What are the essential features of a scientific argument? In answering this question, we first have to define the terms ‘scientific’ and ‘argument’. This will help to outline how a scientific argument differs from other kinds of arguments. While philosophers disagree about what ‘scientific’ means exactly (Karl Popper associates it with the concepts of falsifiability…
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Phenomenology is a philosophical movement, founded by Edmund Husserl (1859 – 1938), which concerns itself with direct experiences. Phenomenologists study the nature of consciousness as it is experienced subjectively in the first person. Through systematic reflection on experiences from the first-person point of view, Husserl believed we could better understand the structures of consciousness and…
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Consciousness is present throughout our everyday lives and in every situation, we are involved in, be that solving a problem or dreaming in a state of deep sleep. However, if I try to pinpoint one common, underlying feature in these experiences, in order to realise what defines consciousness, no one aspect of the experience palpably…
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In philosophy, there is much debate as to what constitutes a ‘law of nature’. In this essay, I will be critically examining the Naive Regularity Theory of Laws, a popular philosophical account of laws of nature. A proponent of this theory claims that p is a statement of a law of nature if and only…
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There is undoubtedly a variety of opinion in matters of art appreciation – someone may, for example, detest Damien Hirst’s work but praise Raphael’s, and vice versa. A standard of taste is a criterion by which you can judge art to be praiseworthy or not. This means that opinion holds no authority. There are certain…
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