-body problem • the problem of determining the relationship between the human body and the human mind. Philosophical positions on this question are generally predicated on either a reduction of one to the other, or a belief in the discrete coexistence of both.
  • 19. Cognition and AI • This problem actually defines a field, however its pursuits are specific and easily stated. Firstly, what are the criteria for intelligence? What are the necessary components for definingconsciousness? Secondly, how can an outside observer test for these criteria? The "Turing Test" is often cited as a prototypical test of consciousness, although it is almost universally regarded as insufficient.